For PhD graduates who are more interested in research and little teaching, which is better, a postdoc with a focus on research, or a (non-tenure-track) teaching position (lecturer, instructor, etc.)? I assume that both positions would be helpful when moving to a research position. The point with a postdoc is that even at top schools, the pay is low and they don't guarantee a good job afterward, while a teaching position, with 3-4 courses would be distraction from doing research.
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14A teaching position/teaching experience will contribute little if anything towards getting a research position and would probably only be used to differentiate between candidates with very similar research output. And, in that case, a postdoc would still be better because you'd have more time for research, increasing your output and making that hypothetical comparison moot. Ymmv depending on location/field, but from what I've seen in STEM fields a teaching position is generally a one way track that is leading away from a permanent research position.– user49483Commented Apr 4, 2015 at 0:51
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2Good points, but a postdoc may not lead to a research position. So should someone take the risk and do 2-X years postdoc without guaranteeing that it may lead to a permanent research position?– Thomas LeeCommented Apr 4, 2015 at 1:27
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5What makes you think a teaching position is going to be more likely than a postdoc to lead to a permanent research or teaching position? If anything, I'd argue that taking a teaching position is even riskier, as there is little chance for a permanent research job and permanent/secure teaching jobs aren't that common (at least where I am from). Unfortunately, certainty and academia don't really go hand in hand...– user49483Commented Apr 4, 2015 at 2:05
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1There is no way to guarantee a permanent research position, no matter what path you take.– JeffECommented Apr 4, 2015 at 13:04
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2I think doing good research is the best way to increase the probability of getting a research position. If you can do better research in a teaching position than in a postdoc position, take the teaching position.– JeffECommented Apr 5, 2015 at 17:02
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2 Answers
In my discipline, mathematics, there is a huge range of tenure track positions, from very strongly research oriented positions to positions that are entirely oriented towards teaching. Most new PhD's would prefer to end up in a more research oriented position, but most tenure track faculty positions are not at that end of the spectrum. This means that a lot of new PhDs will ultimately have to settle for something less than the research oriented position that they have dreamed of.
If you're only willing to accept a research oriented tenure track position and would not accept a teaching oriented position then you should focus your efforts on getting a research oriented post-doc.
If you are most interested in a research oriented position but would at least be willing to consider taking a somewhat more teaching oriented position, then you should make an attempt to get some teaching experience by doing some teaching during your post-doc or by taking a position that is designed to mix research and teaching. For example, Dartmouth has named instructorships in mathematics with a teaching load of one course per quarter.
There are also non tenure track faculty positions (typically called "visiting assistant professor.") These are a good way to get teaching experience but it is extremely difficult to get any research accomplished while teaching a load of 3-4 courses per semester in such a position. These positions are sometimes created to temporarily fill the vacancy created by when a tenured faculty member leaves or retires. Sometimes the visiting assistant professor position turns into a tenure track position in that department, but you shouldn't count on this happening. .
answered Apr 4, 2015 at 2:02
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Visiting assistant professorships do not always carry such high teaching loads; at some places they have a reasonable balance between teaching and research. Unfortunately the naming of positions does not seem to be very standardized. Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 2:01
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"do not always carry such high teaching loads" is certainly correct, but "most often carry teaching loads of 3-4 courses per semester" would also be correct. Know what you're getting into. There's certainly a distinction between positions (like the ones at Dartmouth) that are designed to mix teaching and research and jobs that are simply short term non tenure track teaching jobs. Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 2:34
If you want a research position, you should go for the postdoc: a heavy load teaching-centric position will make it hard to publish, which will make getting a research position much harder.
