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This phenomenological study explores the mentoring needs of 13 Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars who aspire to the professoriate. An adaptation of the ideal mentoring model (Zambrana et al., 2015) is employed as the conceptual framework. Moustakas’ (1994) four-stage process of phenomenological data analysis was utilized to examine the interview data: epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and synthesis. The phenomenon’s essence is: Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars have primary and secondary mentoring needs pertaining to their immediate career acquisition of a tenure-track faculty position. Primary mentoring needs include expanding their professional network and receiving support in being a competitive faculty applicant, as well as coaching on work-life balance. Secondary needs consist of enhancing and promoting their technical skills and acquiring political guidance on racial/ethnic bias in academia. The findings of this study reveal the importance of higher education institutions and postdoctoral advisors assuming greater responsibility for ensuring postdoctoral scholars receive the mentorship and career support they desire, which may require a systematic change in the postdoctoral training environment. 

This phenomenological study explores the mentoring needs of 13 Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars who aspire to the professoriate. An adaptation of the ideal mentoring model (Zambrana et al., 2015) is employed as the conceptual framework. Moustakas’ (1994) four-stage process of phenomenological data analysis was utilized to examine the interview data: epoché, horizontalization, imaginative variation, and synthesis. The phenomenon’s essence is: Black and Latinx engineering postdoctoral scholars have primary and secondary mentoring needs pertaining to their immediate career acquisition of a tenure-track faculty position. Primary mentoring needs include expanding their professional network and receiving support in being a competitive faculty applicant, as well as coaching on work-life balance. Secondary needs consist of enhancing and promoting their technical skills and acquiring political guidance on racial/ethnic bias in academia. The findings of this study reveal the importance of higher education institutions and postdoctoral advisors assuming greater responsibility for ensuring postdoctoral scholars receive the mentorship and career support they desire, which may require a systematic change in the postdoctoral training environment. 

Through an embedded, multiple-case study design, this interpretivist research paper explores the ways in which 22 engineering postdoctoral scholars describe the appeal of pursuing a career in the professoriate. Interviews, grounded by social cognitive career theory (SCCT) (Lent et al., 1994), offered an in-depth understanding of the nature, meaning, and ways in which their postdoctoral scholars’ learning experiences influence their view of the professoriate and, consequently, their career decision-making process. Data analysis strategies established by Silverman (1993) and Stake (1995) were utilized to examine the interview data, employing both inductive and deductive analysis techniques. Four themes emerged: (1) the professoriate appears daunting due to the competitive nature of the job market and the academic environment, (2) the work demands of the professoriate are contrary to the work-life balance sought, (3) possessing research autonomy in the professoriate is highly attractive, and (4) the professoriate is perceived as a calling for those who desire to teach and mentor the upcoming generation of engineers. A more nuanced understanding of the appeal of the professoriate and the career decision-making process of postdoctoral scholars may be an avenue to aid in diversifying the engineering professoriate. The preferred presentation method is a traditional lecture.