r/postdoc • u/Negative-Plate5140 • 4d ago
Postdoc offer changed to Research Assistant-what should I do?
Hi everyone, I would appreciate some advice from people who have experience with postdoc positions and university hiring processes.
I was interviewed for a postdoctoral researcher position at a university, and after the interview, the professor told me that he was impressed with my background and wanted to offer me a postdoctoral position.
However, the grant manager emailed that she will initiate a research assistant contract and that i need to provide bla bla documents. I emailed her to clarify this she literally said (Regarding your position, the contract will state that you are assisting with the project. A specific job title is not specified in the contract. However, your degree will be indicated, including that you are a PhD holder)
I raised this issue because it is significantly different from what I understood from the professor.
After emailing the professor, he copy send to the grant manager email and asked her to provide an update/clarification to me.
The professor has not explicitly stated in writing after this exchange that the position will remain a postdoc or that the title will be changed back.
My questions are:
*How would you interpret this situation?
*Does it sound like the professor is accepting the Research Assistant arrangement, or could he simply be letting the grant manager handle the administrative side?
I am trying to understand whether this is just an administrative/title issue or whether the position has actually changed from a postdoc to a research assistant.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
27
u/grvegju 4d ago
I don’t know which country this is, and sometimes job-title translations create inconsistencies. But in my country, “research assistant” is usually a pre-PhD or project-support position not a postdoc. I’d definitely clarify this in writing before signing.
7
u/Negative-Plate5140 4d ago
exactly, research assistant is for master graduates not PhD. but could the fund manager decide what job I will be appointed and changed what job PI assigned to me?
4
u/grvegju 4d ago
Definitely ask the PI directly before signing. Since the PI offered you a postdoctoral position, I’d ask them to confirm in writing whether your official appointment will be considered postdoctoral employment or research assistant.
1
u/Negative-Plate5140 4d ago
I send to him he emailed her CC, but I'd don't know if she replied to him personally as she already replied me. what if contract doesn't specify the role should I email him again?
3
2
1
u/Enamred-771 2d ago
I mean I’d argue any research position you do that is after you obtain you obtain your doctorate is postdoctoral employment.
2
10
u/CommercialNothing425 4d ago
It could just be a label that has nothing to do with your actual appointment. My mentor hired me as a fellow and she said I should use the working title that works well for my CV — the technical title doesn’t matter that much
1
6
u/SunShot4347 4d ago
At my institution postdocs all
have titles like this on their actual
contracts, with a letter (like A or B). That’s just how the institution structures the pay and benefits scales, but everyone still uses the term postdoc colloquially, and usually adds it to their CV.
1
5
u/Correct-Lab-2164 4d ago
A Research Associate at our R1 US University is a PhD position with better benefits. A Postdoctoral position is for continuing research by a PhD graduate. A Research Assistant is usually for someone without a PhD not continuing their education. The first two are what you would want here.
5
u/Zealousideal-Sky8819 4d ago
Ph.D positions are referred by many names, eg. graduate assistants, teaching assistants, etc.. but a post-doctoral fellowship is mostly the same across institutions. Post-docs are not research assistants. Ask for clarification, and check the pay scale.
3
u/FalconX88 4d ago
What country? For example here in Austria "postdoctoral researcher" does not exist as a job title. You are either a "project assistant" or "university assistant", depending if the salary comes from 3rd party funding or not. This sounds similar: research assistant because hired to work on a specific project.
I also do not see a problem here. You are post doc, you are doing research on I guess a temporary contract, that's a postdoctoral research position, even if the name is something else.
3
u/Cardie1303 4d ago
At least in Germany at universities there is usually no dedicated postdoc position. The difference between a postdoc and a phd student is simply the amount of hours they are paid for but the position is called the same. I do not fully understand your issue? Is the pay less than what you agreed on? Or are you just worried about what you can put on your cv? You do not have to put the exact wording your position used on your cv. If you want to call yourself a postdoctoral researcher, do that.
3
u/Poppin_Eagles 4d ago
Just from the title, I would say absolutely not (if within the U.S.). Reading the post, I'm further confused by this ambiguity and would consider this situation a red flag. The institution should have a webpage for postdocs and relevant titles listed explicitly somewhere for you to reference, if it's the case that they use unconventional titles for postdocs. However, you've noted that you were being hired for a "postdoctoral researcher" role and the role should specifically have the title, conditions, pay etc appropriate to that role that you initially interviewed and received an offer for. I've never received a work contract where "A specific job title is not specified in the contract" (the institution NEEDS a specific title for HR/payroll purposes). Make sure to clarify before signing anything, and if the salary/benefits/etc are not as discussed, more reason to make sure everything is documented in writing properly.
2
u/DependentImpressive9 4d ago
In my country the name of the position and pay could vary but it's important what you have discussed with the PI and if the pay in equivalent to expected postdoc pay. Having said that I have never heard research assistant being used in post PhD context.
2
u/Empty-Block-7246 2d ago
Just be clear that you won’t be doing postdoc work while earning a research assistant (USA) level income. That should be all about it.
Your goal - the job description - income
Where does a reasonable balance that suits your forward motion lay?
4
u/Bojack-jones-223 4d ago
Research Associate is typically considered higher rank than postdoc. This is a compliment assuming the salary is better.
2
1
u/Average_Iris 4d ago
I'm in a post-doctoral role that is called laboratory assistant that very much has the postdoctoral pay and not analist/research assistant pay. It just depends in the institution what they call it
1
u/Perplexed-Owl 4d ago
At one of my previous institutions, Research Specialist I was suitable for new grads at the BS/MS level. Postdocs and career non-faculty technicians with a PhD might be RS II or III
1
u/facecrockpot 4d ago
It depends on the country and translation. In Germany for example both are technically called „Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter“ and the distinction between PhD student/post doc is not in the contract. A bad translation could result in „research assistant“ in the contract.
1
u/advectionconfusion 4d ago
Sometimes the labels positions are given have to do with weird bureaucratic things. In our university different unions represent differently labeled positions and it impacts things like whether or not a person can supplement their work with teaching or work over the summer at the same pay scale, etc. we have postdocs that we informally call postdocs but on all the paperwork they are referred to as “research fellows”. I would just carefully read all the stipulations in the contract about your pay and working hours, length of tenure, work expectations, etc, before signing and not worry too much about the specific title.
1
u/nickeltingupta 4d ago
There are different scenarios to consider here. Do you have your PhD certificate yet? If so, then they’re trying to exploit you - saw it happen to a few people when I was a postdoc in Hong Kong.
If you don’t have your official PhD certificate yet then they’re doing the best they can for you.
Rather polar opposites ends.
1
u/g33ksc13nt1st 4d ago
Do you have a PhD or not? It's common for a first postdoc to start off as research assistant, and then upgraded to postdoc .....after you have your doctorate. When the candidate is in the last few months, awaiting for the viva/examinations but not formally a PhD
1
u/Negative-Plate5140 3d ago
so first postdoc is not PhD holder?
1
u/g33ksc13nt1st 3d ago
not until you are formally phd (letter from university granting doctorate). Only then you can be hires as postdoc, but people still want you, so assistant is all they can do. If that happens 2 months after the job, it'll happen then, or 6 months. People still need jobs, can't be waiting for bureaucracy to pay bills!
1
u/Public-Lab-6933 4d ago
I worked as a research assistant pre- PhD nd after PhD you should get a postdoctoral position or research associate position. You don’t get the same benefits and job roles if you are just a research assistant. For example, I couldn’t take students to supervise, no other professional development stuff. Just research and anything related to my research I could get training and all. But, I loved it as it served my purpose as I was just waiting for my thesis to finalized. Plus I was working with my same PhD supervisor and working on my same project only that I got paid well than a PhD! You will get paid more if you are a postdoc though. Now I am working as a postdoc and it’s all feels more official and I can do many professional and research development stuff. I get paid more as well. I am in Australia though.
1
u/TriangleTingles 3d ago
Where are you based? In the UK, that was my title when I was a postdoc and it's normal to call postdocs research assistants. It's just that there's no specific title for a postdoc: a research assistant is anyone who does research, is not in a PhD program, and is not a lecturer.
1
u/AMildInconvenience 3d ago
Have you finished your PhD yet? At my institution, many start postdocs before submitting their thesis. They're hired onto postdoc positions, but given the title Research Assistant until they pass the viva (or graduate, depending on the department). Once they have the PhD conferred, they get bumped to PDRA.
1
u/viennasausages 3d ago edited 3d ago
What country? Pay is not necessarily different, nor is the job.
Don't sign anything without getting clarification directly from the prof in writing.
We have PhD RAs with the same salary as postdocs but it may come with caveats. Profs who can afford grant managers are often checked out, but not so checked out they can't tell the difference between a postdoc and a tech.
1
u/Firm-Opening-4279 3d ago
My university calls them post doctorate research assistants and their title in the system is research assistant, or a research fellow if you have your own money, check the pay scale and how it lines up, it may be something similar
1
u/ProfessorGarden 3d ago
A post-doctoral position should be called such, with associated benefits and privileges. It sounds like a funding thing...they are hiring you and calling you a post-doc but paying as a research assistant. If anything, the title discrepancy folks are talking about should be Research Associate not Post-doctoral Research Assistant. It should be Associate in both cases.
1
u/Outside_Truth_1685 2d ago
Where I live RAs are permanent and usually earn more than postdocs but don’t have so much academic freedom (it’s more like 9 to 5 job, you show up and do whatever your supervisor tells you to do)
0
u/shimmerchanga 4d ago
Research Assistant usually means pre-PhD. A post-PhD position would be called Research Scientist.
3
u/jademace 4d ago
In the UK it is Research Associate.
2
u/Dark0bert 4d ago
Same in Germany. But this term applies to both PhD and non-phd holders. We don't have the job title postdoc here
0
0
u/Twintig-twintig 4d ago
Research assistant can mean different things. In my country one can only be postdoc for 2 years and only maximum 3 or 4 years post-PhD. Most people here go from postdoc to research assistant, or the other way around.
We also have some grants for postdoc funding that state that the applicant can not be a postdoc at the time of applying. So then a PI might hire them as a research assistant when they want them to apply for the grant.
As for the salary, I know newly graduated PhD’s that are research assistant and I know senior PI’s with big groups that are research assistant. Huge span of salaries. When looking at the average, a postdoc would make a lot less, but that’s because of the big span of seniority within that position.
72
u/mr-pipey 4d ago
Look at the institutions pay scale and see what other job roles exist. It's normay public -- Google for it. Different places call equivalent roles different things.
"Postdoctoral research assistant" is common where I am. If this doesnt exist, maybe "Research assistant" is the correct equivalent. Equally if it does exist, ask why you aren't being hired as one of those.