Job Center Survey

Please fill out and submit this brief questionnaire along with your resume materials. The information you provide will help AGU to improve this service and will provide important information about career trends in the geosciences. This information is confidential. Thank you!

Personal Information

Sex (circle one): Male Female
Age __________ Nationality____________

Highest degree attained/in progress__________
Year attained or expected: 19____

Name of the school where you are presently enrolled/received highest degree _____________________________

How many years total did/do you expect your PhD/MS to take ?
_________________________________________

When you began your doctoral or masters program, how many years did you expect to take to finish? _______

Current Job/Education status (circle one):

Masters student
Ph.D. student (pre-qualifying exam)
Ph.D. student (post-qualifying exam)
Post-doc/Temporary/Contract Employee
Permanent:
Research Scientist
Assistant Prof.
Tenured Prof.
Unemployed
Other (please describe)__________________________

Where are you currently employed:

College/University Government Private Sector Other____________________________

AGU Section Affiliation (circle one) A G GP GS H M O P S SA SH SM T V

Job Search Information

What types of job are you looking for at this meeting? What type of job is your ultimate professional goal? Please rank the list below from most desired (1) to least desired (8) Leave blank any that you are not considering at all.

Ultimate Career Goal

Temporary
______ Research Post-doc/Contract Employee
______ Lecturer/Academia (Teaching)
Permanent
______ Industry/Private Sector Research/Technical
______ Industry/Private Sector Non-Technical/Administrative
______ College/University Academic, predominantly teaching
______ College/University Academic, predominantly research
______ Government Research/Technical
______ Other________________________

Goal at this meeting

Temporary
______ Research Post-doc/Contract Employee
______ Lecturer/Academia (Teaching)
Permanent
______ Industry/Private Sector Research/Technical
______ Industry/Private Sector Non-Technical/Administrative
______ College/University Academic, predominantly teaching
______ College/University Academic, predominantly research
______ Government Research/Technical
______ Other________________________

In your entire science job search how many permanent positions have you applied to? ________________

Have you ever used the AGU Job Center before (circle one) yes no If so, how many times _____________

What specific alternative careers (if any) have you considered (e.g. computer systems administrator, high school teacher, freelance writer). Please list them below
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
_____________________________________

Graduate School Experiences Information While enrolled, did/have you considered dropping out of your PhD/Masters program entirely? (Circle one)

Never • Occasionally • Regularly • Constantly • I may well drop out soon
If you have/had considered dropping out of your program, what were the reasons? (Check all that apply)
______ Didn't feel intellectually capable
______ Poor working relationship with advisor
______ Poor working relationship with committee
______ Financial concerns
______ Poor job market
______ Lost interest in subject matter
______ Offered a job
______ Graduate school was not what I expected
______ Family concerns and responsibilities
______ Difficulty selecting research/dissertation topic
______ Disliked the faculty in the department
______ Disliked the students in the department
______ Loneliness/Isolation
______ Other (please specify below)
Comments:
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

If you could go back in time and start grad school over, knowing what you know now, would you change any aspects of your graduate training? Specifically, would you choose:?

(Check here) (If so, what or why?)
______ a different field or sub-field ___________________
______ a different advisor _________________________
______ a different institution _________________________
______ a different research project ___________________
______ to take time off before entering grad school _______
______ to take time off during grad school _____________
______ to take more non-science courses _____________
______ to take more technical classes in other departments___
______ other (please describe) _________________________
What advice would you give others entering, or in the early years of graduate school? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

How would you describe the current state of the "traditional" job market for research-trained geoscientists (i.e. the market for research positions in academia, government and industry) in general. (Circle one)

Hopeless • Bad • Neutral/Fair • Good • Excellent
How would you describe the current state of the "traditional" job market for research-trained geoscientists in your particular sub-discipline or AGU section. (Circle one).
Hopeless • Bad • Neutral/Fair • Good • Excellent
Any comments about this survey?
_________________________________________________________
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