Australia's Medical Research Workforce 2006: Employment Conditions and Career Structures

This survey of Australian health and medical researchers was conducted by the University of Queensland Social Research Centre (UQSRC) in conjunction with Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR). Broadly, this study was designed to help understand the career trajectories and working conditions of Australian health and medical researchers, and to identify areas in which career structures could be better supported and thereby improved. Key variables cover respondents' job titles, the nature of their employment contracts, salaries and successes with grant funding. Additionally, for those respondents who were either working overseas at the time of the survey or had worked overseas previously, their motivations for leaving the Australian medical research field were addressed. Factors that might encourage Australian-based researchers to pursue employment overseas were also enquired into. Additionally, respondents were asked to comment generally on their career trajectories in health and medical research. Background variables cover respondents' age, highest level of education achieved, country of birth and parents' countries of birth