by Kelly » Wed Jun 01, 2005 7:51 am
Keep trying at NIEHS, James.
Folks, where we put put our time, skills and bodies is the strongest message we can send.
1. If search committees want to hire based on big name schools and big name supervisors as opposed to tangible measures of success; fine. Let's send them the message that there is a PRICE to pay for this and that price is that people will post-doc only at big name institutions with big name supervisors. Let them know that when they start hiring on tangible measures of success THEN we will work to generate tangible measures of success but until that happens; they need to get back in the lab and generate their own data for papers and grants; its not helping you unless you are in a big name lab.
2. If places want to treat post-docs poorly, not pay them well, not provide benefits; fine. Let's send them the message that there is a PRICE to pay for this and that price is that people will post-doc only in environments like NIEHS. If you are looking for a post-doc, look at the list of the places with high post-doc satification and apply there, only there.
3. If you are in a small name lab and your PI hasn't had success in getting someone a job like you want fine; send him/her the strongest message you can that there is a PRICE to pay for that: leave and go to a big name lab and let your labmates know why you are leaving.
4. If you are not at a big name institution and your department's last hires have been from big name institutions, go talk to your PI and say look, noboby got short-listed here from an institution like ours, I need to think about my career development and I am going to University of X, or Y or Z, all the places you guys short-listed people from. I want a job for me not just a productive post-doc for you. Then go talk to your chairperson (he/she is YOUR chairperson too), and then the Dean (your Dean too).
There is a climate of embarrassment and silence that is cultivated in the academic world for post-docs and their struggles. We are supposed to be silence and "grateful" for post-doc "opportunities" like RAP positions. We are supposed to believe that not getting a t-t job is a failure on our parts. Break the silence, start talking and keep talking. point your friends to this forum. Let them read the posts. Don't let your labmates wander thru post-doc with the misguided notion that working hard to generate tangibles in post-doc in a non-big name lab with a PI that has not gotten his/her "people" jobs, is a solution.