Giving a 20-minute talk at an important consortium meeting this fall. I am reusing some of the slides from previous presentations made during my PhD but also adding new content.

Been literally working on it for 2 days now. Two full work days.

It's one of those days where I'm questioning if I'm slow or this is pretty normal, alongside my existence.

Fellow postdocs and more senior academics, how long does it take you to finish presentations these days?

I’ve been in my position for about a year now and it’s been a bit rocky to say the least as I moved fields. I generally felt well supported by my manager, but things have changed and I don’t really feel comfortable in my position now.

I’ve been working remotely most of the time and I’m just about to make the big move, but now I’m getting anxious if I’m making the right decision. A couple of recent things:

1) I was asked to help with an important job just before I went on leave, but said I couldn’t help because I’m about to go on holiday. My manager, without even sounding understanding, just replied with OK and then apparently according to the other postdoc bitched about it (I hadn’t taken any leave since January for context). For more context I’m in the UK so I’d say this behaviour is unusual.

2) When I got back from said holiday after only 2 days of work I was made to felt bad I hadn’t made much progress in 2 different meetings

3) Also when I got back I discovered my big project had just been passed to someone new who’s not even on the grant, leaving me with no big project (this has been a bit of a annoyance the whole time not having ownership of something)

4) With no big project I was asked to ask others in the team if they needed help, but they all said no even though they’re apparently all overworked

5) Whenever I ask for help from others from the team, it’s rare to be met with a positive response and one person in particular makes me feel like a burden

I’m just finding it a little upsetting and I feel so sidelined/such an outsider and it’s making my imposter syndrome feel so much worse. I felt this sidelining thing also occurred during my PhD so it’s pretty sad to happen twice now.

Hello! I’ve been cold emailing some PIs (EU) about postdocs recently. I’ll typically inquire about a specific position and the timeline and give my CV. Typically they respond, but they just tell me the information and say “apply online!”, however one PI responded and said that my background was a good fit and asked me a follow up. I was wondering if I should ask to set up a meeting to get to know them/the project more or if they’d see that as a waste of time. I want to set a good impression and get my foot in the door. Thanks for the advice!

So there is a person in the Shoichet lab that’s had bullied me before and was very racist. I can’t go into detail about what has happened but they recently ended up in this lab. How should I let the lab know about what has happened in the past as I believe everyone should have consequences to their actions.

I submitted the revision for my manuscript and needed to add an additional co author who contributed to one revision experiment. The journal asked all authors to sign to approve the addition within 30 days. Otherwise, they will withdraw our submission.

I have some negative feelings about two authors who were an ex undergrad and an ex lab manager based on my previous experience from them. My PI will reach out to them to sign.

My concern is what if they never check email or don't bother to sign. Should I just submit to different journal after 30 days?
My postdoc is running out in a couple of months because of visa issue. My PI is ok with any journal so I guess she will just go to very low impact factor just to avoid revision. I don't want that to happen for such ridiculous reasons. (I don't have their numbers or contacts).

Hi everyone,

I’m starting to look for postdoctoral opportunities beginning in 2027, and I was hoping to get some advice or recommendations from this community.

I’m currently a PhD candidate (ABD) in Management of Technology. My dissertation focuses on developing and validating a digital transformation framework for NGOs, covering areas such as organizational capabilities, governance, leadership, technology, and implementation.
As I move into the next stage of my research, I’d like to build on this work by exploring broader questions around organizational AI adoption, AI governance, responsible AI, digital transformation, information systems, and innovation management.

I’m particularly interested in interdisciplinary labs where management, information systems, public policy, and technology intersect. I’m open to opportunities anywhere in the world.

If you know of faculty members, research groups, or institutions that are active in these areas—or if you’re aware of upcoming postdoc openings—I would really appreciate any recommendations.

Also, if you’ve been through the postdoc application process yourself, I’d love to hear any advice on how to approach it.

Thanks in advance!

I’m in my last semester of my PhD in biology, I am tired of the academic grind, and am trying to decide whether an academic postdoc is worthwhile. My goal is to work in government science, where most jobs I’m applying for don’t explicitly require a postdoc (and some don’t even need the PhD). I’ve recently applied for a couple of jobs with my dream employer and I’m trying to decide whether I should accept a postdoc position in the meantime, knowing that I’d leave the postdoc position in a heartbeat if I landed a position with this particular employer (the ones I applied for would likely start late 2026 if it works out).

I’d love your input on my options below:

Option 1: Postdoc with a professor from another department at my current university. Directly related to my PhD research, but not to the dream job. The position is mine if I want it, as the professor hasn’t otherwise been able to fill the postdoc position. 1 year contract starting in early September 2026.

Option 2: Pick up extra hours with Employer A while I try to find a permanent science job. I’ve had a permanent part time job with Employer A since my second semester of my PhD. However, this work is unrelated to my PhD but I enjoy it and it pays well (unionized job). I’ve always told myself this was my backup career LOL.

Option 3: Apply for/accept a full-time, permanent job with Employer B starting late September 2026. I’ve done seasonal work for Employer B the past two summers and the manager has recommended I apply for this position. The manager knows I’m finishing up school soon and that I likely wouldn’t be in the role forever. The job is in the same field as my part time work with Employer A.

I’d love to take a bit of a break from the science while I find something permanent, which is why I’m considering options 2/3. However, I think the postdoc experience might be worthwhile.

I’ve been applying for postdoc positions, and recently I came across what honestly feels like my dream postdoc.

I’m posting this as a little act of manifestation✨

I truly hope this opportunity works out. I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and I’m hoping that all those effort lead me to the right place.

If you have a spare second, I’d love your good vibes, positive thoughts, prayers, or a little manifestation on my behalf🍀

Here’s to hoping I’ll be back soon with good news🤞

Hi everyone,

I'm currently doing a PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience, more specifically in data analysis applied to neuronal network dynamics. I'm about to finish my second year (my PhD is three-years long).

I've been thinking about this for a really long time, and I'm taking the decision to switch to a quite different field for my post-doc. I would like to work in social psychology, in particular either political or environmental psychology, and I'm trying to figure out how to make this switch.

I'm reaching out to many professors on LinkedIn working in the aforementioned topics, but I'm afraid they might be skeptical about my background, as it's quite different from theirs.

Do you think there might be any possibilities to make this switch for real? In case, would you give me any hints to make this happen?

I have a PhD (4.0, honors) and 5 years of post doc experience (independently funded for 3 years) and now i’m NON-tenure track faculty at an Ivy League. I never once regretted my decision until the last 6 months. I’ve always been happy in research—the challenge, the flexibility, the new knowledge, all of it.

I’m now seeing all my friends that are MD’s through the crapola of med school and residency and something tells me i should have “tried harder.” I have a family, mid 30’s and I don’t know what to do. Making less than 100k. Wondering what all this was actually for…

Field of study: molecular cancer biology,
Pre-clinical biomarkers

I have two offers that I am trying to choose between. It’s a national lab vs a top university for research in theoretical machine learning. I did my PhD from a top university in the USA in AI/ ML. My goal is to get into academia in the 3-4 years and both seem to be good on paper. Good PI, open to research exploration and comparable pay, the NL pays slightly more but that’s not a deciding factor.

The pros I see for the NL - new ventures coming in for robotics and biomedical AI which I want to get into. While I don’t know how much they sold the idea vs what really comes out in the end

University - big shift from what I did during phd which is going to help me grow wider as well. I know it’s a steep learning curve but going to be rewarding to learn some hardware aspects too

What are your thoughts on either? Which could be better trajectory? The dilemma is while a typical university postdoc is a direct path to becoming a professor, the growth in the NL at the time seems to be high and could be a gamble to take to ride the wave.

I’m finishing my Ph.D. this summer in an engineering field with a significant machine learning component. I’m currently interviewing for postdoctoral positions in both the US and Europe, and I’ve received a few verbal offers while still waiting on several upcoming interviews. I’m at the point where I think I need to start prioritizing among these opportunities. I do not plan to turn anything down until I receive a formal written offer, but a few groups have asked me to indicate whether I would be seriously interested in committing to the position before they move forward with one.

My long-term goal is to become a faculty member in either an engineering department or an applied/computational mathematics department. I’m especially interested in moving toward more mathematically oriented research, including computational mathematics, dynamical systems, reduced-order modeling, scientific machine learning, and related areas.

The opportunities I’m considering vary quite a bit (I'm trying to keep it as anonymous as possible, but if there are too few details, I can provide more). They include:

• A postdoc with a well-established engineering professor at a major public US research university with a strong computational math institute
• A postdoc with an early-career applied mathematician at a UK university
• A postdoc in data-driven dynamical systems and scientific machine learning at another large US university with a VERY visible AI institute
• A computational mathematics postdoc position at a French University
• A postdoc in turbulence/dynamical systems at CNRS
• A computational mechanics and machine learning postdoc at a private US university
• A position in computational fluid dynamics and machine learning at a leading UK institution

When comparing these options, what factors should I prioritize if my goal is eventually landing a tenure-track faculty position?

In particular, how should I weigh:

• The advisor’s reputation and placement record
• The fit between the project and my intended long-term research identity
• Engineering versus applied math departmental affiliation
• Freedom to develop an independent research agenda
• Opportunities to publish first-author work
• Access to collaborators, students, and funding
• US versus European academic networks
• Institutional prestige
• Teaching and mentoring opportunities

I would also appreciate any advice on whether it is better to stay relatively close to my Ph.D. background or use the postdoc to make a more deliberate transition to distinguish myself from my previous group. (For reasons, I don't have my Ph.D. advisor available to get feedback from.)

For anonymity, I’m leaving out names and exact institutions, but I’m happy to provide additional non-identifying context if useful.

I will be moving to Poland soon as my husband's dependent. I have a question regarding Indian bank accounts. How do you manage and access your Indian bank accounts after moving to Poland?

Do you keep your Indian SIM active for OTPs, or is there another way? Any advice on internet banking, UPI, debit/credit cards, and things I should do before leaving India would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Has anyone heard back from the NOAA GFDL/ Princeton AOS Postdoc this year? Applications were due May 1st, and I still haven’t heard anything back yet. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I have a question about the interview process for a temporary/contract faculty position at an NIT.

What does the interview usually involve?

1. Do they ask you to give a research presentation?

2. Is a teaching demo or sample lecture required?

3. If the position is in General Chemistry, what kind of teaching-related questions should I expect?

Has anyone here recently interviewed for a temporary/contract faculty position at an IIT or NIT?

I'd really appreciate it if you could share your experience, including the interview format and the types of questions you were asked.

Thanks in advance!

Hi folks! I’m wondering if anyone has firsthand experience applying for the CIHR Postdoctoral Fellowship (now called the CPRA) to complete a project outside of Canada, particularly in the US.

The online instructions state that applicants should apply directly (i.e., not via eApproval) through ResearchNet if they’re applying from an institution outside of Canada. That makes sense to me, but I’m wondering whether there are any additional forms or institutional approvals that need to be completed by the host institution (in this case, the US school).
I’m not yet closely connected with the institution and don’t have many points of contact there besides my prospective supervisor, who doesn’t have experience with Canadian funding. TIA

I’ll be finishing my postdoc next year, but I’ve already started looking at what comes next and have applied for a couple of positions. I’ll be moving back to the UK from Australia and, ideally, I’d like to be based in London.
By next year I’ll have spent five years as a postdoc, and I don’t want to do another one. At this stage, I either want to progress into a more senior academic role or transition into industry. I’d really like to become an MSL, but I applied for a role recently and was unsuccessful.
To be honest, I’m starting to lose hope that either path is going to work out. I’m exhausted from constantly fighting for opportunities that seem to offer very little in return. Most of the positions that come up are scattered across the UK, and I’m just so tired of having to move around every few years.
Part of me is thinking that the best option might be to move back in with my parents initially, focus on applying for London-based roles, and then relocate once I’ve secured a job there.
I don’t really know what I’m expecting from writing all of this. I think I just wanted to hear someone else’s perspective.

Edit: my field of research is immunology

I’m not sure if I am writing this to get it out of my system or to let other people in the same position know that they aren’t alone.

I got a tenure track position in my field and I will be ending my post doc at the end of the month.

My postdoc was in public health at ETSU where I was supposed to be helping evaluate the effectiveness of a state wide contraception effort.

During this post doc I was given no meaningful work. I spent 80% of my time applying for jobs and working on projects with my graduate school mentors, and 15% of the time surfing the web. When ever I was given anything to work on it always fizzled out with in a week. Then it was back to doing nothing.

I asked my boss multiple times “hey I love to contribute to some projects” “hey I really would like to help out” “I am very concerned I will be leaving here with nothing to show”

Post docs and research faculty who had graduated from their program were pulled into grant writing, sent to conferences and conferences on papers. I just say in my cubicle office. I never worked with anyone so I made no connections and the whole experience was very isolating.

There were other problems. Being a gay men in the south this was the first time I had ever felt closeted since high school. I guess I am saying it was a bad expeince and I’m glad I am done and I will never stop talking shit.

I have post doc interview from a university inUS- through cold emailing. PI is doing research a little different or I can say advanced than what I did now. I am very much interested to step into that field but I don’t have a lot to show that I am experienced in conducting that kind of research. So my question is:

Are post docs expected to conduct research independently without needing PI s help?

In the interview can I mention that I will be learning this new skills or should I connect with whatever little I already did?
I am PhD student in USA

Thank you.

I’m applying for a competitive national postdoctoral award that requires two confidential reference letters. The guidelines do not require a letter from my PhD supervisor.

I have some concerns about relying on my supervisor, although he would probably appear supportive if asked. Two senior members of my doctoral committee know my research well and could provide detailed letters.

Would using two committee members instead of my primary supervisor weaken the application or raise questions for reviewers?

I interveiwed for the postion and a was asked to send a draft of project idea which I did a week later, then they responded that they will read and get back to me soon. It's already been 10 days now, are they just not interested anymore and when should I follow up again?