单项选择题

There was a time not long ago when new science Ph.D.s in the United States were expected to pursue a career path in academia (学术界).
But today, most graduates end up working outside academia, not only in industry but also in careers such as science policy, communications, and patent law.
Partly this is a result of how bleak the academic job market is, but there’s also a rising awareness of career options that Ph.D. scientists haven’t trained for directly—but for which they have useful knowledge, skills, and experience.
Still, there’s a huge disconnect between the way we currently train scientists and the actual employment opportunities available for them, and an urgent need for dramatic improvements in training programs to help close the gap.
One critical step that could help to drive change would be to require Ph.D. students and postdoctoral scientists to follow an individual development plan (IDP).
In 2002 the U.S. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology recommended that every postdoctoral researcher put together an IDP m consultation with an adviser. Since then, several academic institutions have begun to require IDPsforpostdocs And in June, the U.S.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Biomedical Research Workforce Working Group recommended that the NIH require IDPs for the approximately 32,000 postdoctoral researchers they support.Other funding agencies, public and private, are moving in a similar direction.
IDPs have long been used by government agencies and the private sector to achieve specificgoals for the employee and the organization. The aim is to ensure that employees have an explicittool to help them understand their own abilities and aspirations, determine career possibilities, and set (usually short-term) goals. In science, graduate students and new Ph.D.
scientists can use an IDP to identify and navigate an effective career path. Afree Web application for this purpose, called myIDF.has become available this week.
It’s designed to guide early-career scientists through a confidential, rigorous process of introspection (内省)to create a customized career plan. Guided by expert knowledge from a panel of science-focused career advisers, each trainee’s self-assessment is used to rank a set of career trajectories(轨迹).
After the user has identified a long-term career goal.myIDP walks her or him through the process of setting short-term goals directed toward accumulating new skills and experiences important for that career choice. Although surveys reveal the IDP process to be useful, trainees report a need for additional resources to help them identify a long-term career path and complete an IDP.
Thus, myIDP will be most effective when it’s embedded in larger career-development efforts. For example, universities could incorporate IDPs into their graduate curricula to help students discuss, plan, prepare for, and achieve their long-term career goals.

Government agencies and the private sector often use IDPs to （）

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