An academic career? What makes or breaks the psychological contract of PhD students throughout the doctoral program?
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2021-05-18
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en
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“55% of PhD candidates in the Netherlands would like an academic career and thinks of a career outside academia as a second choice. However, only 30% of PhD candidates is actually able to obtain an academic position due to the amount of available job openings. This means that 25% of PhD candidates does not get to have the career they wanted. In an American context, it was found that there is a mismatch between PhD candidate aspirations, the purpose of doctoral programs, and the careers they are actually able to obtain. The Dutch context is unique, because PhD candidates here usually get paid to work on their PhD. Psychological contract theory is used to shed more light on the expectations and realities of the PhD trajectory and what drove the PhD candidates’ decision to either stay or leave academia. By doing a thematic narrative analysis of 11 semi-structured interviews with PhD candidates, I was able to identify the key themes in the choice for an academic career or a non-academic career. The career choices of PhD candidates do not seem to be determined by psychological contract breach on a personal level, but on an academic level.”
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen