Tips for finishing your PhD and finding your first Postdoc

This talk was presented at the Hull university (School of Biological Biomedical and Environmental Sciences) postgraduate research conference, 28th Jan 2016. For any questions or clarifications please feel free to email Dan Jeffries (dljeffries86@gmail.com)

Transcript

1. Hull Postgraduate Research Day 2016 Tips and tricks for finishing your PhD and finding a Postdoc
2. MSc – 2009-2011: Lori Handley, Stuart Humphries PhD – 2011-2015: Bernd Hänfling, Lori Handley, Gordon Copp Postdoc 2015: Nicolas Perrin N thesis = 1.5 N Postdoc aquisition = 1
3. Jens Tom Alexandra Sze Huei Wen-Juan Paris Silvia The study system
4. 5 tips for thesis writing ~ 10 mins 5 tips for finding your first Postdoc ~ 10 mins Discussion ~ 10 mins - Students and PIs Outline
5. Finishing your PhD thesis 5 tips for thesis writing 1. Do ’t fear the east! 2. It does ’t atter ho . . . . . just start! 3. Do it YOUR way. 4. Manage your supervisors. 5. Choose your examiners carefully.
6. . Do ’t fear the east!
7. Do ’t fear the east!
8. 2. It does ’t matter how, just start! T begi , begi ” William Wordsworth Methods – write as you go along if you can. Write papers as you go. At some point you just have to actively engage.
9. 3. Do it YOUR way Everyone works differently What worked for us • Find a writing area and schedule. • Plan the writing thoroughly with headings, subheadings and figures. • Run this past supervisor first. • Chop the thesis into bite sized chunks. • Chapters -> Sections -> Subsections -> Paragraphs. • Take short but regular breaks determined by task, not time. • Write in rough first and fill in specifics later, it is much easier to correct work than it is to write it. • Write in a group. • Eat ell, sleep ell, e er ise, so ialise, do ’t put our life o hold . . . • REMEMBER – printing and binding takes a week!
10. 4. Manage your supervisors Your supervisors are busy people! Turnaround of drafts will not be instantaneous. Lets assume a chapter goes through 3 drafts (this is optimistic). Each draft takes 3 days to get back (this is optimistic). That’s 9 da s of aiti g . . . Per hapter. Ask them what their schedule looks like: Do they have high teaching load that semester. Is it exam period (i.e. Marking hell). Are they going on holiday / field course etc ... Let them know when they are going to get your drafts. This is also a way of giving yourself deadlines.
11. 5. Choose your examiners carefully Your Viva is an opportunity Get useful feedback on your work, unpublished chapters etc. from an expert. To impress a potential future employer.
12. Finding a Postdoc 5 Tips for finding a Postdoc 1. Publish! 2. Network, network, network. 3. Start early - ou do ’t ha e to ait for a ad ert. 4. Choose the lab carefully. 5. GET HELP!
13. But first . . . . . ... ask yourself the question, why do I want to do a Postdoc? Invalid reasons for doing a postdoc For the fame/money/power/prestige. Be ause that’s just hat o es e t Invalid reasons for not doing a postdoc Be ause ou’re s ared ou ight ot e good e ough. Be ause ou’re ot % sure ou a t to e a Professor.
14. 1. Publish
15. 2. Network Go to conferences! If money is an issue talk to your supervisor/the grad school/a society/ the conference organisers. You should target at least a couple of conferences every year. Always present something. Talk to everyone. And always say yes to the pub. Be good to your supervisors and they’ll be good to you! They know a lot of people - can they put in a good word? They will pass on vacancies.
16. Network Out of 7 postdocs: Only 1 got the jo ith o Net orki g i ol ed. 1 knew the PI and asked to write a grant with her. 2 applied for advertised positions with a recommendations from a supervisor that knew the employer (me inc.). 3 met them at conferences (2 in the pub). got a head start o a positio that as ’t ad ertised et. 1 wrote a grant with the PI.
17. 3. Start early! You do ’t eed to ha e our PhD et. Writing a grant takes a very long time! You might be able to avoid writing the thesis and applying for Postdocs at the same time – Not fun! Postdoc applications take a long time! 3-5 days each. Start dates are flexible. It a take a hile to fi d a Postdoc.
18. 4. Choose the lab / project carefully What do you want from your Postdoc? How big is the lab? Is there scope for good collaborations? How productive is the lab / PI? Do you want to stay in the same field / study system? Will you learn from the project? Will you lose time learning a new system? Its not just about them choosing you!
19. 5. Get Help! .... from your supervisors and research group Ask them to look at your: CV cover letters applications proposals Give your interview talk to your lab
20. 5 tips for thesis writing 1. Do ’t fear the east! 2. It does ’t atter ho . . . . . just start! 3. Do it YOUR way. 4. Manage your supervisors. 5. Choose your examiners carefully. 5 Tips for finding a Postdoc 1. Publish! 2. Network, network, network. 3. Start early - You do ’t ha e to ait for an advert. 4. Choose the lab carefully. 5. GET HELP!
21. Questions & Discussion points . . . PI’s – what is the most important thing that you look for in a Postdoc applicant? Raw IQ? Independence? Technical ability? Collaboration? Paper writing? The whole package? . . . . Etc? Is it ok to ask if there’s a i ter al a didate? What is the best way to make first contact? PI’s – good options for funding sources?