In the present scenario, when most of the people are searching for jobs in the pharma industry and when the jobs in the academics have almost dried, what should be the way of proceeding further to give a better shape to one's career. Should one opt for a Post Doc after PhD or search for a job straightaway?
What are the career options after Post Doc? What are the chances that the person is going to get the best possible outcome of the time invested in post doctorate? It is but obvious that after increasing one's qualifications, the expectations are also going to increase.
Hope this will be a very educative and informative discussion for many of us because most of the PhD's face this dilemma once in their career. What are your views?
Thats a VERY hard question as it is, I think, very much case dependent. What does the person want to do, where... I do not imagine that one size will fit all. I am looking forward reading some comments.
Now few month ago "we" had this discussion, could be a usefull reference:
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Is_it_better_to_do_post-doc_in_your_own_PhD_field_Post-doc_in_your_own_PhD_background_or_is_in_a_different_area_preferred
It varies person to person...................if someone needs urgent job than it is good to search a job after PhD, but doing in depth research/post doc after PhD is always a better option for a dedicated scientist.
I am precisely at this point! I am asking myself that exact question! I have just finish my PhD thesis and now I am on the hunt! I have decided to be pragmatic about it! In my small island in the middle of the Indian Ocean ambitious prospects are rather scarce so I will just jump on the first thing that come my way, Post doc or job! I however believe that a postdoc and more specifically a postdoc in a foreign institution is very important! Exposure to different researchers, different ways of thinking and doing research is very useful, certainly for us researchers from developing countries. And we, 'developing country research' also have some things to share as well, we are pretty good at finding Plan Bs when the problem of funding arises and how to squeeze the little we have get the most out of them.
It depends on what u wish to do in career,if u wish to get in an industry better get in there directly, if ur choice is to work in academia, a post doc would help. It also depend on which part of the world u wish to settle. so its a tricky situation. good luck!!!
It depends. However, I personally preferred to do post-doc to improve the technical skills (at least few state of the art research techniques), publish in high-impact journals, gain working experience in different environment, etc. I hope post-doc research experience will help to get better jobs in both academics and MNC.
Dear Alok,
In some cases the industry jobs require research experience over PhD. Therefore, pursuing a Post-doc can never do you bad even in this situation. By choosing a post-doc carefully, you can improve/diversify your area of research. Choose the post doc in such a field which is related (60%) to what you are doing presently and diversifying (40%). That will give you a chance to learn something new and at the same time you wont be completely lost. Check this book below. It helped me to choose my future. This book is about how to choose a post doc or industry jobs, what are their requirements and how to survive. This book is not only good for starters but also for people in the job.
A PhD Is Not Enough!: A Guide to Survival in Science by Peter J. Feibelman
Best wishes,
Naimish
First of all anybody needs to decide what they want in their life....how they want to see themselves and what their expectations are...
both have their pros and cons but you need to judge them based on all possible factors..
First and most important factor for academics is Freedom: you’ve got a lot of freedom to do what you want, to set your goals. and to be motivated with current research and tune your in that side... but In industrial jobs, you are more constrained: you
actually need to answer to the company and think about profit and benefit first all the time.
And most important facto for jobs or industry is Funding/money: In academia, you frequently need to devote huge amounts of your time to getting funding for your work. Where as in companies also have lots of process for research funding but definitely the salary is much more. And often a researcher is not the one who needs to struggle for funding source.
Another factor is Results: What you produce in the end is very different
depending on which path you’re on. In academic research, you’ve got
four real goals: get funding, judge quality of your research(from impact point), publish papers, and graduate students.
In industry, your first and for most goal is to do what is value to
the company – whether that’s a product, patents, reputation, depends
on your circumstances. You can also get the papers from your work, but no paper will convince the company if the major goal is failed.
Finally i will talk about another factor...Time and resource... resource is limited in academics but much more in companies but for academics sometime you can get more time for planning and new ideas, which is limited in companies as the time demands quick outcome.
So after all the decision is theirs :)
Hope this helps.
I side with Laurent on this very HARD question. My answer would be - BOTH! Imagine, one does it two ways and then , oh miracle, gets multiple offers form those who a eager get him/her as a postdoc or as an employee. I wish everybody to have such choices! A reality is, however, that most of you won't face it - it would go either way. For those, who doubt it but are still in the game, I suggest exactly as I've written before - apply for BOTH! See what kind of responses you have - after all, asking is free, and if you end up with multiple offers from both sides - hat's off! You've got my respect.
Don't hypothesize, just do it. And when you have to make a choice, then it's a completely different story! You may even post your options for us to advise. However, I guess you'd be doing pretty good in making a right decision by yourself.
My point is that as a hypothetical question this question is an open ended question. In out lives, we often don't have a choice. But when you do - cherish it and your heart will tell you the right way!
A PhD Is Not Enough!: A Guide to Survival in Science by Peter J. Feibelman
It depends on different individuals but it better to proceed on a post doc because of all the advantages it entails.
After graduation,we do post graduation. Also after doctoral we have option to do post doctoral.Education is continuous learning process. Lastly, one should share his/her expertise and experiences for the benefit of society, nation and the whole world.
If any body have choice between post doc and job then in my opinion he/she should go for job (the institute must be of NIRF Rank). However if nothing in hand than better to search for both possibilities. I mean to say that the final destination is job only. Also, kindly prefer postdoc from USA and UK only if job is not in your hand.
https://indiabioscience.org/columns/opinion/the-curious-case-of-the-missing-indian-postdoc
My experience says that it would be easier to win a postdoctoral position than a faculty position overseas. Faculty positions abroad are really competitive and requires a very strong CV. Regarding which one is better, I would say applying for a faculty position is better, especially if the position leads to a tenure.
Postdoc is one of the best option but not exactly. If any one wants to expand their research area and gain experience in different fields they can choose but there should be some points to be considered. First postdoc is not the carrier it is just a fellowship and has limited period (say 2-5 years), second after postdoc if any one wants to join academics it will be very advantageous but want to join company then problem comes. Most of the companies they don't opt for postdocs as they need to offer high packages rather this they opt for the postgraduate with relevant experience. Third for academic job postdoc is best but if company job then selection of postdoc area is very important as most of the companies growing faster and adapting newer technologies and opening new areas to beat the competition. Overall postdoc or job is based on the one's decision for their future type of career settlement they are looking.
Finally after completion of pdf, one will search for job only.
It is always better to go for job (in case you get it).
Many jobs have age criteria as well.
you may cross age-limit after pdf.
Analyse these points before taking the decision.
This should be candidate's personal decision only.
Reseach experience of pdf will give you an edge, definitely.
After a PhD, depending on your sustenance, you can decide to go for either a postdoctoral or a job. In developing countries where job openings are few for PhD holders, it's better to look for the two and choose appropriately when the time comes.
In very simple words, Post Doc is to be preferred when there is no option and willing to go for Faculty position. If willing to go for industries, particular expertise is required and better to get into industries after PhD.
Its better to go for industrial experience. By being in academic/research profession, we make ourselves confined to bookish knowledge only. Many senior academicians are not aware of simple concepts used in industries now a days. What can be expected from the students' state of the art knowledge who are taught by these type of academicians.
So, my dear friend, one should not hesitate to leave his/her comfort zone and work in a reputed industry to update himself/herself regarding the state of the art technologies.
After working for some time, he/she can come back to the most relaxed job in this world, "Teaching".
Post doc is a kind of research training and job is kind of gaining professional experience. However, one may be interested to engage oneself for few years in post doc and then switch to job. It will help him to do better in the job.
Being a postdoc is a job! :-) Anyway - I was a postdoc in the UK and in the US, in total about two years, and they were very valuable, as I grew a bunch of contacts and collaborators, I learnt other ways of working, and I got a feel whether to continue doing research. I decided to continue - rather than finding a very good industry position - to do research, and I have (mostly) not regretted that decision.
I've both worked and studied but realized that doing research is my main interest So personally, I'd prefer an academic job. Its true that choices for a postdoc position are much fewer, but if one is motivated enough, they would make their way.
Postdoc offers a very good opportunity to do research without being haunted by mounting pressure of completion of any degree. Also, it gives you new insights as you often tend to have students under supervision and getting work done from others is quite a difficult task in its own. Overall, I would recommend to pursue all opportunities and decide when you have available options/offers. One in hand is better than two in the bush.
"One bird in the hand is better than two in the bush" - I think. :-)
It depends on your financial status. If you are in need of money, if you are married and have family and their responsibility, first you must go for the job and financial stability. And later on, you can think of higher studies. If you already have financial stability, then better go for higher studies.
What is aim after post doctoral degree? Based on that you can decide
It depends, if you get a very good job then, go for this otherwise if you get a chance for doing post doc from good university then you can do this also. It depends on your situation, financial condition, etc.
I m in same situation. After working for 10 years in pharma industry, getting a chance to do postdoc in US in best university. Decided to take calculative risk for doing postdoc to open good job prospects in industry as well as academia. After having such good experience there wont be any problem in getting the job after postdoc break for two years.
Dear Dr. Kamdi taking a risk to achieve a goal requires courage to face the fear of uncertainty. No matter the outcome, either way, we grow through the process and become more resilient and confident. Better yet, building those skills helps in taking more risks and improves the chances of achieving future goals.
One got phD degree better to join a job of your choice and continue research. There is no end for research. All the best and success
The purpose of going to school of any date is to secure good job upon conclusion but the societal problems global has placed even PhD holders in a state of seeking a first degree job in any. Best option is to seek entrepreneur activities to forge ahead in life and continue research, a day comes when you will be needed some where in a foreign land if your motherland/fatherland is weak in absorbing your services
I think if you look at the postdoc as a warmup job, then it is a positive way of thinking. This way you can get a single answer to both the option or in other words 2 in 1 from a marketing perspective.
Postdoc fellowship is misconstrued as a career path that everyone should follow after PhD. It is not. Postdoc is actually a waiting period or should I say fellowships offered to PhD holders who are unable to get themselves a teaching job after PhD given them an opportunity to get busy with research activities while looking for the right jobs.
So, let this be understood. If one opts for a Postdoc, let the reason be that the right job has not come and not to mean that it is an academic career path.
In my opinion, time is the most important, if you have completed your Ph.D. within stipulated time, then go for Postdoc, otherwise go for a better job.
Firstly you have to qualify all or most of the national exams, then search for job, its better to get governmental job if its not the second option you have to looking for postdoc and its better to do it in developed countries.
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