TOPIC 2:



LAUNCHING A SUCCESSFUL PHYSICS CAREER


Topic Organizing Committee: B. Hartline (USA, Chair), E. Molinari (Italy),

H. Schopper (Switzerland), Y. Gamal (Egypt)


Issues: mentoring, evaluation, promotion, different career paths (school teaching, university professor, academic research, industrial research, government research, leading/management of R&D group, writing, alternative physics careers such as finance, medicine, politics, law,), getting a reputation and professional visibiilty, peer review, career goals, moving from professional dependence to independence, preparing to join the power structure.Should we focus on careers needing PhD or also consider careers needing only Bachelors or Masters?


Questions:

What is the definition of career success? Do women and men have the same definition ?

What are the best first positions to seek after obtaining a degree?

How do different types of first positions prepare for or undermine future success? In physics? Is this independent of gender?

What are the most important factors in developing a reputation in physics?

What is the representation of women vs men on different career paths (schools, academic, industry, government, other, research, teaching)

What is the representation of women in tenure-track vs other academic positions?

How do searches and recruiting benefit or disadvantage female candidates?


How can committee membership, interview interactions, or other factors improve women's success?

What is the Important Administrative work of physics? How are people selected to participate in it? What are the advantages and disadvantages to the career?

Are there factors that facilitate women's success in physics?

Which of these are the same or different from factors that facilitate men's success

in physics?


How many jobs do women physicists apply for compared with offers received?


How many jobs do men physicists apply for compared with offers received?


How many jobs do women interview for per offer received?


How mans jobs do men interview for per offer received?

How should new hires be mentored and helped to succeed?


Are there differences for men and women?


What mentoring behaviors are particularly problematic for women physicists?

What kinds of mentoring or opportunities are most useful for facilitating career progress in mid- and late-career stages?

What does it take to prepare for and enter the power structure?

What is the reward structure for the different career paths?


How is this made clear to early-career physicists?

How can one achieve pay equity between women and men?

How can we ensure the peer-review process for prestigious fellowships and for research funds is gender-blind? Is it now?


What examples are there of peer-review processes that are gender blind?


What examples are there ofprocesses that systematically disadvantage women?




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Resolutions: