Postdoctoral researcher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A postdoctoral appointment (colloquially, a "post-doc") is a temporary research position held by a person who has completed his or her doctoral studies. Postdoctoral appointments commonly last for periods ranging between six months and five years, and have traditionally been dedicated purely to research; so-called "teaching post-docs" are now being offered for those who seek to focus on teaching in their careers, however. The appointee is typically given a title such as fellow or research associate, or sometimes research assistant professor. Postdoctoral positions are most often taken in the sciences and the arts. Although postdoctoral positions are available to engineers as well, the lucrative salaries available in industry to engineers with doctoral degrees causes relatively few engineering Ph.D.s to attempt an academic path unless their field of specialization is such that no jobs exist. Only a quarter of science Ph.D.s go on to postdoctoral work.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Problems associated with employment as a post-doc
Most Ph.D.s choose this route of career progression in order to obtain a faculty position; however, a very large percentage of post-docs never achieve this. In the USA, fewer than 20% [1 or 2] of graduating doctorates will ultimately obtain a faculty appointment.
In the UK 93% of research-only staff in universities are on fixed term contracts - the second highest proportion for any industry after catering.[2]
The common 'lore' is that before entering certain fields, a post-doc appointment may be a necessary step in order to gain greater knowledge and experience, make connections, and build a name for oneself in research circles.
However the conditions of employment for many post-docs are often very poor. Some typical problems raised are [3]:
- There are no job duties or job descriptions given for a postdoctoral fellow.
- The employment of the fellow is salaried and 'at will' well below industry salaries.
- Fellows are encouraged to work 80+ hour weeks in order to achieve their success.
- A postdoctoral fellow is not typically given the status and benefits of institutional employees, even though they often perform the same functions at a severely reduced rate.
- Postdoctoral appointments last from 1-5 years on average with a decreasing yield of between 17-20% of postdoctoral fellows obtaining a permanent faculty position [1, 2].
- The valued currency of a postdoctoral fellow is often the prestige of publication, which is often at the whim and control of their employer. Cases occur where the lecturer in charge of the project will publish the research done by his or her post-doc without acknowledging the person who did the work.
- The fixed term nature of the employment means post-docs are particularly vulnerable to bullying and unreasonable demands.
To quote the President of USC, “One of the reasons postdocs have become increasingly popular is because a postdoc is less expensive than a PhD student—you have to pay the PhD students’ tuition plus a $15,000 stipend. …And the postdoc spends 80 hours a week or more on research while the PhD has to go to class.” [4]
In traditional lore a postdoctoral fellowship may also be seen as a valuable tool to distinguish oneself from other candidates when entering the job market. Such appointments are often the "stepping stone" whereby a graduate student can improve his or her publication record and hence progress to a permanent position.
In many academic fields, post-doctoral appointments — traditionally optional — have become mandatory as tenure-track positions are simply unavailable for those who have not completed post-doctoral or adjunct positions. Without post-doctoral experience, most fresh doctorates lack the connections and prominence needed to secure a better academic job.
As the doctorate degree is, by definition, the highest awarded in a field, no degree is given at the completion of a post-doctorate position. Some postdoctorate positions share more in common with low-paid adjunct jobs than continuing education. In some fields (especially life sciences) in some countries, like the United States of America, there are so many graduates that post-doctoral work is almost necessary.
Often academics will take a succession of post-doctoral positions before achieving a faculty position or leaving academia.
[edit] Advantages to work as a post-doc
However the extent to which abuses take place varies greatly from one research group to another and between countries. Working as a post-doc can also offer an opportunity to travel widely to conferences and pursue further the area of research in which a post-doc is interested. Working hours are often flexible and you often get to exercise a great degree of control over your work.
Also, whereas faculty positions frequently use the 40%, 40%, 20% workload division between research, teaching, and service, respectively, post-docs can devote 100% of their work hours to research. There are no hours spent advising students, going to faculty meetings, preparing lectures, etc. This is not a universal picture however, with many postdocs having responsibilities for day to day supervision of PhD students and guiding more junior postdocs. Furthermore, the research and data collected while at a postdoc position may benefit the individual in question for years beyond the postdoc experience - for example, resulting in publications that can help in the tenure and promotion process.
New faculty that have been a postdoctoral fellow often begin at higher salaries than their peers who did not. This can not only affect starting salary but also each raise or promotion to come, as these things are sometimes calculated in part based on starting salary. [citation needed]
[edit] References
- Mark C. Regets, What Follows the Postdoctorate Experience? Employment Patterns of 1993 Postdocs in 1995, NSF 99-307, National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Studies, Arlington, VA, USA, 1998.
- Committee on Dimensions, Causes, and Implications of Recent Trends in the Careers of Life Scientists, Trends in the Early Careers of Life Scientists. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1998.
- Articles at PhDs.org: Postdoctoral Life.
- Joanne P. Cavanaugh, "The Postdoc’s Plight" , Johns Hopkins Magazine, February 1999.
[edit] See also
- Doctorate
- Researcher
- European Research Charter
- EURODOC — the European Council of Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers.
