Dr. Rick McGee and his research team have been following several hundred biomedical PhD students with annual in-depth interviews from the time they started their degrees until they ‘differentiate’ into a variety of careers. This talk and discussion will present some of the findings from their ongoing research with a focus on what factors and preferences lead individuals to pursue a large variety of different careers. Equally important will be insights into the pathways they take and the importance of prospective efforts to explore possible careers to decide which ones ‘fit’ each person’s skills and interests, scientific and personal. Findings with respect to the ‘phenotype’ of those who end up as faculty in research-intensive universities also will be presented.