Academy Coaching

Creating a Successful Post Doc Opportunity

“Only you can be in control of your career and nobody cares more than you about your future.”- Peter S. Fiske, Putting your Degree to Work

According to the National Science Foundation (NSF) there were 45,000 post docs in the US in 2004, more than ever. The numbers are growing both in the Humanities as well as the sciences and the commitment can be enormous. The average researcher in the biological or life sciences spends five to seven years as a post doc and the time must be well spent if it is to result in an academic position down the road. Although some things have changed over time, such as the number of people pursuing post docs as well as the length of time spent in a postdoctoral research position, some changes lag far behind. According to Steven B. Sample, president of the University of Southern California and chair of the Association of American Universities (AAU) Committee on Postdoctoral Education “Postdoctoral education today is almost exactly where Ph.D. education was in the 1890s - very ad hoc.” Given the increasingly competitive environment both in academia as well as industry, you can’t afford to leave your post doc opportunities at the whim of the institution. You have to be proactive and strategic in finding and negotiating the best position for you.

Here are a few steps to success for your post-doc career:

1)      Consider your long term goals prior to deciding what postdoctoral fellowship to consider and then structure an opportunity that will lead itself to that goal. If you are in the sciences you have many options from Educator, Principal Investigator/Bench Scientist, and Consultant to Lobby Groups, Administrator or Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology CEO. Different career objectives require different post- doc opportunities.

2)      Check the research group’s history. Verify the publication record and track previous group members to determine whether the research setting is conducive to your career development. Explore how many papers group members generate and the order of authorship. Does everybody generate first-author papers as well as contribute to other papers? Do they publish in high-impact or obscure journals? Do you think that performing similar work would further your career ambitions?

3)      Consider contacting lab alumni for questions. This is preferably done by phone or in person: people, when contacted directly, tend to tell you more candidly about potential issues. If you have access to established people in the field, you can also inquire about the PI’s reputation and connections among his/her colleagues. For example, working with an established PI will be very helpful for easing the publication process in the short term and for connecting to the right career opportunities in the medium-long term. Ultimately, connecting with a scientifically cutting – edge, creative mentor who is also a terrific colleague is crucial.

4)      Get a detailed letter of appointment. To ensure that you and the group you select understand one another’s needs and expectations, secure a letter outlining the source and duration of funding, expectations for research productivity and authorship, lab space, student assistants and access to support staff and resources.

5)      Create an individualized development plan. According to Alyson Reed of the National Postdoctoral Association “You need to know what your long and short term career goals are and discuss them with people who are in a position to help you look at things from every angle”. Next, you should meet periodically with your mentors and even a career coach who can provide you feedback and help keep your post doc career on track to success.

For further tips on finding the right post doc for you, register for the upcoming workshop Purposeful Post-doc; A strategic approach to assessing institutional fit and managing relationships on 12/7/09. To learn more http://www.academycoaching.com/professional-development-workshops/workshop-calendar.html#Purposeful

For Post-Doc Position Listings consider the following sites:

Post-Doc Listings for All Disciplineshttp://www.postdcos.com

A database of position listings. You can search the database by category and keyword.The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Career Network
Although the Chronicle’s job listings focus on faculty appointments, they contain a few listings for post-doctoral appointments. Try a keyword search for “postdoctoral.”Higher Education Jobs
Also features some post-doctoral fellowship and research listingsThe Doreen B. Townsend Center for the Humanities at UC Berkeley
Links to information on humanities post-doctoral fellowships. Also see this site for major humanities funding sources, general funding resources on the web, and federal grants and fellowships.H-Net’s Job Guide
Lists some post-doctoral opportunities in the humanities and social sciencesPost-Doctoral Opportunities for AnthropologistsPhDs.org Includes listings of post-doctoral positions in math, science, and engineering.ScienceCareers.org Postdoc Page Resources, articles, and fellowship listings from the organization that was formerly Science’s NextWave.The Scientist
Search for faculty and post-doctoral positions in the “Jobs” section of the magazine’s website.ScienceJobs.com
Contains a database of job listings in bioscience and chemistry, including post-doctoral positions (in industry, government, and academia).

v The new National Post-doc Appreciation Day, is slated for the first time on September 24, 2009

Several people have emailed me about what can be negotiated in a post doc position. Before negotiating, determine exactly what you want from a post doc and then begin to identify what you need to have a successful post doc experience. Just like any other offer, a post doc has many negotiable points; salary, length of your appointment, available resources to support your travel and participation in conferences, research supplies and support, potential for advancement.

What areas are you most interested in negotiating within your post doc?

What is the first image that comes to your mind when you think about negotiating your first job offer?

Most people I work with have a visceral response to this question that looks similar to a feline coughing up a fur ball. Not a pretty site.

In fact, at one point or another, most of us associate the word negotiation with numerous negative connotations ( fill in the blank with yours). And yet, realistically negotiations are an aspect of everyday life. Consider how much you have had to negotiate with your advisor/committee/peers/partners and others as you navigated though your doctoral program. True, sometimes you may have done better then other times. That will always be the case. Watch the video below to hear a few tips on what to address during your negotiations.