Finding a Postdoc Position

Contributed by Jerry Breslin, UC Davis Postdoctoral Scholar (Jan. 18, 2006)


When I was a graduate student, with about a year remaining until completion of my requirements, I asked my mentor when I should start applying for postdoc positions. The reply was, "Six months ago!" The point was: to maximize the quality of your postdoctoral training experience, it's important to plan early, prior to completing your graduate school requirements.

In choosing a postdoctoral training position, there are many variables to consider, such as:
1. Postdoc Mentor's special skills, rank, reputation, previous trainees, and funding status.
2. Salary, Location, and Cost of Living.
3. Funding opportunities available at the Mentor's Institution.
4. What networking opportunities will be available?
5. Is the Mentor's lab a good fit for me?

Below, I will go into some detail about these factors, and share the insights I've developed during the postdoctoral training process. Hopefully they will be helpful for you.

Choice of a Postdoc Mentor

I listed this first because the person you choose as a mentor will have the most impact on your postdoctoral training. Many people choose a mentor for their postdoctoral training who is in a field that is somewhat different from their dissertation work, in order to gain a new perspective. Some people want to work with a mentor who has had an outstanding publication record so they can join in on the exciting studies going on in the lab. In my case, I chose my postdoc mentor primarily because she had developed a very specialized technique that I wanted to learn. She also had access to a particular kind of cells that no one else had. Both of these factors were attractive to me because it potentially meant I could have a competitive edge when applying for grants and publishing papers. Postdoctoral training should expand your expertise, so it's crucial to choose a mentor who can help you grow.

Some other features of a postdoc mentor that you should consider are:

  • Established vs. New Principal Investigator (PI). Each has advantages - an established investigator has rank, reputation, and influence, whereas a new investigator will probably spend a lot of time in the lab and can give more direct training.
  • Training Record. Where are the potential mentor's past trainees today? Are they in high-level positions, on their way to success, or moving around laterally? Are current trainees in the lab getting quality training?
  • Funding. Does this PI have enough funding to pay a postdoc for the next 3-5 years? Does the PI have a good extramural funding record? Does the PI serve on any national study section committees? These are definitely something to consider if you want to learn good grant writing and granstmanship skills.
  • Management Style. Does the PI give postdocs a certain degree of freedom to work independently, or is the PI a micromanager? What kind of schedule does the PI expect postdocs to follow? Is the lab environment collaborative or competitive? Are technicians available to help with general lab work (or highly specialized tasks)? Does the PI believe in supplying the latest computers and equipment, or do upgrades only happen when something breaks?

Salary, Location, and Cost of Living

Most graduate students know all too well what it's like to live on a limited budget. Postdoctoral training positions in academia have roughly the same starting salary nationwide due to federal funding guidelines. Postdoc positions in industry generally pay more, but may not be the best choice for people pursuing an academic career because there might be limits on publishing and applying for funding.

If living in a particular location is important to you, it will limit the potential opportunities. That's fine, considering there are lots of other things in life like family, friends, maybe a spouse's career or business, etc. I'm writing from the point of view of someone who's not particularly attached to any location. Don't get me wrong - there are definitely places I would prefer to live in, but I haven't yet grown roots, so to speak, to keep me in a specific location.

Admittedly, for me, after living in a relatively expensive area during graduate school and with student loans to pay off, finding a postdoctoral position with a higher salary or in an area with a low cost of living was very attractive. However, it was not the main consideration in which postdoctoral position I wanted. I focused on the mentor's skills and the overall atmosphere of the department I would be working in. It just happened to be that the mentor I chose worked for a university located in a very affordable neighborhood (one of the first-year postdocs owned a nice house!) Retrospectively, not having to worry so much about finances reduced stress and probably made me more productive as a junior postdoc.

Assuming you're not set on a particular location, another issue to consider is how populated or desolate the location may seem to you. For the first two years of my postdoc, I ended up in a fairly low populated area of Texas. The downside was that there was not much choice in social activities. However, borrowing the words from one of my colleagues, "It's not the most exciting place to live, but that makes it a good place to get work done." I have to admit this was true - my productivity soared in my first year as a postdoc. On the other hand, after my PI moved the lab to UC Davis, I've rediscovered some advantages more populated areas have to offer in terms of training. In a more urban setting there is a larger and more diverse postdoc population to network with. I've enjoyed meeting a lot of people who have really interesting projects, many of whom could potentially be future collaborators.

Funding Opportunities for Postdocs

Learning how to obtain funding for your work is an important facet of postdoctoral training. Potential employers like to see people who demonstrate the ability to get extramural funding. In addition, getting extramural funding during your postdoc will help you learn grantsmanship skills as well as start you on your path toward forming a research program that is independent from your PI's.

Some institutions offer special funding for postdoctoral scholars. For example, the University of California has the President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, and my former institution offered fellowship grants that postdocs could use to buy research supplies or to hire a technician. Some other opportunities at UC Davis are:
1. Professors of the Future program (PROF), a joint program with San Francisco State sponsored by an NIH Training Grant (note that the positions are limited to U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents)
2. Professors for the Future (PFTF), a special training program for graduate students and postdocs offered by the Office of Graduate Studies
3. Postdoc Travel Grants, which are $250 awards offered by the Postdoctoral Scholars Association (PSA) to help defray costs of presenting at a scientific meeting.

In addition to funding opportunities offered by the institution, there are several regional and national fellowship programs that provide stipend support for postdocs. The most widely held fellowship is the Individual National Research Service Award from the NIH. Other government agencies, such as the NSF, NASA, EPA, and USDA also have fellowship programs, as well as several private organizations such as the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, etc. Some of these programs can be accessed from the UC Council of Postdoctoral Scholars Career Resources page.

Networking as a Postdoc

While completing your research projects and publishing are the primary foci during postdoctoral training, having the ability to network is also important for your career. Attending seminars, and particularly getting to sit and talk with visiting speakers can be helpful to your career (This is how I met my postdoc mentor). Attending and presenting at regional and national scientific meetings will also help you "advertise" yourself to people in your profession. In addition, having the chance to meet with other postdocs on campus and possibly serve on a campus committee are also good networking opportunities. Find out if your potential postdoc mentor will allow you the flexibility to network as long as you can maintain good productivity in the lab.

Fitting In With the Lab

There are a lot of variables that can be discussed here, but the main issues are 1) your ability to work with other people, and 2) will the people already in the PI's lab work well with you? The nature of the lab will likely reflect the PI's management style. Some PI's like their postdocs to compete with one another, whereas others assign a project for each postdoc to lead, and expect all the people in the lab to collaborate and support each other.

Some other aspects of "lab culture" that you can also explore are:

  • Are the people in the lab "nine-to-fivers" vs. those only present when experiments need to be done vs. those who seemingly at work all the time?
  • Do you prefer to work in a lab with lots of money and space or would tight space and budgets be okay for you?
  • Do you want a lab that acts like a "family" and hangs out all the time (even away from work), or basically sticks to business?
  • How much attention do you want from the mentor? The more people there are in the lab, the less time you may get to sit down with the mentor one-on-one.

Putting it All Together

Like any major decision, there are usually lots of advantages and disadvantages to consider. I didn't even get into some more complicated issues such as moving a family or career couples. I hope the general insights that I have presented will give you some guidelines to follow in your postdoc job search. Pay attention to detail, but also try to stay focused on the big picture you have envisioned for your career when deciding on what postdoc position to pursue.