percent of responding departments said they would not consider hiring a faculty member who lacked postdoctoral experience. A University of California at Berkeley survey that tracked scientists who received PhDs in biochemistry in the 1980s found that 86 percent of them did a postdoc and 40 percent did two or more postdocs with different mentors.⁴

Postdocs are paid by a variety of funding sources, and their status as postdocs depends in significant ways on the nature of the source. This status is reflected in differences in pay and other benefits; some postdocs receive no health insurance, for example, while others may receive full health benefits, including dental insurance, sick leave, personal leave, disability, life insurance, and retirement plans.

Within a wide range of variability by field (see Figure 2-4), most postdoctoral researchers are supported on the grant of a PI and may be called postdoctoral associates or research associates. A smaller number bring their own funding in the form of fellowships and traineeships, and are often called postdoctoral fellows. For example, of the almost 4,500 postdocs supported by the NSF, only about 200 are supported by fellowships.⁵ Traineeships also are provided through Center training grants, which are neither PI- nor postdoc-generated. This guide addresses all postdoctoral scientists and engineers, regardless of title or source of funding.

The position of postdocs may differ considerably, according to their source of funding, even though their experiences are identical. Postdocs who work on the grant of a PI are essentially employed to work on the adviser's project and may receive standard benefits from a lab or institution; in some fields, they may also have less flexibility in choosing their research topics and extramural experiences. A postdoc supported by a competitive individual fellowship or grant generally has more prestige and initial flexibility in choosing a program and adviser particularly if the fellow is thereby without cost to the adviser's grants. On the negative side, fellows may not qualify for important institutional benefits. For example, the University of California campuses offer postdocs who are paid from research grants and classified as research associates the same benefits, including vacation, as other employees. By contrast, postdocs who are classified

Front Matter (R1-R26)

Executive Summary (1-3)

Postdoctoral Scholars in US Institutions (4-20)

Features of the Postdoctoral Experience (21-41)

Rights, Opportunities, and Responsibilities of the Postdoc (42-56)

The Postdoc and the Adviser (57-69)

The Postdoc and the Institution (70-87)

The Postdoc and the Funding Organization (88-94)

The Postdoc and the Disciplinary Societies (95-96)

Principles, Action Points, and Recommendations for Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience (97-109)

Bibliography (110-112)

Appendix A: Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy: Member and Staff Biographical Information (113-121)

Appendix B: Analysis of Quantitative Data on Postdocs (122-137)

Appendix C: Results of Survey of Organizations with Postdoctoral Scholars (138-158)

Appendix D: Summary of Workshop on Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience (159-174)

Appendix E: Summary of Results from Institutional Focus Groups (175-184)