Four Career Stories from Doctoral Students to Doctoral Holders: Qualitative Longitudinal Examination

Aims: Universities and their doctoral programs open a range of career opportunities for doctoral students and doctors. There is a need to problematize assumptions related to the construction of doctoral careers. This study addresses this need by examining the development of doctoral career paths and the factors influencing them from a qualitative longitudinal perspective. This study focuses on the narrative career stories of doctoral students and doctoral graduates from a temporal perspective and at the individual level.

Study Design: The study was conducted as qualitative longitudinal research among Finnish doctoral students and later same persons as doctoral holders (N=9). The aim of the research design was to find out what kind of career paths can be constructed.

Place and Duration of Study: The research data was collected in Finland between 2009-2018 and analyzed in 2022-2023.

Methodology: This study focuses on the narrative career stories of doctoral students and doctoral graduates from a temporal perspective and at the individual level. For this study, nine doctoral students were interviewed in 2009 and again in 2018, covering the themes of doctoral studies and careers. The data was analyzed using content analysis and a narrative approach.

Results: As a result, four narrative doctoral career stories were constructed: Competitive Academic Career, Permanent Lecturer Career, External Proletarian Career and Self-selected Balanced Career. The results suggest that starting points, personal positioning in the doctoral process and structured career opportunities have a significant impact on the dimensions, skills and, ultimately, career prospects of doctoral candidates. This study makes visible the factors involved in the construction of a doctoral career from a holistic and longer-term perspective, allowing for a deeper understanding of the dynamics of the complexity of doctoral careers.