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ENHANCING THE POSTDOCTORAL EXPERIENCE FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS: A Guide for Postdoctoral Scholars, Advisers, Institutions, Funding Organizations, and Disciplinary Societies
Postdocs in universities may face uncertainties with regard to their funding if they do not know the termination date of the research grant that supports them. Postdocs in government and industrial settings are less often dependent on funding with a fixed termination date and may have fewer financial worries.
POSTDOCS IN DIFFERENT SECTORS
Participants in the COSEPUP focus groups indicated a wide variation in their postdoc experiences according to sector. In industrial and national facilities, postdocs tend to receive higher salaries and clear institutional standing with the same benefit structure as other temporary or contract employees. In universities, stipends are lower, benefits vary by source of funding, and institutional standing may be uncertain.
Postdocs in universities.
The vast majority of postdocs work in universities as research associates on PI grants.8 The exact number of grant-supported postdocs is unclear, however, because different institutions use different titles to describe them, and because major funding agencies (e.g., NSF and NIH) do not have a mechanism for counting or tracking the postdocs they support (though NIH is currently considering a tracking system).
Postdocs in academia have more opportunity than other postdocs to teach and mentor others (especially graduate students). These activities are important in gaining subsequent university employment, and can be essential for landing a faculty position at a four-year college. Most postdocs, however, report little time (or encouragement from advisers) for activities away from research. Without these experiences their job options may be limited (especially for foreign postdocs, many of whom can benefit from stronger language skills). Other critical skills developed by many academic postdocs include writing grant proposals, critically reviewing manuscripts, and presenting research results at disciplinary society meetings.
Although graduate students and postdocs often work closely together in universities, their roles and experiences differ. Graduate students usually have access to special student offices and resources, have many peers, and can rely on oversight from multiple faculty. According to COSEPUP's survey and focus groups, postdocs often work under a single adviser with no other oversight or protection, may have little or no access to institutional facilities or benefits, and sometimes know few or no other postdocs at the institution.
8
Exact proportions are not available. Federal agencies, which support most postdocs via research grants, award grant monies directly to institutions, which may assign various titles to those who are supported by those grants. Thus the same postdoc who is a “research associate ” at one institution might be called a “fellow” at another. However, it is clear that the vast majority of postdocs are supported by research grants. As previously stated, of postdocs supported by NSF, some 95 percent are paid from research grants.
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