how hot are post-docs nowadays?

[spunky]

this came out from a 3-way conversation i had last week with two friends.

so soon-to-be-PhD-graduate (person A) asked the opinion of person B and myself about whether or not she should take a post-doc down at the U.S. top-ranked university, fully-funded for 2yrs. person A said she was interested but that ideally she was looking for something more 'permanent' (i.e. a tenure-track position somewhere... anywhere for that matter). i said if she was interested, maybe she should decline and just keep looking. person B (who's already graduated) said that in today's academic world, a PhD just doesn't cut it anymore and one or two post-docs are expected (usually with leaders in the field or at good-ranking programs) for you to become a competitive candidate.

i'm not sure if i agree with person B, but i do see a trend of a lot of my friends from conferences and other universities graduating from their PhDs and jumping straight into post-docs before even considering looking for a more permanent position...

... so what's the opinion out there? post-docs: hot or not?

 

[Miner]

Sounds like a Profzi Scheme.

 

[spunky]

mwahahahaha!!! that's a good one!!!

still tho... now i'm afraid i'll have to go do a post-doc if wanna get any kind of meaningful employment

 

[Mean Joe]

Take the post-doc position AND keep looking. You are not(?) bound to stay at the post-doc; I've seen post-docs do this.

 

[spunky]

Take the post-doc position AND keep looking. You are not(?) bound to stay at the post-doc; I've seen post-docs do this.

so post-docs do not bound you by some sort of contract?

 

[hlsmith]

It can never hurt. Though prospects can be greatly increased by the following:

Publications
Publications in top tier journal
Any track record of funding
Schmoozing
networking and who you know
Track record of working during school on good projects and people.

At times I have to rework my Cv because I have three varying fellowships that may look like I flipflop (bioterrorism, pharmacoepidemiology and multidisciplinary geriatrics. Big picture they all paid and provide some educational components. Every once in awhile I think about the countless side jobs I have had. I think I can come up with an experiential example for anything.

 

[Lazar]

You should almost ALWAYS!! take a post-doc. Two years no teaching and just a chance to publish....really this is your only way into a decent tenure track anymore. Thus I think your friend would be absolutely crazy not to take the position.

 

[spunky]

well... i'm kinda hearing anyone and i'm not sure if i like what i hear. so PhDs are really just not enough anymore to get you in a decent tenure-track position?!!? is that the moral of the story!?

 

[Lazar]

Put it this way Spunky, what do all applicants for an academic position generally have in common? A PhD and thus a PhD is an entry requirement to be considered for a position only (it is the lowest of the requirements you need to jump). Once you enter the race however you need something else to stand out.

 

[spunky]

Put it this way Spunky, what do all applicants for an academic position generally have in common? A PhD and thus a PhD is an entry requirement to be considered for a position only (it is the lowest of the requirements you need to jump). Once you enter the race however you need something else to stand out.

i really don't like it when you're right. it's annoying