Notes on Fisher Files, Sequence II, Episode 4 - Postdoc

Here are my notes on the Fisher Files episode entitled "Postdoc."

Part 1: Getting a Postdoc

• Preliminaries
  
  • Good time to start looking for a postdoc is when you begin to write your thesis
    
  • Think about what you want to do with your life
    
  • Decide whether you want to stay in academia or do something else
    
  • Talk to your advisor, people a little outside your field to learn about jobs outside academia
    
  • Myth 1: You can get a job as a quantitative analyst on Wall Street
    
  • Yes, but quants are not a part of the company's core operation so they can easily be laid off in an economic downturn
    
  • Myth 2: Industry pays more
    
  • Yes, you get more in dollars, but you have to look at other costs. Academia allows flexible time whereas most jobs require you to be in the office 9-5. There is also a dress code in business. Finally, academics don't have the expense of beautifying their homes for the purposes of entertaining guests for business.
• Where to look for a job
  
  • Web, back pages of Physics Today
    
  • Use web/print to get a sense for the market and what people are booking for, also useful if you want to change your field a little bit
    
  • Talk to your advisor and other people in your group
• Contacting people for jobs
  
  • Component 1: CV
    
    • Includes educational history, positions held, references, contact information etc
      
    • Put everything in there, don't leave anything out or assume that people will look up that information on the web
      
    • Primary purpose of CV is to provide factual information; intangible information should be in cover letter
  • Component 2: Cover letter
    
    • Write separate cover letter for each job
      
    • Paragraph 1: Tell person a little about yourself
      
    • Paragraph 2: Say how you heard about the job and why you're interested
      
    • Paragraph 3: Conclude with saying that you'd like to apply for a position and come visit, give contact information.
      
    • Want everything to fit on one page because the reader doesn't have time and because you don't have a lot to say this point anyways
  • Act quickly if someone tells you they have a job opening. Email them your CV and cover letter immediately.
    
  • Generally easy to find good postdocs because there is a strong demand
• Job talk
  
  • May be the first time you have given an hour long seminar
    
  • What you talk about should be interesting and engaging even if you personally think it's boring (that's just your perception)
    
  • You will probably have a mixed audience ranging from undergraduates to senior faculty, so you should have something for everyone
    
  • Don't feel compelled to show every detail of everything you've done
    
  • Two key things to achieve in talk: be interesting and engaging and make it clear what your role in the work was
    
  • Outline of talk: 1) why audience should care about the topic, 2) why you care about the topic, 3) what you've been doing
    
  • Mention the technical skills you've developed
    
  • Unlike most talks, the talks is really about you. Compare the job talk to a conference talk where you are speaking on behalf of your collaborators
• Interview
  
  • You should feel free to ask any questions you feel are important
    
  • Talk to people at the institution at all levels: faculty, postdocs, graduate students
    
  • Arrange time to meet with postdocs and graduate students because their lives will become your life
    
  • Before you leave, make sure you and your host have a clear status, i.e. who will be contacting who and when about an offer
    
  • After your visit, send a thank you note
    
  • If you're not very interested, say so and it will make it easier for you to say no later
    
  • If you're really interested, absolutely say so
    
  • If you would absolutely take the job, say so but be a little circumspect
• Accepting an offer
  
  • If you get an offer, have one week to one month to give an answer
    
  • There is a little room for negotiation on moving costs
    
  • When you get ready to accept an offer, email the person with your understanding of the position including start date (should be compatible with thesis completion date), your expected responsibilities, etc
    
  • Make explicit what your expectations are before you take the job

Part 2: Being a postdoc

• Purpose
  
  • Graduate school is about demonstrating that you can complete a piece of work, have mastery over some area of your field, and that you have some technical skills you can build on
    
  • Postdoc is about demonstrating that you can undertake a major element of your group's program and bring it to fruition
    
  • This will involve managing students (possibly other postdocs), managing resources, representing work within your community
    
  • Also includes showing that you can operate autonomously
    
  • Make sure you accept a job where you can do all these things
    
  • When you start the job, spend a month listening and seeing how things work in your group and field before you make a move
• Credit
  
  • You should carve out your own part in a project, but at the same time, you need to collaborate and help other people
    
  • May be conflicts particularly if you take a job with a junior faculty member
    
  • Working with junior faculty is not necessarily bad since they often have the most interesting and exciting ideas
    
  • However, they are in the same position as you: to be promoted, they need to be seen as people who did a certain piece of work
    
  • This can lead to fighting over credit
    
  • Avoid these types of conflicts by discussing the matter well beforehand
    
  • Peter: in his experience, there is more than enough credit to go around and the specific details of who did what don't usually come up in tenure review. It's more about was guidance given, was there support/synergy, was there a nice mix of abilities
• Broad perspective
  
  • Postdoc is a good time in your career because you have little responsibility (no teaching, committee work) and you can really focus on your research
    
  • Also a good time to switch out of physics as a career
    
  • Be aware that your postdoc has a limited time extent, so you should make sure your project comes to fruition before your postdoc ends

Summary

• Start looking for a postdoc well in advance
  
• Think about it a lot
  
• Talk to lots of people
  
• Pick something you're interested and passionate about rather than something safe or easy
  
• The postdoc is a time you need to excel and you are more likely to excel in something you believe in