C-GEM talked to Dr. Paul Peterson and Dr. Carly Schissel about their experiences as postdoctoral scholars. Dr. Peterson is an NIH postdoctoral scholar in the Miller lab at Yale University, and Dr. Schissel is a Miller Institute Research Fellow in the Schepartz lab at UC Berkeley.
Key Takeaways:
- Grad school, but faster. Starting a postdoc can almost feel like starting grad school all over again—learning the basics of a new field, the structure of a new lab—with the added challenge of less immediate camaraderie and the support of a built-in cohort. The PhD is excellent preparation for a postdoc. The main day-to-day differences of a postdoc include more independence and more time because there are no classes. The panelists emphasized that moving labs, switching fields, and uprooting your life can be challenging. Take time to mentally prepare for the change and develop a support system in your new location.
- Start your search early. The timeline for finding a postdoc position can be long or short. However, if you aim to start a postdoc shortly after defending your thesis, start looking early. Dr. Schissel began looking for positions a year before her thesis defense. Consider the due dates for popular fellowships when you start looking for a lab, as securing your own funding can make you a more competitive candidate. In addition to the F32 NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship and other national awards, consider searching for institution-specific fellowships, like the UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Most universities have a website that lists postdoctoral funding opportunities (e.g., Berkeley, Yale).
- Finding postdocs amidst uncertainty. While funding on many fronts seems precarious now, our panelists’ advice is “keep applying.” While many institutions have frozen new hiring, these freezes may not necessarily apply to postdocs. You may need to cast a broader net, but there are jobs, and people are hiring. Seek out new faculty that might have start-up funding to spend, and reach out to current students and postdocs in labs you’re interested in to gauge the current lab climate. Some labs have more private funding available to them and are less affected by cuts to the NIH and NSF. And finally, the US is not the only place to do science. Explore your options everywhere!
- International opportunities.
Thank you to Drs. Peterson and Schissel for taking the time to chat about their experiences!