New answers tagged postdocs
4
First, please remember that human memory is fallible. People have honestly forgotten work done by their students or their postdocs or even themselves. So I'd be inclined to assume, unless there's evidence to the contrary, that your supervisor has forgotten your work on the broader concept Y that subsumes the "new" concept X, and that he hasn't had ...
1
This type of question is asked often in different contexts, but usually comes down to the same points.
What do you gain by bringing it up? e.g., Satisfaction? gratification? Do you try to get them fired?
Asking your ex-host: Well, if they plagiarized your work, they are aware of it, and clearly did not think it necessary to discuss with you or that it was ...
0
If they only ask for personal statement and CV then you need to find a way to squeeze in the personal statement basically everything. I would start by introducing what your studies were so far and what kind of results you got. Highlight the significance of your research and what are the next steps. Then write about collaborations you had and how you expanded ...
0
You are very considerate to your referees, and I hope you get this postdoc position!
There is no exact number of days for these things and you would know the person's emailing habits better than me. Perhaps in another 2 days (4 days total), you can write him something like:
Dear Prof. XXXX,
I am just writing to follow-up on my email below.
Of course there ...
3
First off, postdoc salary levels at Caltech vary widely by department.
Regarding taxes, there are tax treaties between the US and a lot of other countries. For some of these countries, these treaties have special regulations for (postdoctoral) researchers staying for less than a certain time (e.g. 2 years): If you move to the US from such a country (not ...
4
The National Postdoc Association has an Overview of Tax Issues for Postdocs that may be a good starting point.
Here it seems that some of Caltech are exempt from federal tax, but I am not sure if this applies to postdoc researchers.
This just means that Caltech itself is exempt from paying income tax. By default (that is, unless there's a tax treaty), a ...
0
It very much depends on two factors:
your relationship with your advisors
how influential they are in the area of your interest
And then it depends on other factors like:
How comfortable are they with recommending people aggressively
How does your actual skill-set and experience look like
Have you worked with the prospective company / department of your ...
2
My advisors wrote generic recommendation letters and uploaded them to Interfolio, and that was pretty much it. That said, my relationship with them was very transactional and so I never felt comfortable asking for anything other than recommendation letters.
Personally, I think advisors should help with the job hunt, and should take the initiative to offer ...
4
Some universities specifically tell supervisors that helping students find a job is not part of the supervisor's responsibility.
Most supervisors will give advice. Some may provide more help than that.
Is it true that graduates often get positions just by having their advisor make a "phone call"?
This would be extremely rare. Some might ...
12
I think it's reasonable to expect a PhD advisor to make introductions but not to place you into jobs.
They should help introduce you to people at conferences, both directly 1 to 1 or by supporting you in getting opportunities to present.
They should introduce you to visiting professors when they come to tour your space/give a talk to your department.
They ...
1
For a normal CV, I would do nothing at all. A five month gap is completely unremarkable. If I received such a CV (and I've done a fair amount of hiring...), if I noticed at all, in a normal year I would probably assume you took a few months off, and applaud you for it. Given this year's unusual circumstances, that would not be a realistic assumption, and I ...
4
I doubt that five months needs any explanation at all, especially at the present time. But, unless you are in an unusual legal system, "postdoctoral" is a descriptive not a legal term. "Independent researcher" also works.
But a line in the CV suggesting "Independent collaborative research" would seem to me to cover it well and ...
4
It sounds like you've learned a lot since your PhD, which is good - it means you've developed as a researcher. I know that at the start of my PhD there are lots of things I could have done better (and in half the time) if I'd known a bit more. But I couldn't do that then. I needed to have those experiences in order to improve and learn.
I think you should ...
1
You can certainly apply but the chances are slim: there’s a point when the work you did in the past is no longer relevant for your future research prospects. Maybe underwater basketweaving was a big deal 14years ago, but now all the rage is in zero-gravity painting.
The difficulty is that you will be compared in all categories - publications, student ...
0
You could probably become a professor with that sort of experience at may institutions in Asia, but in the USA for example, the university will most likely want "the big names" in the field. That can be a PhD student with little experience but big impact (very rare), or otherwise rising stars. That is quite difficult to achieve, and I suppose is ...
2
You can certainly apply. There is nothing to prevent that. But, like any candidate you have to meet the qualifications and present a positive case.
Depending on your field, you may be expected to have a pretty full CV, with papers and such and also good letters of recommendation (in those places where they are valued). You might also be asked to explain why ...
2
From Hamlet:
"...to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, end them."
Don't let criticism get to you.
It is common for all postdocs, and often quasi-bullying. Advice: become as independent as possible, and as sure in your own abilities and goals as possible, without social confirmation. Slowly, the hypersensitivity will fade as you ...
0
You, like many aspiring academics are in a holding pattern now. That is understandable due to economic and health reasons as well as an overabundance of people graduating in some fields. Your solution is to do post-docs. That may be viable, if you are comfortable with it, but there are other possibilities.
You need to be applying to a lot of potential ...
0
It is not ok to not be working and still be getting a salary, unless explicitly agreed with your employer. A lot of academia is built on immense amounts of trust, largely unheard of in industry, and relies on the fact that most academics are self-driven, so that it would cost more resources to police them than would be saved. This is the general answer, and ...
2
I am in a sort of similar position, I have just managed to get my foot in the door (although in my homeland, so can't help with that side). The truth is you will have to write a lot of applications, and even more once you have a position. I wouldn't be afraid of working in industry for a bit either, those links can be vital and set you apart when applying ...
6
Remember this: you are not merely 'working from home' - you are sent home from your place of work, trying to cope with a pandemic. If you manage to actually work 40 hours a week during this period, that is of course great, but it is not your main concern. Your main concern is staying healthy.
One thing I have had several former colleagues transitioning to ...
8
Research is a very non-linear process, where long stretches of work may produce not much of value (even though you have learned a lot!).
If you're planning on leaving academia this presents a problem, because you might not actually produce anything before you leave, and it's understandably difficult to motivate yourself to work on something you plan on ...
-2
Ethically speaking, you should quit. It's fine to find that non-academic job you want first.
-2
A Postdoc position is a starting path to an academic life. Since you say that you are not planning to continue in academia there is nothing indeed that compels you to work hard, or work at all, during your postdoc, and certainly not under the current epidemic situation. So basically, I would simply sit at home, relax and enjoy (possibly try out a Netflix ...
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