Characterizing the landscape of plant science careers in the United States I: Government and private sector perspectives

作者：Brian J. Sidoti, Lisa L. Walsh, Kathryn M. Parsley, Kristine Callis‐Duehl, Alisa A. Hove, Hong Liu, Mia Uzcategui, David Ospina, Hannah Bruce‐Opris, Roxana Gonzalez, Christopher Baraloto, Melissa McCartney · 发表于：Plants People Planet · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1002/ppp3.10375 · 被引用次数：8 · 研究领域：Animal and Plant Science Education、Diverse Educational Innovations Studies、Conservation, Ecology, Wildlife Education

Societal Impact Statement Humans are dependent upon plants for oxygen, food, textiles, and medicines. Climate change and deforestation represent serious threats to our planet, causing significant disruptions to our ability to access and utilize these plant resources; this makes a botanically literate workforce and plant science careers more important than ever. Unfortunately, the current state of botanical career opportunities and training programs in the United States remains unclear. This study focuses on the current employment trends of government and private sector botanists and what skills future plant scientists will need to be successful in these careers. Summary Plant science plays a crucial role in our society and in ongoing efforts to address many global challenges, including food insecurity and climate change. Yet, despite a predicted increase in plant science career opportunities in the United States, the botanical career landscape outside of academia is not well understood. To further our understanding of the training required for non‐academic botanical careers, the botanical sub‐disciplines used on the job, and career challenges faced by plant scientists, we surveyed 61 scientists working in government and 59 scientists working in the private sector in the United States. In both career sectors, > 80% of survey participants reported recent hires at the bachelor's degree level. New personnel with master's degrees were more commonly reported in the government se...