When you're ready to make an IDP, check with your PI to see if they have a preferred format for the product or the process. If they do, that's a great place to start (and other people in your lab/working group may have experience you can learn from!) If your PI doesn't have a preference, you can choose a format that works for you. Remember, you will revisit this process, so you can always change the format in a future iteration!

• Appropriate for early stage graduate students: My Annual Plan (MAP) was developed by the UCSF Graduate Division. It is a less structured IDP that focuses on big picture plans and goals. We recommend the MAP for students in their first and second years, before their qualifying exams. 
   
• Appropriate for late stage graduate students and all postdocs: More comprehensive IDPs that involve a four-phase process: Self-assessment, Career Exploration, Goal Setting, Implementation are also available. The myIDP was developed by a team of scientists and career advisors including some staff from UCSF Career and Professional Development (CPD). ImaginePhD was developed by the Graduate Career Consortium and specifically includes job areas for social scientists. 
   
• See the video Part 3: Variations of IDPs to learn about other formats

• Trainees who complete a written plan report improved productivity and had more effective interactions with their mentors with respect to career and research goals.
• In the 2005 Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey, postdocs who wrote research/career plans at the start of their appointments were 23% more productive than those who did not. They also produced 30% more first-author papers and 25% more grant proposals.
• In addition to having a clear agreement on what one will achieve in the lab/team, students and postdocs can use the IDP as a conversation starter with their PI on what research they will be able to take with them when they leave the lab and what their career goals are.

• An IDP is a powerful tool to come to an agreement, with common language about what level of productivity a student/postdoc will need to achieve their goals.
• But an IDP does not state specific training goals. It will help you map out your goals, but won't tell you what those goals should be. It won't tell you, the number of publications competitive candidates need to have for R1 positions, or whether you need a postdoc if you are pursuing a career in science communications.
• To determine appropriate training goals, students and postdocs can:
  • Speak with their PI
  • Speak with other mentors, like lab/team alums, previous PIs, helpful PI down the hall...
    • Don't have any mentors besides your PI? Find some!
  • Use myIDP - for all science-related careers
  • Conduct informational interviews with people who are in the position/career you want to be in after your training
  • Make an appointment with career counselors in the Office of Career and Professional Development
  • Speak with your point person in the Postdoc Office - for postdocs
  • Speak with your point person in the Graduate Division - for graduate students

CPD offers training seminars for graduate students and postdocs on how to create an IDP. View our events calendar for upcoming sessions; it is updated frequently!

• In her July 23, 2013 blog, Sally Rockey, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research, provided guidance about NIH's intentions with regard to IDPs.
• In his September 7, 2012 Editor's Letter in Science, Bruce Alberts made note of the importance of career planning for members of tomorrow's biomedical workforce.
• For more information about what an IDP is, see this article from ScienceCareers.