Where have all the postdocs gone (aka "alternative careers")?

I heard an interesting statistic that I am not sure is true, but it emphasizes a point. Today at the AAAS annual scientific meeting in Boston, a speaker stated that almost 90% of scientific postdocs are (or will be) looking for alternative careers. Even if that statistic isn't quite accurate, that is a huge number. Where have all the postdocs gone? What are these "alternative careers"? Why are they "alternative" if so many seek them out and pursue them?

I began my own journey to an alternative science career about 2 years ago. Well, in reality it was longer than that, but in earnest, it started two years ago. It has been a great decision and I don't plan on going back, but I don't think the career tracks should be mutually exclusive. Over the coming weeks, I will talk about my journey from academic scientist (as a tenure-track assistant professor) to science policy analyst (for now at least).

Before I start, it's probably good to discuss these "alternative careers" a bit. When I was in graduate school and postdoc training, my colleagues joked that there was only 1 true path for a scientist. Everyone was (and still is to a great extent) expected to follow in the footsteps of their mentor and become an academic researcher. This is a great career and one I pursued for several years. Many aspects of it are incredibly rewarding. For anyone who didn't want to become a professional researcher in medical school or research intensive university, there was little help or guidance provided. To be fair, there are some great mentors that do help their students find a good career option, but the overwhelming advice doled out, however, is that you could work in "industry", whatever that means. Anything that was not a research position with a research lab to run was considered less desirable. All other choices were labeled "alternative" careers in science. Young (and not so young) scientists interested in other career options were cast adrift to explore for themselves. No guidance was available (and sometimes you even dropped of the radar of your mentor as a scientist in their lab - or worse, asked to leave).

The good news is that there are so-called "alternative" careers. There are many of them and many of opportunities. Having a science degree is very beneficial, even if you aren't actively involved in any scientific field or in a way that you imagined when you started to become a scientist. If 90% of postdocs are pursuing alternatives, there are plenty of people out there to tell their story and give advice.

I hope this spurs on some genuine discussion and sharing of success stories. There is a big life away from the bench. I'd like to hear more of them!