Conditions Influencing the Career Accomplishments of Ph.D.s / Mary Jo Clark and Centra John A.

The influence of academic ability, training, and personal characteristics on postdegree careers and attainments of recent Ph.D.s were analyzed in two studies. Publication rates and income were used as indicators of attainments. The path model employed viewed the employment setting as well as the kind of employment activity as influences on the attainment measures. Academic ability was assessed either by the Graduate Record Examination Aptitude and Advanced Tests or grades. The academic ability construct correlated significantly with the quality of the Ph.D. program. Program quality, in turn, was an important determinant of whether graduates were employed in positions that emphasized research, or teaching and research. Ability and training appeared to influence productivity largely through the employment setting and the primary work activity. The number of years since receiving the doctorate also influenced productivity and income. Productivity helped to determine income in the samples of historians, psychologists, and physical scientists. Those employed as administrators or as clinicians tended to report higher earnings. Academic ability, for the most part, did not affect income. The two study questionnaires are appended. (Author/SW)

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