COVID-19 and Early Career Researchers: Challenges, Needs, and Support for Early Career Researchers

Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic is profoundly impacting the academic community’s ability to conduct scientific research. Early career scientists, in particular, face many challenges (e.g., limited access to mentoring, delays in promotion/tenure, mental healthcare, childcare) that spring from restricted access to support from institutions. Compounding some of these difficulties is the uncertainty involved in how academic productivity during the pandemic will be evaluated by different institutions and changes to funding agency policies that may occur as a result of the pandemic. Our purpose in organizing this panel is to anticipate potential inequities in the geosciences that may arise due to COVID-19 and transparently provide actions that may be taken to support and aid members of our geoscience community. This panel will discuss these issues and provide perspectives from throughout the academic landscape on how the short- and long-term needs of early career scientists can be addressed. Specific topics will include: how institutions can equitably account for disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on individuals’ career arcs, how gaps in publication might be addressed during hiring and promotion, and how departments can bridge funding gaps for graduate students. We hope that having this difficult discussion with multiple stakeholders will help our communities proactively shape the future of the geoscience disciplines within a post-COVID-19 world in ways that are equitable and just.