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It happened that 2 offers for similar positions, which goal would be to get the Habilitation, occured at the same time.

One position would be a 3+3 years in one of the best German Universities, while the second would be a 2 years position in a very good university in Switzerland (as a continuation of a postdoc in the same department).

My doubt would be: if the same "degree" of Habilitation could be achieved in a 2 years position (in Switzerland), what could be the benefits to go for the 3+3 years position in Germany?

In particular, if, after the habilitation, you always need to look and apply for a professorship, and likely change working place.

In other words, isn't it better to get the Habilitation as fast as possible, in order to apply for a professorship as soon as possible?

Or maybe there are pros and better benefits to get the Habilitation in Germany in a longer period than in Switzerland, in a shorter period.

In addition, if I understood correctly, many consider the period of getting the Habilitation still as a postdoc phase instead of a sort of professorship. So, isn't it better to keep that period of Habilitation as short as possible, in order to get the title of professor as soon as possible ?

Comments and thoughts are very welcome!

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    Is this due to you wanting to get it fast, or you want to live in Switzerland over Germany?
    – N A McMahon
    Commented Apr 18, 2023 at 20:27
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    Are you sure that the 2-year position has the explicit goal that you will be finished with your Habilitation after the two years? Sounds rather unusual to me. Perhaps it's meant as a first position which could be followed by other positions with the ultimate goal of Habilitation.
    – lighthouse keeper
    Commented Apr 18, 2023 at 20:45
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    Thanks, that explains it. In that case, you probably have significant achievements from your postdocs that count for the Habilitation. Probably these achievements would also count for your Habilitation case for the position in Germany, and allow you to complete the Habilitation in much shorter time than 6 years. In that case, the benefit of the German position would be clear, as you could approach your professorship job search from a more relaxed position.
    – lighthouse keeper
    Commented Apr 18, 2023 at 21:22
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    @jochenGlueck I deleted mine as well.. btw, I don't really know so much about the German system... And just a little about the Swiss one... For this reason, I ask here, in this forum, for some hints or different perspectives that I likely don't know about..
    – Ommo
    Commented Apr 18, 2023 at 22:26
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    and don't forget that you don't need a habilitation in order to apply/get a professorship position, neither in germany nor in other countries (most don't have a habilitation program at all)
    – Mark
    Commented Apr 18, 2023 at 22:36

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