Table 1
Summary of Role Definition Themes.
| ROLE DEFINITION THEMES | POSTDOC THEMES | SUPERVISOR THEMES |
|---|---|---|
| Defining the Postdoc Position as Liminal | Training for the next steps | Space between lives |
| Short-term development opportunity | Differences in capabilities for graduate students, postdocs, and faculty | |
| Transition, training, and preparation period for future roles | Make-up for past performance | |
| prepare and gain experience | ||
| Doctoral Student (Plus) | Lab productivity | Lab responsibilities |
| Career goal identification | Motivation differences | |
| Safety net job | ||
| Junior Faculty (Minus) | Career goal definitions | Growth and development of knowledge, skills, and abilities |
| Exclusion from faculty roles and responsibilities | Assumption of faculty career goal |