How to choose the right postdoc?
Christine Toutain, Stéphanie Kervestin, Cyril Berthet and Latif Rachdi.
Advice from Christine Toutain, Stéphanie Kervestin, Cyril Berthet and Latif Rachdi.1/A year before leaving, when you're looking for a host lab and if you don't have any connections, look at the number of publications and the types of financing available. That's important. Beware: the size of the lab is not always a good indicator. A small lab can be very dynamic if it's driven by a director who's aiming to make a name for him or herself.
2/ Once you've made up a list, you can send out spontaneous applications, but it's better to have a recommendation from your research director... and come from an eminent lab.
3/ When you get a positive answer, it's extremely important to go visit the labs (which pay plane tickets) and meet as many people as you can to get a feel for the atmosphere.
4/ Once you're there, one question to ask is "how long does it take for PhD students to get their degrees?" That can be a clue to the lab's dynamism. If it takes more than seven years when the average is five (including the Masters degree), proceed with caution! That's often a sign that the boss is hardly available.
5/ During the interview, don't focus only on the scientific aspects of the postdoc. Ask about additional training, talk about the type of visa (generally a J1), the salary and everything else! Social benefits (health care and retirement) and the cost of living (which can be very high in large American cities) are likely to eat into your budget.
More information about ABG?
Get ABG’s monthly newsletters including news, job offers, grants & fellowships and a selection of relevant events…
Discover our members
Ifremer
Généthon
Groupe AFNOR - Association française de normalisation
Aérocentre, Pôle d'excellence régional
TotalEnergies
MabDesign
CESI
PhDOOC
Nokia Bell Labs France
Institut Sup'biotech de Paris
CASDEN
Laboratoire National de Métrologie et d'Essais - LNE
MabDesign
Tecknowmetrix
ADEME
ANRT
ASNR - Autorité de sûreté nucléaire et de radioprotection - Siège
SUEZ
ONERA - The French Aerospace Lab
-
JobRef. 133909, Nouvelle Aquitaine , FranceNLOPTICS
R&D Engineer- Non Linear Optic Material Inspection tools
Scientific expertises :Physics - Electronics - Materials science
Experience level :Any
-
JobRef. 133531Paris , Ile-de-France , FranceUniversité Paris Cité
Postdoctoral position: DNA Origami Molecular Tools to Investigate and Interact with Biological Systems
Scientific expertises :Biotechnology - Biochemistry - Biology
Experience level :Junior