Updated on Jan 19th 2010
Do I do a post-doc?
Presentation by Dr Cherie Stayner, who recently completed a 2.5-year post-doc at the Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, United States, studying polycystic kidney disease.
If you want to have an academic career, a post-doc is virtually essential.
How do you find a place?
- There are so many options and no easy answers.
- Read journals and identify the area you are interested in.
- Take any opportunities to travel to conferences – there is a surprising amount of money available in New Zealand to travel to conferences.
- Use the opportunity to meet people you may have read about. Contact them and make an appointment.
- Try and contact others who work in the lab or department.
Funding?
The preference is to get funding before you go so you can decide exactly where you want to go. Otherwise you are reliant on finding a position that has funding attached to it. You can also be much more independent in terms of the direction of your work, the consumables you buy and attending conferences (if your funding allows this).
What are you looking for in a post-doc?
- A good lab and a good department – word of mouth is the best way to identify these places.
- A project you are interested in.
- To live somewhere you like, but can also afford.
- Be aware of the environment in the lab. Get email addresses of post-docs who currently work there and those how who HAVE worked there (and have since left). Ask what the boss was like, and how she/he supported them in getting their new position.
- Can you take materials or your project with you when if you leave?
- More established researchers are generally a safer bet.
- Be conscious that the best deal financially is not always the best choice.
Important things to get out of a post-doc:
- Papers. Discuss your expectations with your prospective boss from the outset so you are clear on this.
- Be wary of long projects. They are risky and it could be several years before you have anything published. It is better to be able to publish several smaller papers, so you have something to your name.
- You want a boss who can write you recommendations.
- You may want to be able to present your work at meetings before it is published – will your boss allow you to do this (ask other lab members)?.
What your boss wants (keep these points in mind when you apply for jobs)?
- Someone who will stay longer (a relatively fast turnover of postdocs is a big problem for some US labs).
- A publication record.
- Good recommendation (most important).
- Your skills – especially writing skills.
Other things to consider:
- Visas. How long can you stay and is there a cost of re-applying? can your spouse work? What if you want to change labs
- What are the impacts on your visa? (If you are on the right visa, it’s easy.
- Taxes. Find out when the tax year is for your country of choice. You may want to arrive early in the tax year to maximise tax benefits (these benefits vary with each type of visa).
- Money. New Zealand and Australia are good places for post-docs because of the relatively low cost of living, and the good rate of pay. It can be difficult to get a credit card and loans overseas. You may need a driver’s licence for id, even if you don’t intend to drive. You may be able to use credit unions associated with the institute where you are working and this can be easier.