1. OBTAINING A POST-DOCTORAL POSITION
Graduate Student Career Development Workshops
OBTAINING A POST-DOCTORAL POSITION
Judy Garner, Ph.D., Fellow
Center for Excellence in Teaching
University of Southern California

2. Obtaining a postdoctoral position
Why should you?
What are the different types of postdoctoral position?
How do you choose a postdoctoral advisor?
When should you start looking?
What are the sources of support for postdoctoral training?
What is expected of you?
Tidbits!

3. The purpose of a postdoctoral position
Further training
Broaden Research experience
Enhance teaching effectiveness
Make contacts with peers in your field
Gain experience in writing grant/fellowship applications
Publish, publish, publish---positioning yourself for a full-time position.

4. Postdoctoral Positions
Research Associate positions
Fellowships
Sciences
Humanities
Internships/Apprenticeships
Jobs in Industry
Instructor positions
Assistant Professor

5. Research Associate Usually in the sciences
Senior Research Associate vs Research Associate
The postdoctoral trainee is “paid” from a specific research grant budget.
This is considered “employment” rather than “training”
Tax implications
Clarify with the Principal Investigator as to expectations and goals.

6. Fellowships
Postdoctoral Fellowships are specifically for “TRAINING” or “Research” purposes
Training grant—usually to program within the University
Federal agency
Foundation or Association
Postdoc initiated fellowships
Industry sponsored

7. Fellowships Sciences vs. Humanities
Relatively more resources for science training
Science postdocs may be more skill acquisition oriented while humanities may be more original research oriented
Science postdocs generally may be longer in duration (?)

8. Other types of postdoctoral position
Internships/Apprenticeships
Jobs in Industry
Instructor positions
Assistant Professor

9. How do you search for a postdoctoral advisor?
You objectively know the people in your field better than you might think!
Whose work appeals to you in direction, scope, originality? Does the work generated by this potential advisor generate new and interesting questions? Does this individual have an impact on the field?
Does the field seem to be growing in that direction? Does this type of work seem to be a trend that is growing?

10. How do you search for a postdoctoral advisor? (cont.)
Confer with your thesis advisor and cohorts—get advice from many people.
Contact potential advisors at national meetings.
Speak with their present or past students and postdocs.

11. How to choose a postdoctoral advisor?
Contact potential advisors at least 1 year before you will finish your degree!!!!!!!
Why?
Funding resources
Number of positions with that advisor
Incentive to finish(?)
WRITE them a letter stating your interest in having them as an advisor, suggesting aspects of their work you are interested in pursuing, and suggesting ways you might be able to assist in funding your own position.

12. After you’ve decided on someone….
Keep them informed as to your progress
Don’t promise to show up earlier than you really think you can (Be as realistic as you can)
Work with them to get your own funding.

13. Resources for support Why should you write for your own fellowship?
Autonomy:
The difference between “You” designing your training project, and your advisor designing your training (different ultimate goals)
Experience in grant writing
History of obtaining funding is started

14. Resources for Support Eligibility:
Check out as many resources as possible but be aware of the conditions for eligibility for a particular award.
Citizenship?
Visa Status?
Status of doctoral degree?
Minority?

15. Resources: Science (Federal)
NRC Research Associateship Programs—science, engineering, atmospheric, aeronautic, OSHA, Energy, NOAA
National Science Foundation
National Laboratories (e.g., Lawrence-Livermore, Los Alamos)
National Academy of Engineering
American Western Universities (AWU)

16. Resources: Biomedical
NIH
NSF
HHMI
Foundations:
Specific for Disease Research: American Cancer Society, Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, Leukemia Society, March of Dimes, etc.
General Medical Research Foundations: Jane Coffin Childs, Markey, Life Sciences Research, Damon Runyon, Helen Hay Whitney, Charles A. King Trust, Human Frontiers Science Program
Industry:
Pharmaceutical companies: Pfizer, DuPont, Amgen, Genentech, SAIC, Merck, other Biotech firms.

17. Resources for Humanities Postdocs
Woodrow Wilson Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Humanities
Social Sciences Research Council
American Philosophical Society (all areas of scholarly knowledge, except where gov’t support is more appropriate)

18. Resources for Humanities Postdocs (Cont.)
University Fellowships:
University of Chicago, University of California, Cornell (Mellon), Stanford Humanities Fellows, Woodson (African and African American studies)
Arts
Ahmanson
Getty

19. What is expected of you? Need to communicate with:
Advisor
Funding resource
Duration of training
Goals during training
What can you “take with you”?
Are you a Research Associate working on a specific project or do you have your own original project?
Publications or other scholarly works
Where and who will be author
Collaborations with others

20. Tidbits $$
How much? ,000 to 48,000 per annum with most around 30,000
Taxability? Special Tax status for Fellowships but not for “employment”
Health care
What is covered?
Or not?
University status---are you faculty, staff, or student?????