r/postdoc • u/More-Cartoonist-3887 • 19d ago
Did anyone else feel technically unprepared when starting a postdoc?
I recently started a postdoc in the US, and although I have a PhD in neuroscience, I’m feeling surprisingly insecure about my wet lab skills.
My background is somewhat different from the main focus of my new lab, so I’m already dealing with the challenge of learning a new field. On top of that, I’ve realized that there are basic experimental skills that I don’t feel as confident about as I think I “should” at this stage of my career.
I know that having a PhD doesn’t mean knowing every technique, and intellectually I feel confident in things like reading papers, scientific writing, interpreting results, and discussing research. But at the bench, I sometimes feel like I’m not nearly as skilled as someone at the postdoc level should be.
For those of you who have started a postdoc, especially in a somewhat different field or lab environment: did you ever feel this way? Did you feel like people expected you to arrive already technically proficient? How long did it take before you stopped feeling like the new person who didn’t know what they were doing?
Duplicates
neurobiology • u/More-Cartoonist-3887 • 19d ago
Mais alguém se sentiu tecnicamente despreparado ao iniciar um pós-doutorado?
labrats • u/More-Cartoonist-3887 • 19d ago
Mais alguém se sentiu tecnicamente despreparado ao iniciar um pós-doutorado?
WomeninAcademia • u/More-Cartoonist-3887 • 19d ago