Back in undergrad I would have never
imagined in 11 years I would become a postdoc.
At the time, I did not know that postdocs existed. It was not until recently
that I discovered that the person who mentored me during my summer research
project was a postdoc. So what is this mysterious postdoc?
The National
Postdoctoral Association’s definition of a postdoc is: “an individual holding a doctoral degree who
is engaged in a temporary period of mentored research and/or scholarly training
for the purpose of acquiring scholarly, scientific and/or professional skills
needed to pursue a career path of his or her choosing.” 1
This sounds like a fantastic position! If
this is what a postdoc is supposed to be then why does the rest of the world
not know more about us?
Sadly, the answer is that reality falls
short of the expectations on paper.
Jorge Cham of PhD comics said it right. 2
A postdoc is like limbo where more
times than not we are biding our time until we figure out what to do with our
lives.
You might be thinking that this is some
overdramatic feeling. Everyone hates their job at one point or another. It
cannot be that bad, right?
WRONG!
As Kendall Powell reported, postdocs
are overcrowded and underpaid. 3
How can such a large workforce make almost half of the salary that non-postdoc
person? Perhaps it is a case of supply and demand where the supply of postdocs
is so great that people can toss out tinier wages due to resource competition.
By this point, you might ask why postdocs
are putting up with this garbage. Postdocs should walk away from this lifestyle
and find more jobs! That would be nice, except for the fact that majority of
academic labs are still pushing for scientists to go the route of being a
Principal Investigator. It is like an apprenticeship, where the master teaches
the student to become like them and carry the torch of research. That would be
nice except that…
Alberts et
al., have shown that the number of young investigators becoming Principal Investigators and securing grant funding for their labs are on the decline. 4 Perhaps this is
one reason why people have been doing postdocs over 10 years. People are hungry
for a position but the reality of it is that jobs in academia are too far and
few in between. There are plenty of jobs in other sectors such as industry,
government, and non-profits where their skills acquired during their PhD and
postdoc could be applied. However, many PhDs are lacking the training and
mentoring to know how to look for those jobs, let alone land them. The postdoc
is truly stuck in limbo waiting for their big escape.
And thus the postdoc remained unheard of…until now.
Organizations like the National Postdoctoral Association advocate for the better treatment
of postdocs. Amongst other things, they have helped fight for higher pay,
recognition of postdocs at institutions, capping the training period to 5
years, and encourage the mentoring and training needed to successfully
transition postdocs into a variety of careers.
Nationwide, there is a movement called the Future of Research 5 where
these issues and more are being brought to light. Symposia organized by
postdocs themselves are being launched in New York, Boston, the Bay Area, and
Chicago.
This
is where we need your voices postdocs!
Let us change how the world sees postdocs
so that we will no longer remain invisible. A postdoc should be a training
period that will aid in developing the skills to pursue any career that he or
she wants. It is our responsibility as postdocs now to ensure that future
generations of postdocs get treated with respect and this training is a viable
option for undergraduates and graduate students to consider.
Because I am a postdoc in the Midwest, I
want to spread the word about our local Future
of Research Symposium in Chicago is happening on October 29, 2015, from
8:00 am – 5:30 pm. 6
“FORChicago
will be a one-day series of panel discussions and participant-led workshops
with the aim to:
- Illuminate the fundamental challenges in training
scientists in today’s research climate
- Propose solutions to equip the STEM postdoctorate
to be leaders in diverse paths of the future career landscape
- Initiate a dialogue with key stakeholders in the
Chicago area about embracing the rich community of PhD-trained talent as
drivers of innovation”
Registration for the event is now open: http://futureofresearch.org/chicago/
I know I will be there. Will you?
If
you are a postdoc, know postdocs, or are an advocate for postdocs please spread
the word.
References:
Written by Natasha Wadlington, Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Chicago.
Opinions stated are of my own belief and not directly associated
with the organizations and people mentioned in this article. All images are
from their respective references listed above.
