Category Archive: Life as a postdoc

How NOT to get a postdoc position

The other day I was talking to a last-year PhD student about finding a postdoc position. I’ve written before about the various ways I’m aware of to get a postdoc position, but in this conversation, I was recalling all the things I tried that were utter failures.  My situation at the time was a tricky …

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Permanent link to this article: https://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/12/14/how-not-to-get-a-postdoc-position/

Some advice on applying for faculty jobs, according to six Harvard assistant professors

This is the year — the first year I’d be applying for faculty jobs, if I wasn’t so adamant about not relocating. I finally have first-author papers, the last checkbox to check on an otherwise pretty decent CV. [1] The trouble with doing too many things is not finishing any of them. I had too …

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Permanent link to this article: https://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/10/26/some-advice-on-applying-for-faculty-jobs-according-to-six-harvard-assistant-professors/

Advice for new postdocs

In case you missed it, last week was National Postdoc Appreciation Week. I almost missed it, but Harvard conveniently put up a huge banner and offered us a bit of free food (Super yummy Mexican food this year!) Good food = appreciation? Sure, why not. September seems to be a common time for new postdocs …

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Permanent link to this article: https://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/09/28/advice-for-new-postdocs/

The postdoc pay cut

One beneficial thing about working out in the “real world” before starting a PhD is that you have the perspective of academia within the larger world, rather than academia as the only thing you’ve ever known. If you’ve gone from grade school to college directly on to grad school, you may not realize what a …

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Permanent link to this article: https://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/07/20/the-postdoc-pay-cut/

Most ESA Early Career Fellows are almost mid-career

The Ecological Society of America recently announced its call for nominations for awards for 2017. I encourage you to get out there and nominate people. In particular, consider nominating folks that are historically underrepresented. [1] For the Early Career Fellows, consider nominating someone at a comprehensive university, primarily undergraduate university, or in the private sector. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/07/13/esa-early-career-fellows-are-mostly-almost-mid-career/

ESA Early Career Fellows are well balanced by gender

ESA announced its 2016 Early Career Fellows a few weeks ago. The program is fairly new – only in its fourth year – and its aim is to recognize the achievements and potential of excellent ecologists, broadly construed. The announcement of the 2016 cohort brings the total number of Early Career Fellows to 27. And …

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Permanent link to this article: https://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/06/29/esa-early-career-fellows-are-well-balanced-by-gender/

Postdocs, don’t buy that yacht just yet

If you’re an early career scientist and you spent any amount of time on the interwebs this past week, you no doubt caught sight of headlines proclaiming great news for U.S. postdocs: “Postdoc pay to increase due to new overtime rule,” “US law could increase postdoc pay,” “Fair Pay for Postdocs.” Well, I hate to be …

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Permanent link to this article: https://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/05/25/postdocs-dont-buy-that-yacht-just-yet/

I am unwilling to relocate again (and it will probably cost me my academic “career”)

Multiple moves are the norm in academia and it’s a major structural problem that gets in the way of diversity (and other) initiatives. Long gone are the days when the academic was (only) a hetero white male who was either single (and a highly eligible bachelor with his PhD in hand) or had a family …

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Permanent link to this article: https://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/03/23/i-am-unwilling-to-relocate-again-and-it-will-probably-cost-me-my-academic-career/

Postdoc Land: the Wild West

What is a postdoc anyway? Grad students are fairly well-defined: If you are enrolled at an accredited university, working towards a Masters or Doctorate degree, you are a grad student. If you are told someone is faculty somewhere, or a lecturer, then you might have some questions about exactly what type of position the person …

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Permanent link to this article: https://ecologybits.com/index.php/2016/01/27/postdoc-land-the-wild-west/