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Studies have shown that mentorship is critical to the career and professional development of workers, including postsecondary faculty. Evidence from the literature on faculty-to faculty mentorship have generally focused on the medical field or on the higher education institution where the study was conducted. This study extends the literature by examining data from faculty across multiple institutions and across fields using the Early Career Doctorates Survey (ECDS). Guided by a theoretical framework adapted from Higgins and Kram (2001), multiple linear regression models are applied to investigate which factors are associated with mentorship attainment, and how mentorship of faculty is associated with faculty productivity and job satisfaction. In contrast to previous literature, results indicate that women and racially minoritized faculty have similar likelihood of reporting having a formal/informal mentor compared to men and White colleagues, respectively. Furthermore, receiving mentorship does not appear to be associated with increased productivity or job satisfaction, but is associated with a 10% higher salary for faculty who reported having a mentor. These results, however, are limited to observable outcomes, and the benefits to mentoring may extend beyond that to include well-being, sense of belonging, and other variables not measured in the dataset. Overall, research findings contribute to existing efforts and ongoing conversations on faculty mentorship by offering additional evidence from a nationally representative sample, providing a benchmark for individual institutions to evaluate their professional development programs for faculty. 

The number of engineering PhDs obtaining postdoctoral research scholar employment has increased over the last 20 years. This study examines the factors associated with obtaining postdoc positions, and the early career outcomes associated with postdoc training. Descriptive and regression analyses, and propensity score matching are conducted using a nationally representative sample of engineering PhDs from the 1993-2013 National Science Foundation Survey of Doctorate Recipients matched with the 1985-2013 Survey of Earned Doctorates. Findings show that engineering PhDs with greater research experience, research ability, or who graduated from doctoral programs with more prevalent postdoc employment among previous PhD cohorts, tend to be more likely to obtain postdoc positions. Compared to PhDs who obtain non-academic positions, postdoc training is associated with greater likelihood of attaining tenure track faculty positions and remaining in academia 7-9 years after PhD graduation. In terms of early career salary, postdoc training may delay salary growth among engineering PhDs who are eventually employed in the private sector, but not among those who are eventually employed in the academic sector. Research findings provide critical information regarding the outlook for postdoctoral employment and its role in the long-term career paths of engineering PhDs. 

Examining the career paths of engineering PhDs in the United States has important implications for strengthening the engineering workforce. This study models the early career outcomes of engineering doctorates by sex, race/ethnicity, citizenship, and other observable characteristics, as well as identifies factors that influence these pathways using regression analyses on nationally representative data from the National Science Foundation Survey of Doctorate Recipients. Research findings show that early employment outcomes vary by PhD demographic factors, including sex and race/ethnicity. The logistic regression results show that primary source of funding, such as fellowships/grants and research assistantships, are associated with employment in tenure track faculty positions. Additionally, the employment outcomes of previous PhD cohorts from the same program and the relative ranking of the engineering program also contribute to early career outcomes.