Achievement

Career development, particularly outside of academia, is a goal of this IGERT program, and is accomplished through internships and career development brown bag seminars, in which outside speakers describe their career and career path. Trainees’ interests in 11 career options were assessed before they started graduate school and the IGERT program and at the end of their first year of graduate school. Notably, students report greatest interest in “conducting research in a non-profit, public service, or government agency” at both the start of the year and nine months later, suggesting that this IGERT program reinforces these types of career interests. Other career options see small declines in interest, namely “becoming a professor in a college or university”. Increases in interest are modest, although some trainees appear to be considering administration/management in industry more so at the end of their first year than at the beginning.