post phd experience

What to Do After PhD? – Pros and Cons of Pursuing Postdoc

“Received my PhD. Where do I go from here? What to do after PhD?”—is one of the most common challenges for students who have recently graduated. So if you’re stuck at this point of deciding whether to go ahead with academia or switch to a non-academic career, you’re not alone! How do you plan on taking what you have learned in your PhD and capitalize on it? How do you start your new career or use your PhD to take the next step in your existing one?

What to Do After PhD?

After having spent endless hours conducting your research and passing up enjoyable opportunities to complete your dissertation, you have finally attained the coveted doctorate degree. It’s a remarkable feat! But one struggle that holds on to you is—what do you do now that you’ve finished your PhD?

Be it from your seniors at the university or just having heard it from scholars in your field, one thing you may have realized is that tenure-track positions in academia are hard to come by.  Despite the “default” propensity of PhD graduates pursuing academic research positions, they’re now moving beyond it. Additionally, an uncertain future in academia is a factor of concern amongst all. Here we shall discuss what to do after PhD?—and focus on the pros and cons of pursuing postdoc to make a calculated decision.

Should I Pursue Postdoc?

Navigating through the career waters after PhD can be quite treacherous. Moreover, with the job market in academia being intensely competitive, even students with excellent academic caliber aren’t assured of getting a position.

While the competition is persistent, doing a postdoc is becoming a prerequisite for a successful career. However, your zeal and confidence of wanting to stay in academia can take you a long way. The preliminary postdoc benefits to consider while applying for postdoc are:

• Additional time to expand your research through funding.
• Publish more research work to support or expand your research conducted during Phd.
• More opportunities for networking and collaboration.

Pros of Pursuing Postdoc

While the answer to “What to do after postdoc?” can vary for every researcher depending on their interests, the undeniable benefits of a postdoc position can’t be overseen.

1. Career Development Prospects:

Pursuing career as a postdoc fellow allows you an extended period to work on your research after your PhD. Furthermore, it offers you more flexible opportunities to leverage laboratory facilities than you could during your PhD. It allows you to travel freely for conferences, which lead to meeting scholars from your field and making newer professional connections. Additionally, a postdoc fellow gets opportunity to upskill themselves in their research field and allied domains.

2. Advanced Research Opportunities:

Given the immense value that a postdoc position poses, it opens doors to newer research opportunities. This is not just restricted to independent research but also to collaborative research. Consequently, due to lesser teaching and administrative responsibilities, it will provide you with time to publish more research work. Additionally, it allows you to revise your project cycle, begin a new project, and gain expertise in a given subject. Furthermore, it lets you collaborate with international researchers to work on similar projects. More importantly, as a postdoc your chances of receiving grants increases based on your success as a researcher during PhD.

 3. Technique Development Opportunities :

As a postdoc fellow, you have more time to acquire new technology and research skills. In addition, it lets you gain experience in allied fields that you work in with your colleagues. This leads to an excellent opportunity to perfect your distinctive set of skills and learn advanced techniques in growing times.

4. Intellectual Development:

A postdoc fellowship is a distinguished phase in your career to focus exclusively on your intellectual development. Moreover, it is an important and most influential part of your research training. Therefore, choosing a postdoc can bolster your ability to pursue an advanced and successful research career.

Cons of Pursuing Postdoc

Despite the impressive benefits, considering the flip side of pursuing a postdoc position is imperative before taking the big decision.

1. No Tenure-track Guarantee

The uncertain career prospects in academia does not guarantee a tenure-track position even after completing your postdoc. According to a survey, only 30% of postdocs in the United States, and 20% postdocs in the United Kingdom succeed in acquiring a long term academic position. Moreover, some even have to climb through a series of postdoc positions before reaching a stable academic position. This predicament often leads many postdocs to quit academia and move to an industrial career.

2. Lack of Support

As postdocs are expected to work as an independent researcher, they often receive little to no professional advice or training from experienced researchers at the university. On the contrary, some institutions take advantages of the postdoc fellow as a teaching or researching captive. Furthermore, you may also experience poor working conditions as a result of being neglected by your department and surviving postdoc position becomes difficult.

3. Monetary Challenges

One of the major disadvantages of pursuing a postdoc position is meager salaries. The financial situation of postdoc fellows is so critical that an assistant professor is paid more than them, although fractionally, but yes!

4. Over-qualification

After struggling to acquire a stable academic position, postdocs often try to switch to industrial jobs. In this process, it is found that postdocs are over-qualified for industrial jobs and have to begin from scratch in the new field.

It’s undoubtedly a great feat to have successfully defended your PhD dissertation. How do you decide? What to do after PhD? What do you choose? Let these pros and cons help you in taking a well thought out decision. Tell us how this article helped you in the comments section below! You can also visit our Q&A forum for frequently asked questions related to different aspects of research writing and publishing answered by our team that comprises subject-matter experts, eminent researchers, and publication experts.

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• Postdocs: The Definitive Guide
• After a PhD

As soon as you step outside the world of academia, the number of people who know what a postdoctorate is, what they involve and how to secure one quickly plummets. Given that a postdoctorate can be a popular option, especially for Science and Technology-related PhD graduates, it’s essential to address this current gap in knowledge.

What Is a Postdoc?

A postdoc is only one of many paths you can take after having completed your PhD. A postdoc (also referred to as a postdoc or postdoctoral) can be best thought as a temporary position designed to refine your research and teaching skills while undertaking practical research work. Because of this, most regard a postdoc position as a temporary stepping stone for developing a career in a more permanent position.

There’s a common misconception that a postdoctorate is an advanced doctoral degree that is undertaken after having completed a PhD. This misconception arises from individuals associating the word “post” in “postdoctorate” with the word “after”. While you will learn a lot during your time in a postdoc position, it is nothing like a degree. There are no fees, coursework, exams or vivas to deliver (thankfully!). A postdoc is, in fact, a job, and as someone in a postdoc position, you will be considered an ‘employee’. And just like any other job, the position will come with its own salary, responsibilities, training and employers.

Most postdocs are awarded by universities or research institutes as temporary contracts. However, they can also be undertaken in private companies, non-profit charities or government bodies.

What Is The Purpose Of A Postdoc?

As mentioned above, the primary purpose of a postdoc is to help bridge the gap between your current skills and your current level of experience. Due to this, postdoctoral positions are popular amongst those who have recently obtained their PhD. This is especially true for individuals who which to pursue a career in academia or research but don’t yet have adequate experience in teaching or publishing.

For the ‘learning’ nature of this role, postdocs provide an excellent option for those to continue their self-development while pursuing research in a field they’re interested in.

What Does a Postdoc Do?

A postdoc works under the supervision of an experienced researcher known as a postdoctoral advisor. What you will do on a day-to-day basis will, therefore, depend on what they require support on at any given time.

While your responsibilities will depend on your postdoctoral advisor, you can expect the following duties as part of your role:

• Contribute to the supervision of PhD students who are undertaking research projects in a closely related field.
• Supporting the research team in managerial tasks related to planning, organisation and administration.
• Undertake research, including but not limited to: qualitative data collection, data analysis and data and lab management.
• Contribute to the production, review and dissemination of academic and non-academic writing, including publications.

Your responsibilities will also depend on who your postdoc position is with. Positions offered by universities will often place a high emphasis on the academic aspects of the role. This involves aspects such as working more independently, developing your supervisory and teaching capabilities, and improving your communication skills through participation in seminars and conferences. In doing so, they’re helping you to become an individual capable of both conducting research and transferring knowledge – in other words, a university lecturer!

The opposite is true for postdoc positions held in industry, such as a private organisation or government body. As you can expect, these roles will place almost all of its emphasis on conducting research and advancing projects forward, with little focus on anything that falls outside of this.

How Long Should I Be A Postdoc For?

There is no set rule for how long you should remain in a postdoc position. Regardless of this, most individuals stay within a postdoc position for between 2 to 4 years. During this period, it’s not uncommon to move between one or two postdoc positions, with one position being abroad for a more rounded experience.

The time you may choose to spend in a given postdoctoral position will depend on several factors. The most influential of these will be:

• The size of the research project’s scope,
• The support needs of the principal investigator/postdoc advisor,
• The amount of funding available.

Although you could undertake a postdoctorate for a year or less, most will advise against this. This is simply because you will likely not have enough time to gain valuable experience associated with producing publications, writing research grant proposals and speaking at conferences. Although it may be possible to complete these within a single year, most researchers will opt for a minimum of two years for a single position. This will provide them with ample opportunity to contribute a significant amount to a project, publish a handful of papers and attend several conferences. On top of this, it will allow you to develop a deeper relationship with the students you help teach or supervise. This will prove invaluable experience should you plan on becoming a university lecturer .

How Are Postdoc Positions Funded?

Postdocs are usually funded in one of three ways:

• The postdoc secures the funding themselves . This can be achieved in several ways, with the most common being applying to opportunities put out by government, research or charity bodies. Examples of these opportunities include the  NWO Talent Programme Veni  and the  Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship . Securing funding under any of these schemes will provide you with a ‘stipend’ (which acts as your salary), and ‘’research funds’ for enabling the project. It’s worth noting that if you secure funding in this way, you won’t typically be restricted to any one university. Although when applying to these opportunities you’ll be required to indicate where you intended to undertake your research, if successful, you can take your funding and associated research project to any university or research institution of your choice.
• A Principal Investigator (PI) secures a research grant  for a project, part of which will go towards hiring one or more postdoctoral assistants. In these scenarios, the university will employ you to work on the project they gained funding for.
• A research body hires postdoctoral assistants irrespective of any new funding . In these scenarios, the researching body, who could be anyone from universities to research centres, charities and private organisations, may put aside their own funds to secure a postdoc assistant as a regular salaried employee.

What is the Average Postdoc Salary?

It goes without saying that the average salary for a postdoc will vary from role to role, with factors such as your country, your employer and your level of experience being influential factors.

If working as a university employee, your salary as a postdoc will be determined via a set pay scale known as the “ HE single pay spine “. Under this pay spine, a postdoc can expect to earn an average of £31,000 per year, though, in reality, a postdoc’s salary can range between £29,000 to £34,800.

On the other hand, the stipend (which will act as your postdoc salary) associated with the funding you have secured yourself will directly depend on the opportunity you acquire. Because of the wide range of possibilities, your potential stipend can vary considerably. As well as having a high variance, they also tend to have a higher ceiling compared to the salaries associated with a PI’s research grant or a research body’s employment. For example, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship can be worth over £50,000 per year. However, these types of fellowships are not only highly competitive but are also not an entirely fair comparison to postdoc assistant roles. This is due to the fact that a research fellow will be expected to have a greater amount of experience and to assume a higher level of responsibility than a regular postdoctoral researcher.

In case you’re thinking of working abroad, it would be useful to know that the median salary of a postdoctoral researcher in the United States is approximately $42,000 (£33,000 at the time of writing) per year.

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What is a Postdoc? Understanding the difference between academic, industry, government and non-profit positions

A postdoc (or "post-doc," "postdoctoral," or "postdoctoral research") fellowship is a training-focused position available to people who have earned a doctorate. Postdoc positions usually act as a stepping-stone between the student experience and the full-time professional experience. For the postdoc appointee, a postdoc position offers in-depth training. For the postdoc institution or organization, a postdoc is a dedicated researcher, with specialized knowledge but flexible to explore other topics, often with lower a financial cost than a permanent employee.

The most common type of postdoc position is a research-focused position at an academic institution, but postdocs also exist in industry, government, non-profit, and other non-academic organizations. Most postdocs are focused on research, but there are also opportunities in specialized areas such as technology transfer and policy at all types of organizations.

Academic postdocs

Academic postdocs tend to be focused on research and the academic experience. A postdoc typically has a higher degree of freedom in determining the direction of their research than a Ph.D. student. Postdocs are often expected to secure grants (as lead principal investigators or collaborators) and teach courses in addition to completing research objectives and publishing results.

Some research groups may offer high-performing Ph.D. students the opportunity to stay at the same institution, even within the same research group. Treat any offer like this carefully! It is an honor to be recognized as such a benefit to the research group, but will you be able to get the training you need if you stay in the same location? Also be aware that many future employers prefer candidates who have taken risks by moving to a new area (mentally, if not physically) and have broadened their area of expertise.

Industry postdocs

Industry postdocs can vary significantly between organizations. Most have a focus on teamwork, while valuing independent thought and development. A postdoc may be viewed as a "stepping stone" position, somewhere between an entry-level position and a higher-value research position... or it could be a distinguished staff scientist position with an opportunity for higher pay. For many organizations, while the postdoc position is a one to two year contract, it can serve as a pathway to a permanent position within the organization. Many industry postdocs offer easier access to state-of-the-art facilities, whereas many academic postdocs only provide access to these facilities through collaborations with other organizations.

Government postdocs

Government postdocs have some similarities with academic and industry postdocs. Like academic positions, there is often an expectation to publish a high number of manuscripts; however, the salary offered may be higher than that of an academic postdoc. There may be fewer opportunities to write external grants, which could be a detriment to any future applications to an academic (especially tenure-track) position. Depending on the organization, there may be fewer opportunities to teach compared to an academic postdoc. Like industry postdocs, government postdocs can act as a stepping stone to a permanent position within the organization and can provide access to state-of-the-art federal facilities.

Non-profit postdocs

Non-profit postdocs can offer a less traditional option with similar benefits to academic postdocs. The focus of a non-profit postdoc can cover any topic, from food scarcity to sports management. There is likely a strong focus on grant writing and collaborative efforts, although possibly fewer opportunities to teach.

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What is a Postdoc?

Most people outside of academia know what a PhD is, but a postdoc is more confusing. Are postdocs students? Do they actually earn a degree? Are they called postdoctoral researchers or fellows or scholars or associates or assistants? Let’s clear up some of that confusion.

So, What is a Postdoc?

In many fields, a postdoc is the de facto next step on the academic career path after earning a PhD (hence the name.) A postdoc is a temporary position that allows a PhD to continue their training as a researcher and gain skills and experience that will prepare them for their academic career. Most postdoc positions are at a university or in industry, but there some postdocs positions at nonprofits and in government. While the vast majority of postdocs work in STEM fields, these types of positions are becoming more common in social sciences and the humanities.  

What Does a Postdoc Do?

A postdoc is primarily a researcher who works under the supervision of a mentor as part of a larger research group. As such, they conduct research, either on a pre-specified project or one of their own design and publish that research. At the same time, a postdoc is meant to prepare young researchers to become principal investigators or junior faculty members, so they also take on senior responsibilities like mentoring, grant writing, and teaching.

How Long Are Postdoc Positions?

There is no set length for a postdoc. It will depend on a number of factors such as the university, country of research, PI, or funding. That being said, most positions are two to three years and some can be extended. It is common to do more than one postdoc before applying for faculty positions. Some countries do limit the total number of years a person can work as a postdoc. For example, in Canada and Sweden, it is only possible to be a postdoc for five years total, while there is no limit on postdoc years in the US.

How Are Postdocs Funded?

Postdoc positions can be funded in several ways. Some postdocs are salaried employees of a university, institution, or company. Other times they are paid a stipend from a grant, fellowship, or scholarship. In some countries, the name of the position indicates the funding source. In the UK for example, a postdoctoral assistant works on a project developed for and funded by a grant awarded to the PI, while a postdoctoral fellow is awarded their own fellowship giving them a larger say in the scope of their project.

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The Postdoctoral Experience Revisited (2014)

Chapter: summary.

Concern about the postdoctoral training system has been gnawing at the research community for decades. The National Academies produced reports in 1969, 1980, and 2000 that called for reforms to the system. In the past 5 years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the American Chemical Society, the Council of Graduate Schools, among others have expressed their concerns in reports.

The sources of uneasiness have changed only slightly over time. Is it really necessary for someone to remain in training until their mid-30s before being qualified for his or her chosen career track? Are these highly qualified Ph.D. researchers receiving the recognition and remuneration that they deserve? Is there an appropriate balance between the number of postdoctoral researchers that are trained and the number of jobs that require postdoctoral training? What happens to those postdoctoral researchers who do not get the jobs they aspire to? How concerned should the research enterprise be with the postdoctoral researchers in the United States on temporary visas? Who is responsible for ensuring that postdoctoral researchers are treated fairly and receive the mentoring and training that is essential to their position? Is the perceived status of postdoctoral researchers a possible disincentive to undergraduates and graduate students who are considering independent research careers? Why are more reliable data not collected about the current postdoctoral population and the career outcomes of former postdoctoral researchers?

What has changed is the percentage of Ph.D.’s who pursue postdoctoral training. It is growing steadily and spreading from the biomedical and physical sciences to engineering and the social sciences. Although the data are not definitive, the average length of time spent in postdoctoral positions seems to be increasing. The sources of funding have also changed. The number of postdoctoral fellowships and traineeships, which provide postdoctoral researchers relative autonomy and recognition, has remained nearly constant for decades, whereas the number of postdoctoral researchers hired as part of research grants or supported by non-federal sources has grown dramatically.

For some postdoctoral researchers the system works very well. They gain valuable research experience and career guidance from an accomplished researcher. They learn to develop ideas for independent research, apply for grants, and manage a lab; they cultivate professional networks and publish papers. They eventually move into tenure-track research faculty positions at

leading universities. However, it is known that this is not the norm because the growth in the number of postdoctoral researchers far exceeds the growth in the number of tenure-track job openings. Unfortunately, there is not clear definition for what the norm is because, in spite of repeated calls for better tracking data, the picture of the postdoctoral experience remains foggy. Whereas aggregate trends can be discerned, only rough estimates of the total number of postdoctoral researchers, and no good information about what becomes of the postdoctoral researchers who earned their Ph.D.’s outside the United States, exist.

One important finding is that the postdoctoral experience differs considerably among types of institutions. Compared to postdoctoral researchers working at universities, postdoctoral researchers who work at national labs or in industry are typically paid much more, remain for shorter periods, and are often offered fulltime jobs at the end of their appointment. Likewise, postdoctoral researchers who are on fellowships or traineeships have higher salaries, better mentoring, and more control over their research than those who are working under a principal investigator’s research grant. The majority of postdoctoral researchers are working under research grants.

The period since the National Academies’ 2000 report Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers (2000 Postdoctoral Report) has seen a number of significant advances in the treatment and understanding of postdoctoral researchers. Many universities have created offices of postdoctoral affairs to provide better services to postdoctoral researchers. The postdoctoral researchers created the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA), which includes representatives of the offices of postdoctoral affairs, to provide information to postdoctoral researchers, a forum for discussion, and a unified voice. The NIH created an office of postdoctoral affairs for its intramural postdoctoral researchers. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has added a requirement that research proposals that include hiring a postdoctoral researcher include a mentoring plan. Organizations such as Sigma Xi and the American Association of Universities conducted surveys of postdoctoral researchers. The Association of American Medical Colleges created the Graduate Research, Education, and Training (GREAT) Group to address questions about postdoctoral training. Several individual researchers have conducted studies. The American Association for the Advancement of Science developed MyIDP , software that enables graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to develop individual development plans that help them to understand their career options more clearly and to make better informed career decisions.

Other aspects of postdoctoral training have seen little change. The quality of data about postdoctoral researchers is still insufficient. Although postdoctoral affairs offices have made efforts to improve mentoring, there is no convincing evidence that most postdoctoral researchers are receiving adequate mentoring. In spite of the fact that a very large percentage—a majority in some fields—of postdoctoral researchers eventually pursue careers other than that of tenure-track

research faculty, there is little evidence that universities and mentors are providing adequate information about and preparation for other types of careers. Salaries, which have always been relatively low, have failed to even keep pace with inflation. Somewhat surprisingly, several surveys have found that although postdoctoral researchers would prefer better pay, they are even more concerned about their lack of recognition, status, and structured programs. The running gag in the comic strip “Postdoc Funnies” is that postdoctoral researchers are invisible. A fear expressed by many of the postdoctoral researchers who testified to the committee is that they will be able to move only into even less visible positions as university staff scientists or adjunct faculty.

Although the postdoctoral researchers themselves might feel invisible, there is broad recognition that something is amiss in the postdoctoral training system. Lack of data makes it difficult for leaders in research institutions and funding agencies to make policies about the role postdoctoral training should play in the research enterprise and for young people interested in science and engineering to make informed decisions on their career paths. Most postdoctoral researchers are employed by principal investigators to work on research grants, which creates an inherent source of stress. The investigator’s primary mission is to complete the research, and any time spent in training the postdoctoral researcher is time not spent on the research. Principal investigators play an essential role in the training of postdoctoral researchers that must be acknowledged and reinforced by the funding agencies and institutions. Postdoctoral researchers are the future of the research enterprise, so it is critical that this period of training attract the most capable people to research.

This report focuses on academic postdoctoral researchers because they are by far the largest component of the population, because less is known about postdoctoral researchers in industry, and because what we do know indicates that postdoctoral researchers in industry and at national laboratories do not face the same problems as academic postdoctoral researchers. Their roles are better defined, salaries are higher, terms are shorter, and the connection to career development is clearer. For this reason the recommendations that follow are intended to address the problems primarily encountered by postdoctoral researchers in the academic setting.

Using a definition of a postdoctoral researcher agreed upon by the NPA, NIH, and NSF as a guide—“An individual who has received a doctoral degree (or equivalent) and is engaged in a temporary and defined period of mentored advanced training to enhance the professional skills and research independence needed to pursue his or her chosen career path”—the committee has developed recommendations for best practices covering five aspects of the postdoctoral experience: period of service, title and role, career development, compensation and benefits, and mentoring. In addition, the committee stresses the importance of data collection through a sixth recommendation. While the recommendations are numbered, this is for ease of reference and should not be taken to imply prioritization; these six items are necessarily interconnected.

1.   Period of Service : The committee endorses the recommended practice, put forward by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the National Postdoctoral Association in 2007, that postdoctoral research training is and should be a “temporary and defined period.” Postdoctoral appointments for a given postdoctoral researcher should total no more than 5 years in duration, barring extraordinary circumstances. This maximum term should include cumulative postdoctoral research experience, though extensions may be granted in extraordinary circumstances (e.g. family leave, illness).

This recommendation requires direct actions by the host institutions and the funding agencies.

1.1   Host institutions should maintain a record of how long a postdoctoral researcher remains in a position and provide that information to funding agencies as part of grant proposals.

1.2   To facilitate tracking of postdoctoral researchers, funding agencies could assign each postdoctoral researcher an identifier and keep a record of the total length of time any given individual is holding such a position.

2.    Title and Role : In many instances, positions currently occupied by postdoctoral researchers are more appropriately filled by permanent staff scientists (e.g., technicians, research assistant professors, staff scientists, laboratory managers). The title of “postdoctoral researcher” should be applied only to those people who are receiving advanced training in research. When the appointment period is completed, the postdoctoral researchers should move on to a permanent position externally or be transitioned internally to a staff position with a different and appropriate designation and salary.

This recommendation requires action primarily by the funding agencies and the host institutions.

2.1   Funding agencies should have a consistent designation for “postdoctoral researchers,” and require evidence that advanced research training is a component of the postdoctoral experience.

2.2   Host institutions should create or identity professional positions for individuals who are conducting research but who are not receiving training, and these individuals should receive appropriate remuneration, benefits, and privileges.

3.   Career Development : Host institutions and mentors should, beginning at the first year of graduate school, make graduate students aware of the wide variety of career paths available for

Ph.D. recipients, and explain that postdoctoral positions are intended only for those seeking advanced research training. Career guidance should include, where feasible, the provision of internships and other practical experiences. The postdoctoral position should not be viewed by graduate students or principal investigators as the default step after the completion of doctoral training.

This recommendation requires action by all the different members of the research system: the funding agencies, the host institutions, the professional societies, the mentors, the postdoctoral researchers, and even the graduate students before becoming postdoctoral researchers.

3.1   Host institutions, especially those with graduate student populations, should provide multiple engagement activities to help students explore all avenues of career development. Funding agencies should help to support these efforts.

3.3   Professional societies should gather and disseminate information about the full range of career paths within their discipline. Useful activities could include collecting statistics about job openings and salaries, identifying individuals in various sectors who can provide career advice, and organizing career fairs at professional meetings.

3.3   Mentors, in addition to providing guidance based on their own experience, should become familiar with and disseminate information about all forms of career development opportunities available either at the host institution or through their professional society.

3.4   Postdoctoral researchers and graduate students have a responsibility to participate in the career development opportunities provided by their institutions, to explore other sources of information such as professional societies, and to use available career-development tools.

4.    Compensation and Benefits of Employment : Current postdoctoral salaries are low. Salaries should be increased to (1) reflect the qualifications of postdoctoral scholars, (2) address the slow progress the community has made toward implementing salary increases as recommended in several National Research Council reports, and (3) adjust the relative wage of postdoctoral researchers to appropriately reflect their value and contribution to research. The committee considered five different approaches for determining an appropriate minimum salary: (1) indexing to contemporary college graduates, (2) indexing to graduate stipends, (3) indexing to newly hired assistant professors, (4) inflation of previous recommendations, and (5) Research Grade Evaluation Guide. All of these approaches, which are discussed in detail in Appendix B , suggest an amount of $50,000 or

more. In addition, despite considerable variation in salaries by field, geographic area, and sector, data on starting postdoctoral salaries reveal that the starting salary prescribed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) postdoctoral award (currently set at $42,000 for 2014) has become the de facto standard for many disciplines and on many academic campuses. The NIH should raise the NRSA postdoctoral starting salary to $50,000 (2014 dollars), and adjust it annually for inflation. Postdoctoral salaries should be appropriately higher where regional cost of living, disciplinary norms, and institutional or sector salary scales dictate higher salaries. 1       In addition, host institutions should provide benefits to postdoctoral researchers that are appropriate to their level of experience and commensurate with benefits given to equivalent full-time employees . Comprehensive benefits should include health insurance, family and parental leave, and access to a retirement plan.

This recommendation requires action primarily by the funding agencies, with additional actions by the host institutions and the professional societies.

4.1   Federal agencies should require host institutions to provide documentation of the salary a postdoctoral researcher will receive with all grant proposals.

4.2   Professional societies should collect data on salaries for all positions and make these publicly available.

5.   Mentoring : Mentoring is an essential component of the postdoctoral experience and entails more than simply supervision. Mentoring should not be solely a responsibility of the principal investigator, although he or she should be actively engaged in mentoring. Host institutions should create provisions that encourage postdoctoral researchers to seek advice, either formally or informally, from multiple

_____________________________

1 Two of the committee members do not support the recommendation for a prescriptive “salary standard” based upon one particular field and funding agency (here, the National Institutes of Health [NIH] and life sciences) for two reasons: first, salaries—not just postdoctoral salaries—differ so much by discipline, region, funding agency, and type of institution (for example, the 2012 National Postdoctoral Association report indicates that about half of the institutions have minimum salaries that are lower than the 2013 NIH minimum of $39K; NPA 2012), and second, this “salary standard,” meant to reflect a reasonable salary, will likely be used as a minimum salary. While they believe that institutions need flexibility to accommodate particular circumstances, they also firmly believe that a postdoctoral researcher’s salary should be fair and fit rationally within the spectrum of salaries for researchers in that discipline, at that institution: for example, well above that of a graduate student and significantly less than that of an entry-level, career-track researcher, that is, permanent staff scientist, research track assistant professor, or tenure-track assistant professor.

advisors, in addition to their immediate supervisor. Host institutions and funding agencies should take responsibility for ensuring the quality of mentoring through evaluation of, and training programs for, the mentors.

This recommendation requires action by the funding agencies and the host institutions, with supporting actions by the professional societies, the mentors, and the postdoctoral researchers themselves.

5.1   In addition to providing mentorship training and guidance to the immediate supervisors of the postdoctoral researchers, host institutions should establish mechanisms that make it easy for postdoctoral researchers to seek guidance from additional faculty or senior professionals who can enrich the postdoctoral training experience.

5.2   Funding agencies should identify better ways of evaluating or rewarding mentoring as an essential component of research. This could include mandatory self-reporting by mentors as well as blinded assessments by the postdoctoral researchers.

5.3   Professional societies are in an ideal position to provide additional mentors to supplement those at a postdoctoral researcher’s host institution. This would be of particular value to postdoctoral researchers considering major career shifts such as a move from academia to industry.

5.4   Postdoctoral researchers need to recognize that a great research investigator is not necessarily equivalent to a great mentor and that many if not most principal investigators or senior research faculty have not received any formal training in mentoring. Therefore, postdoctoral researchers should seek guidance from a variety of people, and should be encouraged to do so.

6.    Data Collection : Current data on the postdoctoral population, in terms of demographics, career aspirations, and career outcomes are neither adequate nor timely. Every institution that employs postdoctoral researchers should collect data on the number of currently employed postdoctoral researchers and where they go after completion of their research training, and should make this information publicly available. The National Science Foundation should serve as the primary curator for establishing and updating a database system that tracks postdoctoral researchers, including non-academic and foreign-trained postdoctoral researchers. Host institutions and federal agencies should cooperate with NSF on the data collection and maintenance process. Federal agencies and research institutions that report these data to the NSF should take advantage of various

technologies that have become available in recent years to assist in timely and thorough collection. Recognizing that this recommendation on data collection has been made many times before with little effect, the committee stresses that research institutions and professional societies should explore what they can do to enrich what is known about postdoctoral researchers and that all institutions make better use of new technologies and social and professional networks to collect relevant and timely data.

6.1   Funding agencies must improve their data collection on the postdoctoral segment of the workforce. This is especially true for the NSF, given its congressional mandate to “collect, acquire, analyze, report, and disseminate statistical data related to the science and engineering enterprise in the United States and other nations that is relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public, including statistical data on research and development trends, [and] the science and engineering workforce…” (Section 505 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010). The NSF should work with other research agencies, particularly the NIH, to develop more reliable means of collecting data on postdoctoral researchers during and after their appointments. The use of a common identifier system for each postdoctoral researcher is a possible approach.

6.2   Host institutions should assist in the data collection efforts by remaining consistent with their labeling of postdoctoral researcher, keeping track of new hires and departures, and conducting exit interviews to determine career outcomes of their postdoctoral population. This information should be made publically available, particularly to prospective postdoctoral researchers.

6.3   Funding agencies should look favorably on grant proposals that include outcome data for an institution’s postdoctoral researchers.

6.4   Professional societies should utilize their networks to collect information about career paths of their members and make this data easily available.

All of the reforms recommended here should be coordinated through a strong and separate or stand-alone postdoctoral office (PDO) at each host institution. These offices have become much more common since the publication of the 2000 Postdoctoral Report, and many have become

members of the National Postdoctoral Association. However, more work is needed to truly enrich the postdoctoral experience. PDOs need to continue sharing experiences to help one another fulfill their potential to train mentors, organize career development activities, be a one-stop source of information for domestic and international postdoctoral researchers, manage postdoctoral researcher grievances, oversee data-gathering efforts, monitor institutional compliance with salary and benefits policy, and track the career progress of former postdoctoral researchers. Although currently these offices are often embedded within a larger graduate student affairs operation, they are essential for improving the visibility and recognition of postdoctoral researchers in their host institutions and deserve specialized recognition.

A larger goal of this study was not only to propose ways to make the postdoctoral system better for the postdoctoral researchers themselves but also to better understand the role that postdoctoral training plays in the research enterprise. The committee asked whether there are alternative ways to satisfy some of the research and career development needs of postdoctoral researchers that are now being met with several years of advanced training. The committee hopes that this report stimulates action toward clarifying the role of postdoctoral researchers in the research enterprise, and improving their status and experience.

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In universities there are often divides between staff at different career stages and between research-focused and teaching-focused staff. Bridging these divides enhances the sense of collaboration and community across an institution and facilitates the flow of new ideas and innovations.

The challenge of building post-doctoral teaching experience

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• they wanted to start acquiring lecturing experience but lacked confidence and required some support and guidance;
• they were aware of Higher Education Academy (HEA) accreditation but were uncertain of how to begin the application process.

An effective response

We set up a postdoctoral mentoring scheme hosted by the University of East Anglia’s School of Biological Sciences, which would span all the research institutes based at Norwich Research Park (NRP). The aim was to provide postdoctoral researchers across all institutes at the NRP with an opportunity to lead their own taught session under the guidance of a mentor.

Applicants to the scheme completed a short questionnaire detailing their teaching experience and fields of expertise. They were then paired with a suitable mentor from among our faculty members, who taught on modules that complemented the applicant’s research background. The postdocs were mentored through the process of preparing a taught session. These were mostly lectures but included some seminars and workshops. They were given written feedback on their performance during the session. Further mentoring was then offered to those who were interested in applying for HEA accreditation.

The lessons:

Confidence building: a common concern of the postdocs related to the transition between talking about their specific area of expertise, in which many were very proficient, to teaching broader concepts to an undergraduate student audience. By providing individual mentors from complementary fields, institutions can provide an accessible entry point to postdoc applicants, where they can build confidence in speaking beyond their specific field of interest. A number of our postdoc applicants then felt better equipped to apply for professional accreditation with the HEA.

Networking: setting up a mentoring scheme to incorporate multiple institutes facilitates networking between early career researchers and more senior members of faculty from both research and teaching backgrounds. However, an unexpected advantage may also arise for mentors involved in the scheme, because it offers a vehicle by which they can build their own new connections with research institutes and other organisations through their mentees. As a result, such a scheme is beneficial to both mentors and mentees.

A new take on older material: providing a broad outline of what postdoc applicants’ lectures should cover, while also giving them some free rein to make their sessions their own, leads to interesting new angles and perspectives. Providing access to old slides and recordings by way of guidance encourages a fresh take and updates to older materials, which is a great benefit to the undergraduate students being taught.

Don’t be limited by discipline: whichever school or department leads on setting up a mentoring scheme must be prepared to support postdoctoral applicants from other disciplines who wish to gain teaching experience. Work across teams and departments to identify where there are teaching needs so you can direct the students in developing relevant lectures or seminars. We were approached by applicants specialising in chemistry and were unsure, at first, how to place them. After discussions with faculty teaching biochemistry, we identified a need for some undergraduate refresher workshops in chemistry fundamentals, so we worked with these postdocs to create their own fundamentals of chemistry sessions.

Our postdoc teacher mentoring scheme has led to better communication between researchers and lecturers at different career stages, institutions and disciplines, increasing the sense of community across the research park. It has reinforced a collaborative ethos between the research and teaching elements of academia. Finally, it has highlighted the need for more structured support in personal and professional development for early career researchers.

Ellen Bell is a lecturer in ecology at the University of East Anglia .

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Identity-Trajectories of Early Career Researchers

Unpacking the Post-PhD Experience

• Lynn McAlpine 0 ,
• Cheryl Amundsen 1

University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

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Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

• Explores how the identities of early career researchers are affected by their career development
• Focuses on the decision-making processes guiding the careers of contingent researchers and teachers, assistant professors and PhD graduates working outside the academy
• Integrates conceptual, methodological and empirical perspectives

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

Front matter, chapter 1: overview.

• Lynn McAlpine, Cheryl Amundsen

Chapter 2: The Global Context

Chapter 3: identity-trajectory, chapter 4: structure and agency revisited, conclusion and implications, chapter 5: post-phd researchers —what is in the cards, chapter 6: choosing to invest in a teaching-only position, chapter 7: research-teaching academics—the road to stability, chapter 8: electing an alternate future: professionals, research professionals, and academic professionals, chapter 9: our experience of narrative, chapter 10: ways of capturing and representing experience, chapter 11: ways of displaying and analyzing stories, conclusions and implications, back matter.

• Higher Education
• Identity-Trajectory
• Career skills
• career development
• academic career
• early career researcher
• personal development in academia
• research methods in education

Lynn McAlpine

Cheryl Amundsen

Book Title : Identity-Trajectories of Early Career Researchers

Book Subtitle : Unpacking the Post-PhD Experience

Authors : Lynn McAlpine, Cheryl Amundsen

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95287-8

Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan London

eBook Packages : Education , Education (R0)

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Hardcover ISBN : 978-1-349-95286-1 Published: 29 December 2017

Softcover ISBN : 978-1-349-95786-6 Published: 05 September 2018

eBook ISBN : 978-1-349-95287-8 Published: 06 December 2017

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XVII, 220

Number of Illustrations : 10 illustrations in colour

Topics : Sociology of Education , Higher Education , Personal Development , Career Skills , Sociology of Education , Research Methods in Education

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National Academy of Sciences (US), National Academy of Engineering (US), Institute of Medicine (US), Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy. Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers: A Guide for Postdoctoral Scholars, Advisers, Institutions, Funding Organizations, and Disciplinary Societies. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2000.

Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers: A Guide for Postdoctoral Scholars, Advisers, Institutions, Funding Organizations, and Disciplinary Societies.

• Hardcopy Version at National Academies Press

5 The Postdoc and the Institution

Institutions benefit in many ways from the presence and activities of post-docs. Most importantly, their work supports the overall intellectual strength of the institution. Successful postdocs help plan and carry out the institution’s research programs, build alliances and intellectual bridges to other institutions, raise the reputation of laboratories and departments, mentor graduate students, and increase the inflow of grant support.

In return, institutions have the responsibility to support their postdocs with adequate compensation and benefits, a supportive infrastructure and working conditions, appropriate institutional recognition and standing, and mechanisms for advancing their careers and finding subsequent positions.

• The Institutional Status of the Postdoc

In many government and industrial settings, postdocs are treated much like other researchers with regard to institutional status, compensation, and other benefits. In universities, however, most postdocs are identified and recruited by individual faculty members to work on specific research grants. The university’s administration may have only an approximate picture of the postdoctoral population and provide few mechanisms to standardize benefits or institutional status. Postdocs may be regarded as benefiting a particular investigator rather than the institution as a whole. In such cases it is the postdoc who suffers, receiving uncertain or no institutional standing and inadequate levels of compensation and benefits.

Best Practices Sample Surveys of Postdoctoral Populations

Some postdocs seeking to enhance their experience have started with basic questions: How many of us are there and how can we reach each other? This was the motivation at Baylor College of Medicine in 1997: “No faculty or administrator knew how many postdocs were working at Baylor ,” recalls an official, “let alone how to contact them.” It took six months to design a survey that asked the right questions and to establish a web site. The survey asked for issues of importance to postdocs, how postdocs rated their tenure so far, and what goals and priorities should be set for the newly formed postdoc association.

Postdocs at the University of California at San Francisco conducted an extensive survey in 1996 that received 419 responses from 1,076 postdoctoral scholars (one-third with MDs, two-thirds with PhDs). Respondents, whose mean age was 32 years and half of whom were foreign, reported poor perceptions of the job market and of prospects for their own careers. These perceptions were most pessimistic when interactions with their mentors were infrequent. Of the PhD post-docs, 21 percent said they had prolonged their postdoctoral position because of difficulty in finding other employment. This finding led to a recommendation for improved career guidance, mentoring, and performance evaluations, and to ongoing efforts with the administration to enhance those functions.

The postdoctoral association at Johns Hopkins , founded by postdocs, gathers survey information annually from both program directors and postdocs. Of the program directors, it asks if their division: 1) has a committee to help with postdoctoral issues; 2) has a mentoring committee to provide guidance and evaluation of post-docs; 3) does annual performance reviews of postdocs; 4) has a formal orientation for new postdocs; and 5) pays for fellows’ health benefits.

The exit survey of postdocs at Johns Hopkins has grown more sophisticated and extensive over the years, and now poses 81 questions on issues related to compensation, source of support, benefits, goals, responsibilities, career planning, mentoring, accomplishments, future employment, issues of concern, and family issues. The primary concerns of postdocs have changed somewhat over the years moving from personal to professional issues. In 1992, the greatest concerns were personal safety and health insurance; in 1997, the greatest concerns were salary levels and future job placement ( Figure 5-1 ).

In its 1998 study of the postdoctoral experience, the AAU committee wrote that “…the lack of institutional oversight of postdoctoral appointments, coupled with the evolution of postdoctoral education in a number of disciplines into a virtual requirement for a tenure-track faculty appointment, creates an unacceptable degree of variability and instability in this aspect of the academic enterprise.” 1 Through its meetings with postdocs and advisers, COSEPUP has found that uncertain status, low pay and benefits, and lack of professional recognition are indeed issues of concern at many universities. This section describes those issues and lists initiatives that some institutions have found helpful.

Primary Concerns of Postdoctorates at Johns Hopkins University. Source: Data collected by Johns Hopkins University Postdoctoral Association as presented in Science , 1999, Vol. 285, p. 1514.

Variations in titles

Cosepup survey results how are postdocs classified at your organizations.

Most of the organizations surveyed (50 percent) used the term “fellow” with smaller numbers classifying their postdocs as “employee” (40 percent), “trainee” (35 percent), “associate” (23 percent), “faculty” (13 percent), “student” (13 percent), and “staff” (10 percent).

The “other” ways to classify postdocs included “employees-in-training,” “scholars,” “visiting postdoctoral scholars,” and “students in training.”

Recently, for example, one medical school counted 17 appointment categories for postdocs. After establishing a postdoctoral office, this number was reduced to three, and a uniform policy was applied to all. Other institutions report various systemic inequities. For example, postdoctoral researchers paid from the grants of advisers are usually considered temporary employees and qualify for employee health plans, parking facilities, vacations, and other benefits. Postdoctoral fellows, however, who have received their own funding directly, may be considered neither students nor employees and thus may or may not receive health benefits from (or through) their institution or lab. A standardized system of nomenclature can help avoid these inequities. (In addition, funding agencies, especially federal agencies, should require and fund health care benefits; see Chapter 6 .) See Table 5-1 for a summary of some of the differences between classifying postdocs as a student or employee.

Another advantage of consistent status is that it can allow universities to track their postdoc populations after they finish their terms. This is extremely difficult when postdocs are paid and classified in widely different ways.

Examples of Differences in Entitlements based on Classification of Postdocs as Students or Employees.

• Incorporating the Postdoc into the Institution

Institutions have taken a variety of steps to incorporate postdocs into their programs and classifications structure. This section examines postdoctoral policies, offices, and other mechanisms that respond to the needs of postdocs.

Establishing institutional policies

The first step in improving the status of postdocs is to establish institutional policies for them. This often begins with a simplified classification scheme. At the University of Notre Dame, the Graduate Council’s Postdoc Committee recommended a new category of employee for “postdoctoral scholars,” distinct from students, faculty, or staff and placed under the supervision of the graduate school. Each institution needs to adopt policy guidelines that both suit its particular mission and gain the support of postdocs and faculty.

Because of their hybrid training-and-working status, postdocs do not easily fit into simple categories at most institutions. Many institutions have struggled with this challenge, with different results: At Vanderbilt University the postdoc is a research fellow; at the University of Iowa, a postdoctoral scholar; at Stanford University, a student; at Eli Lilly, a postdoctoral scientist/fixed-duration employee.

The vast University of California system tackled this issue in 1998. The Council of Graduate Deans’ Report on Postdoctoral Education recommended that “Postdoctoral scholars should be constituted as a distinct group of individuals … clearly separate from students, other academic employees, staff employees, and resident and house staff…” Although they did not indicate their reason for this decision, it was presumably because the nature of research funding determined the classification of postdocs. The council recommended at least two sets of appointment titles: One set, for postdocs who are paid by an adviser’s research grants, must be employees and “therefore require academic titles,” another set, for postdocs funded through fellowships and traineeships, are not considered employees. The San Diego campus decided on three titles: postdoctoral fellow (individual awarded a fellowship), postdoctoral trainee (supported by a UCSD training grant), and postdoctoral scholar (neither a fellow nor a trainee). 2

The Mayo Graduate School of the Mayo Clinic, which considers itself a “hybrid academic/industrial environment,” devised a different solution. Postdocs are considered “valued professionals in their final stages of development” and are offered a clear progression of positions from training toward full employment. The progression includes research fellow (up to three years), senior research fellow (3–7 years), research associate (a springboard to independence), senior research technologist (employment in technology), and professional associate in research (employment in research). Mayo believes that “some mix of temporary and permanent research workers is necessary to achieve the end results.”

An adviser at the University of Pittsburgh concludes: “Nobody’s categories are perfect. Each institution has to devise something that works. The postdocs should get the best of both worlds, not the worst of both worlds.”

Establishing a postdoctoral office

A second helpful step in improving the status of postdocs is to assign an officer the job of monitoring postdoctoral policies and providing advice and resources. At present, it is common for post-docs in universities to lack a “point person” who can answer their questions and provide information. At the University of Colorado, all postdocs are now appointed through a central office, which allows that institution to apply appropriate policies and track its postdoc population.

One goal of postdoc offices is to ensure consistent application of policies. The University of California at San Francisco, for example, now requires a formal hiring letter, jointly signed by the faculty mentor and department chair or other university official, along with a statement of goals, policies, and responsibilities applicable to postdoctoral education. These details include expected duration of support, compensation, and benefits. Initial postdoctoral appointments may last no longer than two to three years, and can be extended only when adviser and postdoc jointly agree that renewal would advance the postdoc’s career. As a general rule, total time spent is limited to six years.

A postdoctoral office can accomplish other useful functions: organize orientation and professional development programs; maintain a career center; publish an orientation manual; encourage best practices by mentors; act as a liaison between postdocs, advisers, and administrators; provide a certificate of completion; and keep a directory of the postdoctoral population, including more experienced postdocs who are willing to mentor new arrivals. Some offices help post-docs learn about research program development, job seeking, grant writing, teaching, the mechanics of running a lab, and other professional skills, such as management, negotiation, meeting organization, and conflict resolution.

A well-conceived postdoctoral office is sensitive to the needs of the adviser as well as to those of the postdoc. “It would seem that a postdoctoral office is logical if it helps define the postdoc’s status,” said one adviser. “But if it restrains the way the PI can do science, it won’t work.”

The structure of a postdoctoral office will vary with the institution and size of the postdoctoral population. An existing office for graduate students can handle many functions for postdocs as well. Some of the needs of foreign post-docs may be met by an existing office of international students.

In terms of staffing, two kinds of expertise are useful. The first is a person with postdoctoral and research experience who can offer informed advice to both faculty and postdocs. The second is a human resources person with expertise in student, staff, and faculty issues.

Best Practices Creating a Postdoctoral Office

• Offer dual leadership for the office: a faculty researcher who can discuss laboratory and mentoring issues, and two persons trained in human resource issues;
• Design a template for an appointment letter and compile an orientation package containing information on health insurance, housing, visas, taxes, off-campus living, the registration process, and other postdoc issues; faculty use both the letter and package to inform appointees;
• Standardize postdoc appointment procedure and employment policies, including stipends based on the NIH National Research Service Award (NRSA) scale, a six-week parental leave policy, and uniform health benefits;
• Initiate a database of information on postdocs, including date and institution of terminal degree, discipline, research specialty, publications, and visa status (45 percent of the postdocs at Penn are foreign postdocs).

From the outset, planners realized that the office needed to serve not only the postdocs but also their faculty advisers. They created a web page that PIs can use to list their postdoc openings. The web page is advertised in Science and Nature , at no cost to the PI, and has links to postdoctoral associations and other resources. A postdoctoral association was formed to represent the postdocs.

Another pioneering postdoctoral office was started at Albert Einstein College of Medicine four years ago. In addition to many of the functions at Penn, Einstein also sends a letter to all advisers after a postdoc has been in their lab for 18–24 months, advising them that it may be time for a salary increase. In the fourth year a more extensive letter asks for each postdoc’s CV and publication record. The adviser and department chair are then asked to decide whether the postdoc will be renewed for a fifth year, and what might be expected after that; additional years require faculty-level benefits. This policy effectively places a cap on postdoctoral terms.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham established an Office of Postdoctoral Education for its 325 postdocs in 1999. It serves as “a natural extension of the existing services already being offered to graduate students, and emphasizes the training aspects and formal communication link” between postdocs and the administration. The explicit goal of the office is to provide opportunities for postdocs to identify and acquire skills needed for successful career development. A second goal is to “enhance the postdoctoral experience by promoting intellectual growth and facilitating the goals of mentors and scholars.” The office provides a model acceptance letter, specifies an appointment procedure (and provides a checklist), conducts a mandatory orientation for new appointees, sets a term of four years (with the possibility of extension to five), and maintains a “postdoctoral scholar applicant tracking system.”

An institution cannot always solve practical problems of housing, parking, and day care, especially in large and/or expensive cities. But even basic informational resources can improve morale and speed the search for a dwelling or other resource. As one dean put it, “Every minute a postdoc spends looking for a parking space is a minute lost from more productive activities.”

Career guidance

A primary function of the postdoctoral office is to provide support for postdocs who are searching for jobs. While advisers are often best positioned to contact and suggest potential employers in their own field, a postdoctoral office can offer job counseling for other fields or sectors, coordinate and publicize recruiter visits, maintain contacts with former postdocs, post job openings, and hold workshops on employment trends. A career office can also assist with the basic mechanics of job seeking: how to write a CV, prepare a cover letter, organize slides for a talk, and so on. Especially helpful are statistics on recent jobs taken by postdocs, especially permanent positions. According to COSEPUP’s survey, only a few institutions have career service offices that are focused on postdocs (see Box).

A central postdoctoral office constitutes not only a practical resource but also a focal point to unite a dispersed population that may number a thousand or more. At the same time, each large division or school (e.g., the school of engineering, arts and sciences, etc.) needs to address its own particular postdoc population. For example, the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins designates a faculty member to discuss professional or personal issues related to the postdoctoral experience with any postdoc or faculty member.

Postdocs need the most assistance when they first arrive. Argonne National Laboratory provides a Newcomers’ Office, whose offerings range from lists of recent appointments (to introduce newcomers) to recycled furniture for arriving families. A volunteer spouse’s program is also available.

COSEPUP Survey Results Does Your Organization Provide Job Placement Services for Your Postdocs?

About half do … either as part of general student/employee services, through the adviser, or from an assigned individual whose sole responsibility is to work with postdocs (and/or graduate students). For the other half, job placement is the dual responsibility of the adviser and the postdoc. A few organizations mentioned such resources as career centers, job fairs, job placement web sites, and general student services. Several reported that job placement activities are localized and vary by institutional unit.

Best Practices Developing ‘Survival Skills’

• How to choose a postdoctoral adviser
• What should and should not be expected from an adviser
• How to establish goals for a postdoctoral experience
• Intellectual property rights
• The resources available at their institution
• How to build a community of mentors
• How to develop a professional network
• How and when to become independent
• How to leave the institution on good terms

As a key mechanism, the task force has developed a Survival Skills and Ethics Workshop for postdocs, graduate students, and faculty. The workshop, held several times a year, offers programs and advice on such topics as writing research articles, making oral presentations, job hunting, teaching, writing grant proposals, personnel and project management, and responsible conduct.

Similarly, the NIH fellows organization sponsors three skills development seminars a year for its on-campus fellows. Topics include writing, speaking, and teaching; it has also arranged for a fall job fair, extra travel awards, and adjunct jobs teaching in the evenings.

Postdocs often need help with practical questions: How do the requirements of research institutions differ from those of undergraduate teaching colleges? What kinds of internships provide the best preparation for professional careers? How is an industry job search different from a university job search? What different skills are required?

Best Practices Postdoc Handbooks

One of the early priorities of most postdoctoral associations (or postdoctoral offices) is to produce a handbook to orient postdocs to institutional and area services. The NIH Fellows’ Handbook , produced by the Fellows’ Committee, could be considered the granddaddy of postdoc handbooks, offering nearly 60 categories of information from Acronyms Used at the NIH to Washington Metropolitan Area Activities. There are informative sections on appointments, conflict resolution, ethical conduct, housing, leave policy, mentoring, ombudsperson services, parking, post-fellowship employment, research conduct, and many other topics.

The fundamental goals of the Fellows’ Committee, as explained in the Handbook, include promoting education and career development, fostering communication among fellows and within the larger NIH community, helping inform fellows about policies, and serving as a liaison to the administration.

Similarly, the NRC’s Research Associateship program produces the Policies, Practices, and Procedures: A Handbook for Research Associateship Awardees to serve its approximately 700 associates, most of whom work in national laboratories. The handbook has chapters on definitions, accepting an award and beginning tenure, stipends, visas, insurance, taxes, travel, relocating, patents and publications, renewing an award, and terminating an award. Like most handbooks, this one is found on the web. 3

For NIH, see ftp://helix ​.nih.gov/felcom/index.html ; for NRC, http://www ​.nas.edu/rap

Most nonacademic organizations offered both orientation sessions to discuss benefits and information about benefits with the letter of acceptance.

• Other Responsibilities of the Institution

There are many useful steps the institution can take, not only by offering services but also by publicizing best practices that help integrate postdocs into the institution and make their work more productive.

COSEPUP Survey Results Which of the Following Benefits Is Provided at Full Compensation to All Postdocs, Regardless of Adviser or Funding Source?

At academic organizations, the only benefits offered by more than half the respondents were e-mail accounts, library access, and vacation time. Smaller numbers offered on-campus parking or the equivalent (45 percent), sick leave (45 percent), parental leave (31 percent), dental insurance (28 percent), and disability insurance (28 percent). Only 7 percent offered child care, and 10 percent paid travel expenses to conferences where the postdoc would be presenting.

Benefits at nonacademic institutions were relatively generous. Nearly 90 percent offered dental insurance, disability insurance, e-mail accounts, vacation time, sick leave, and life insurance. More than half offered parental leave, parking, retirement funds, and library access. One-third offered child care and cost-of-living salary adjustments.

How Is the Postdoc Made Aware of Benefits that Are and Are Not Available?

From academic organizations, the three largest categories with similar numbers of responses were as follows: 1) the adviser bore the responsibility of discussing benefits with the postdoc, 2) an orientation meeting where benefits were discussed was offered to all entering postdocs, and 3) each postdoc received a letter before arrival that outlined the organization’s policies. Three organizations explicitly stated that no information on benefits was formally provided, and additional comments indicated that some institutions report this information informally or have initiated a process of including benefits information in an acceptance letter.

Mentoring committees

Cosepup survey results what neutral parties are responsible for handling grievances of the postdoc.

Responses to this question indicated a wide diversity of mechanisms. The largest number of organizations (76 percent) said that a dean or department chair handled grievances; smaller numbers pointed to a human-resources staff person (51 percent), the adviser (46 percent), or an ombudsperson (43 percent).

Institutions reported a wide variety of “other” methods for handling postdocs’ grievances, from “same as junior faculty” to “office of grad studies and research” and “ombudsfolks—faculty peer adviser selected by postdocs”). A few reported that most of the responsibility lay with a single person; a smaller number described a more flexible process (“Dispute resolution guideline for College of Medicine postdoctoral fellows; Ad hoc committee makes recommendation to associate dean for research and graduate education”).

It is true that experienced investigators have little time to spare for additional duties. However, postdocs have found that even brief discussions (one to two hours per meeting) can bring valuable rewards in new perspectives and suggestions.

Ethical development

Institutions should emphasize the importance of professional development and ethics as a central feature of mentoring. By establishing seminars or workshops on research conduct and ethics, the institution can supplement what is learned from the adviser and provide a baseline code of behavior for all postdocs. 5

The imbalance of power in the adviser-postdoc relationship increases the possibility of misunderstandings and abuses. A desire for a grievance procedure is commonly reported by postdoc surveys, and the AAU recommends that each institution’s core policies should provide mechanisms to resolve grievances. The University of California system, for example, recommends that campuses establish a standard grievance procedure for postdocs that is written, protects due process, contains clear time lines, and requires a clear statement of alleged grievance and requested remedy. 6 The COSEPUP survey shows that institutions handle grievances through a variety of mechanisms (see Box).

The role of the ombudsperson

What can a postdoc do when he believes his department chair or other senior scientist should just be thanked in a paper’s acknowledgements, but the adviser insists on including such individuals as coauthors? What can a postdoc do when she is told to work on a project in which she has no interest?

One reason grievances are difficult for postdocs to resolve is that they often arise from the decisions or actions of their advisers. Similarly, deans or department chairs may be seen as siding with the institution. In an attempt to provide an independent and impartial person to assist in resolving disputes or misunderstandings, some institutions have found that an ombudsperson can be helpful. An ombudsperson serves as an informal information resource, receives complaints, and assists in resolving disputes on a confidential basis. The ombudsperson is a facilitator, not a decision maker.

One university dean praised his institution’s ombudsperson as a sympathetic and confidential person to whom postdocs can turn. The NIH, which has some 2,800 postdocs on its main campus, has hired an ombudsperson to head a Cooperative Resolution Center, defined as “a neutral site for resolving work-related conflicts.”

Special needs of foreign nationals

Postdocs on temporary visas comprise approximately half of all postdocs in the US. Many need help, both before and after they arrive, in resolving visa questions, finding housing, meeting other postdocs, and arranging bank accounts, credit cards, driver’s licenses, and Social Security numbers. Because of cultural and language barriers, foreign postdocs also experience far more social isolation than US postdocs, which potentially reduces their contributions as teachers, research collaborators, and members of the community. (For a thorough discussion of visas, see the US Department of State’s web site at travel.state.gov/visa;exchange.html .)

Many institutions can respond to such needs simply by publicizing an already existing office of international affairs. Access to information about visa issues and grant requirements, in particular, can make an institution far more attractive to foreign scientists and engineers, and increase the possibility that the best of them will choose that institution. Stanford University has enhanced its visa processing by contracting with an outside specialist. 7

Foreign postdocs often need encouragement in strengthening their command of English. Postdoc advisers at Vanderbilt University have found that verbal skills are the best indicators of overall career success, and that those with poor English require an average of two more years to find US jobs than those with language proficiency.

COSEPUP Survey Results Does the Organization Have Staff Who Deal Specifically with the Special Needs of Non-US or Foreign National Postdocs?

Most respondents (70 percent) answered yes; only 8 percent answered no, and 8 percent reported that the needs of non-US postdocs were handled by the adviser.

Most of the “other” responses indicated a pattern of offering postdocs the same access to international services as students and other scholars.

If Offered, in What Areas Do Foreign National Postdocs Receive Assistance?

Virtually all respondents (97 percent) assisted foreign nationals with visa issues, and more than half offered assistance with tax issues, housing, and English language studies. Smaller numbers reported assisting with Social Security questions (43 percent), driver’s licenses (11 percent), and credit references (11 percent).

Several institutions offered help with household furnishings and support groups for spouses and dependents.

Postdoctoral associations

One of the postdoc’s most common complaints is a feeling of isolation and the lack of a peer group through which to communicate with the institution. Postdoctoral associations can fill both needs, helping to build community and improve communication. Because postdocs are a transient population, these associations need institutional support to survive. An institution that encourages a postdoctoral association signals to postdoctoral candidates that their concerns are taken seriously.

These new associations (one of the first was founded at Johns Hopkins in 1992) sometimes begin with the indispensable step of counting the number of postdocs at an institution, as was the case at the University of California at San Francisco (see Box, Postdoctoral Associations ). The UCSF Postdoctoral Scholars Association, formed in 1995, has worked with the university to formalize a grievance process, bring postdoc representatives to committees that set postdoctoral policy, establish an annual orientation for postdocs, and offer access to group health insurance.

COSEPUP Survey Results Is There a Postdoctoral Association or the Equivalent at Your Institution?

Most organizations (58 percent) reported that no postdoctoral associations are available. Just over one-fourth reported the presence of postdoctoral associations run by the postdocs themselves. In some cases, postdoc associations or councils are run by the institution.

The “other” responses included one other postdoctoral association run by post-docs and called a “postdoctoral council.” One institution reported an association run jointly by postdocs and the institution. Most indicated that postdoctoral activities were either informal, located within a laboratory or department, or focused on a particular group (such as a group of Chinese students and scholars).

If Your Organization Has a Postdoctoral Association or Equivalent, What Are Its Main Functions?

Almost all these organizations (93 percent) reported that postdoctoral associations provided professional and social activities for postdocs. Most (79 percent) said that the associations acted as liaison between postdocs and administration. Half noted that associations provided information for postdocs on issues of general interest, and some (36 percent) said that the associations appointed representatives to the organizations’ administrative councils.

COSEPUP’s survey indicated that only a small minority of institutions have formed postdoctoral associations. The primary goals of existing associations are to provide a liaison with the administration and to provide professional and social activities for postdocs (see Box).

Stabilizing the postdoctoral population

Best practices postdoctoral associations.

The first postdoctoral association, organized at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1992, grew out of a concern for safety when several postdocs were assaulted outside the laboratory at night.

“Before we started,” recalls current co-president Lisa Koslowski, “we had no benefits, no salary guidelines, and morale was very low. Now we have minimum salary guidelines on the NIH model, health benefits, and a good relationship with the institution. When we bring issues to them, such as safe parking facilities, they are more than willing to help us. In the last few months we’ve worked out a plan for dental insurance.” To stay abreast of current concerns, the group conducts annual surveys of all postdocs, including entrance and exit interviews.

Postdocs at the University of California at San Francisco formed their Postdoctoral Scholars Association (PSA) from a variety of motivations: to create a resource and sense of identity for a largely undefined group, out of the “frustration that PhD scientists feel when they compare their career and mentoring with those of medical professionals,” and out of concern about career prospects for biomedical scientists. The PSA later combined with the Graduate Students Association to spur the creation of a Career Office for Scientists, which offers career counseling, helps with the mechanics of résumé preparation and effective interviewing, and compiles databases of alumni who have connections in academia and industry.

Postdocs at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park developed a Trainees’ Assembly “to foster the professional advancement of postdocs, visiting, and predoctoral fellows and other non-tenured, non-permanent scientists.” The group disseminates information at a web site, publishes an Orientation Handbook , and sponsors a seminar series where trainees can present research projects or lectures and receive critiques. They also have forums on professional topics (e.g., grant writing, industrial and non-academic positions), a science fair with local scientific colleagues, a distinguished lecturer lunch, outreach activities in the community, and monthly pizza socials.

A group at Albert Einstein College of Medicine was formed in 1996, according to cofounder Paula Cohen, to revitalize its postdoctoral programs and image. “Einstein was faced with the problem of being the poor cousin of New York institutions.” Dominant themes in the response to a survey of postdocs were insufficient mentoring, a lack of interaction with other labs, and limited teaching opportunities. Most of the group’s suggestions for improvements had to do with increased information and interpersonal contact. The administration was supportive in designing a series of reforms to improve career guidance, mentoring, and the overall quality of postdoc life.

Although this COSEPUP report does not specify mechanisms for stabilizing the postdoctoral population, it does reiterate the concerns of the Trends report with respect both to hiring more permanent laboratory workers and restraining the size of the postdoctoral population. Mechanisms should be adopted by individual institutions. For example, an institution might restrict the employment of postdocs whose stipends/salaries fall below a certain level. If adequate compensation is not provided by the funding organization, the institution would then appoint the postdoc only if supplementary funding is made available.

Some early predictions that postdoctoral associations would become adversarial or union-like organizations have not materialized. Leaders of the Johns Hopkins association, for example, describe their group as a vehicle for sharing information with one another and communicating their concerns to the administration. “There is no need for a union,” said one member, “when communication is open.”

Informing graduate students about the postdoctoral experience

Many, and perhaps most, postdocs begin their appointment without a clear idea of what to expect from the experience. The success of an appointment may depend heavily on early communication with the adviser about expectations and responsibilities. Therefore, institutions and mentors of graduate students have an important role to play in educating them about the postdoctoral experience before they decide to undertake this advanced training. Important questions to consider are the level of their own research skills, training needs, and career goals. For further discussion of career decision making, see COSEPUP’s “Careers” guide, cited in the bibliography.

Summary Points

In many institutions, the administration may have only an approximate picture of the postdoctoral population and no policy to standardize institutional status or benefits.

An important step is to establish postdoctoral policies on such matters as titles, expected terms, and institutional status. This status may strongly affect benefits and other financial issues.

Some institutions have established a postdoctoral office or officer to serve as an information resource for postdocs and to organize programs for postdoc orientation, professional development, and career services. Such an office can also encourage good mentoring, act as liaison between postdocs, advisers, and administrators, and track the postdoctoral population.

Many institutions offer financial and logistical support for postdoctoral associations, which constitute a vehicle for discussing issues of concern to postdocs, building a social network, and communicating with the administration.

Some institutions are experimenting with the use of “mentoring committees” to provide additional perspective and guidance to the postdoc.

Institutions can help resolve grievances by establishing mechanisms, including an ombudsperson, to work toward conflict resolution.

Each institution should ensure that foreign postdocs have a resource person or office to advise them on such issues as acculturation, visa compliance, income taxes, and language skills.

AAU, 1998. Cited above.

See web site saawww ​.ucsf.edu/psa/

For further details and examples, see the National Academies’ Adviser, Teacher, Role Model, Friend: On Being a Mentor to Students in Science and Engineering , 1997, available via the web ( www ​.nap.edu/readingroom/books/mentor ).

As referenced earlier, the National Academies’ publication, On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research , 1995, may be useful in such discussions.

Council on Graduate Deans, University of California, Report on Postdoctoral Education at UC , Fall 1998. See web site www ​.ogsr.ucsd.edu/PostdocEdu/Report.html .

Visa requests at Stanford’s School of Medicine originate in the sponsoring department and are then routed through the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs for approval and forwarded to the Bechtel International Center for processing. Bechtel, which is able to process J-1 requests in one week, also offers seminars for administrators on visa completion.

Office of Scientific and Engineering Personnel, National Research Council, Trends in the Early Careers of Life Scientists , Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1998. [ PubMed : 20845561 ]

• Cite this Page National Academy of Sciences (US), National Academy of Engineering (US), Institute of Medicine (US), Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy. Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers: A Guide for Postdoctoral Scholars, Advisers, Institutions, Funding Organizations, and Disciplinary Societies. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2000. 5, The Postdoc and the Institution.
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The Research Whisperer

Just like the thesis whisperer – but with more money, post-phd depression.

The author of this post has chosen to remain anonymous and they hope that sharing their post-PhD challenges will be helpful for others who may be going through the same things, or who are supporting those who are.

For those who mentor or manage Early Career Researchers, especially new postdocs, it may be useful to have this post’s perspective in the contextual mix.

———————

When I submitted my thesis, I was hit by post-submission blues, which I was already aware of. What I didn’t expect was that the cloud didn’t lift with completion and graduation. I pretended otherwise, but the moments of genuine excitement and happiness were fleeting. I felt confused and ashamed, compounding my emotions.

Wondering if anyone else had ever felt this way, I Googled it. It turns out that I’m not alone in experiencing post-PhD depression and it is a lot more common than I thought.

Alarmingly, I had never heard of it.

This post shines some light on post-PhD depression so that we can better prepare PhD candidates for life during and after completion and provide the best support that we can to graduates.

The PhD journey changes people

Even if your experience was overwhelmingly positive, a PhD changes people by virtue of its length and nature. Completion can trigger reflection on your experience. It takes time to understand and accept how you’ve changed; this can be confronting and surface as an identity crisis.

Sacrifices made might be a source of pride, grief, or both. You may struggle with poorer mental and/or physical health. Catching up with ‘normal life’ can be nice but also a constant reminder of what you missed.

Processing the emotional and mental impact of a PhD can be particularly confronting for those who faced trauma during their PhD (whether coincidentally and/or because of it). Candidates might have turned to coping mechanisms that have become unhealth, in hindsight. When life suddenly changes due to completion, trauma can surface, as can the reality of the mechanisms used to cope.

There’s a lot of good-byes

For most people, the lifestyle, environment, and relationships that are part of the PhD journey change significantly or come to an end along with the PhD itself. The loss of things you loved can be intense and overwhelming. It can take time to grieve and let go.

The future is uncertain

PhD candidates who submit and graduate are often asked, ‘What next?’.

The post-doctoral job market is highly competitive, and non-academic career pathways can be difficult to establish. Graduates – even if they know what they want to do next – can struggle to find a suitable position, especially if they are part of a marginalised group and/or are primary caregivers.

There can be a range of internal and external pressures shaping decisions. Graduates might apply for particular roles purely because they feel that is what is expected of them. They might suffer from imposter syndrome, and question whether their success was deserved, and whether they are capable of continuing to succeed (‘maybe I just got lucky’). Others might feel trapped in a particular pathway due to their life circumstances.

What can help

It can really help to know you’re not alone! Acknowledge and accept what you feel: your feelings are valid.

Be gentle with yourself. Adjusting to life post-PhD takes time and that’s ok. It can help to do other things that you enjoy, like hobbies and making the most of relationships with family and friends. Engage in ways that feel safe and are less triggering. Set goals to help give you the buzz of completing things but be aware that it’s normal to be underwhelmed by these when compared to a PhD thesis.

When you can, reflect on what you enjoyed most throughout your PhD and investigate how you can continue to do that. Perhaps you loved data analysis, writing, interviewing participants, or tutoring students. These are all skills which are used in other career pathways, such as business analytics and teaching – the specifics might be different, but the process is the same.

There will be a range of opportunities that might be available to you which aren’t immediately obvious – so don’t be afraid to ask people, from your personal and academic circles, to point them out.

Of course, that can all be easier said than done. Consider talking about what you are going through with trusted family and friends and seeking professional help where appropriate. It’s ok to ask for support.

How to help someone else struggling with post-PhD depression

It’s nice to congratulate people when they submit and complete their degree but be mindful that they might not be feeling excited. Allow this to inform how you interact with people throughout their PhD journey.

For example, consider avoiding directly asking what they’re doing next, as this can be triggering (even if well-intentioned). Instead, consider asking, ‘What are you looking forward to next?’ – it gives space for the graduate to answer however they are comfortable. If you have a closer relationship with the graduate, you could also ask, ‘What were the highlights of your journey?’ and ‘How can we support you during this next stage?’.

Consider being open about your own post-PhD experience, too. Even a casual remark can help de-stigmatise post-PhD depression. Something like ‘I realised after I finished that I actually really missed working in the laboratory, so much so that I decided to volunteer to do outreach in high schools’, for example.

If possible, don’t cut off support immediately, whether it’s at a personal, professional, or institutional level.

Most importantly, prevention is better than a cure. It helps to encourage a strong identity for doctoral researchers beyond academia, including maintaining connections with their family, friends, and hobbies. Supervisors and other doctoral support teams can help by openly discussing work-life balance and encouraging it for their researchers.

Take the time to learn about mental health and the PhD journey, and implement best practice for yourself, your colleagues, and for PhD candidates more generally. The ‘Managing you mental health during your PhD: A survival guide’ by Dr Zoë Ayres is a fantastic resource for candidates and academics (and it’s available through many university libraries for free).

A PhD is a life-changing journey culminating in an extraordinary accomplishment. Everyone’s journey is different, including completion and what life after may bring – and that’s ok. We can all benefit from learning to better support each other regardless of what our journeys and futures look like.

Other reading

• The post-PhD blues (blogpost by Mariam Dalhoumi)
• Loss of identity: Surviving post-PhD depression (blogpost by Amy Gaeta)
• Post-PhD depression: Simple steps to recovery (video by Andy Stapleton)

Support services

• Mental health support agencies around the world (list compiled by CheckPoint)
• Lifeline Australia  – 13 11 14
• Head to health  (Australian government mental health site)
• Beyond Blue (Australia) offers short, over-the-phone counselling and a number of other resources.

Share this:

I had a depression for a year and is only just lifting and that was following my Masters degree- is this at all possible.,The degree was pretty intense because it was partially during Covid but can’t have been by far as stressful as a PhD

Thanks, Sophie. I’m sorry that you had such a rough time, and I hope that you are doing OK now. Thanks for sharing this with us. We all need support to get through these things, and I hope that you have the support that you need.

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• CAREER COLUMN
• 08 April 2024

How we landed job interviews for professorships straight out of our PhD programmes

• Violeta Rodriguez 0 &
• Qimin Liu 1

Violeta Rodriguez is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Qimin Liu is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University in Massachusetts.

By staying organized in their job hunt, both authors received several job offers. Credit: Getty

We met during the last year of our PhD training, after securing placements at the University of Illinois Chicago’s Department of Psychiatry for our predoctoral internships — the final step of our clinical doctoral programmes. V. R. came from the University of Georgia in Athens and was pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology, and Q. L. came from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, and was working towards a PhD in clinical science and quantitative methods. It was amid the academic rigour and personal stress of the last year of our programmes that we became friends. We bonded over being immigrants and not speaking English as our first language while navigating the complexities of academia. We both wanted to forgo postdoctoral training and instead immediately become junior professors. Now, we’re assistant professors: V. R. is at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Q. L. is at Boston University in Massachusetts.

The odds we faced in the academic job market had seemed insurmountable, particularly to immigrants, and we had been cautioned by mentors and even junior faculty members about the challenge ahead. But we succeeded: we received a combined total of 27 in-person interviews, leading to 15 tenure-track assistant-professor offers across departments of psychology, paediatrics or psychiatry, schools of education and academic medical centres. (You can check out our hints for nailing job interviews in our other article .)

How to move labs

Despite the positive outcome, the process was stressful, fast and unpredictable. Our friendship became a sanctuary: amid the daunting job market and our own self-doubt, we understood and encouraged each other. We want to offer what our friendship provided us — understanding, support and encouragement — to researchers hoping to stay in academia after earning a PhD, so we are sharing our reflections and insights.

We must first make clear: no amount of job-search tips and tricks can substitute for good science and a strong publication record. To gauge our readiness, we looked up the CV of the most recent hire in each department that we applied to. We also made sure we had backup offers of postdoctoral positions. While navigating this process, we learnt that institutions were interested in candidates who planned to pursue external funding.

Qimin Liu is now an assistant professor. Credit: Qimin Liu

We had both obtained federal and private funding before — making us more competitive. We urge aspiring professors to prioritize their research contributions, external fellowship and grant applications and academic achievements above all.

To readers who’ve successfully navigated this process, many of our reflections and insights could seem obvious. However, this kind of advice can be the hardest to follow during a fast-moving job hunt, with several moving pieces involved and new considerations and job offers or advertisements emerging unexpectedly. Treat this as a checklist before beginning to fill out job applications.

Tips and tricks

Start your search early. Allow ample time to prepare for the job hunt; research potential options, such as jobs in academic medical centres, standard department positions or tenure-track jobs in related fields; and submit applications. Plan to reply to job ads long before the first deadline. Starting early gives you time to collect and incorporate feedback from mentors and colleagues.

Training: Free course on peer review

Prepare your networks. The academic job market can be unpredictable, with opportunities emerging unexpectedly. It is important to think about who can write letters for you — sometimes at short notice. Most of our applications required three letters of recommendation from all applicants. Others requested letters from only shortlisted candidates.

Plan ahead. The final drafts of materials took, on average, one to two months in total to prepare and polish. The initial drafts took about 8 hours, and the research statement required a total of 16 hours. (The research statement summarizes your research programme, the work you’ve done so far and what you plan to pursue in future. It can also highlight why a particular institution is well-suited to support your work.) Preparing drafted statements in advance made it easier to adapt them to different positions later — tweaking materials for specific positions took 30–60 minutes per application.

Research potential job opportunities. Don’t just rely on word-of-mouth or googling specific positions to find things you’re interested in applying to. Use online job boards (such as HigherEdJobs or Nature Careers ), and tap into your professional network by sending e-mails or LinkedIn messages to your mentors and colleagues, letting them know you’re on the job market. Scour social media and department websites to find available positions. We both posted on X (formerly Twitter) that we were job hunting, and several people reached out with opportunities.

Develop job application ‘templates’. Create a set of well-crafted templates for your application materials, such as cover letters and statements, on which you can easily fill in your name, relevant details and where you’ve previously worked. Having adaptable documents allowed us to respond quickly to new postings.

Tailor your application materials. Templates can take you only so far. Take the time to customize your application materials, including your CV, cover letter (each of ours was one page long) and research statement, to highlight your relevant skills, experiences and research contributions. Tailoring your materials to each position demonstrates genuine interest and increases your chances of standing out to hiring committees. Generic applications are easy for hiring managers to reject. Mentioning centres or institutes that align with your research; available resources, such as early-career programmes, that you want to take advantage of; and the names of people whom you are interested in working with can help to personalize your application materials.

Stay organized. Maintain a well-organized system to track application deadlines, requirements and submission statuses. Be ready to remind your letter writers to submit their recommendations. Keep a calendar or spreadsheet to ensure that all required materials are submitted on time and to track when to follow up. An example spreadsheet is provided below.

Practise for interviews and job talks. Run mock interviews with your peers or mentors. Practise answering common interview questions and develop concise, compelling responses that highlight your expertise, teaching abilities and fit. Treat these seriously — you’re likely to be nervous in the real interview, so try to recreate that while rehearsing, perhaps by inviting a relatively unknown colleague or professor to join the practice runs. V. R. recorded her job talk on Zoom and sent it to others for feedback.

Practising your job talk — a presentation of your academic research that is often a spoken version of your research statement — until you know it backwards and forwards will prepare you for the unexpected. In addition, rehearsing how you plan to respond to different questions, and practising saying that you want people to hold their questions until the end, can be helpful.

Prepare a start-up budget to get your lab running. Many academic positions include a start-up fund for incoming faculty members. It is typically used for summer salary and staffing or research costs. You might be asked for an estimated budget before, during or after the interview stage — so you should have one ready in advance. When preparing your budget, keep in mind the spending norms at the institution and for your discipline. Ask for more than you think you need, because this amount will often be reduced during negotiations.

As we look back on our job-hunting experiences, we are reminded of how much we grew in this process, in ways that are not related to just our jobs — and this growth continued in our interviews .

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01044-1

This is an article from the Nature Careers Community, a place for Nature readers to share their professional experiences and advice. Guest posts are encouraged .

Supplementary Information

• Example spreadsheet

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