Best places to work for post-docs

29 October 2009

By Matthew Salois

The life science magazine "The Scientist" publishes an article every year on the best places to work for post-docs (http://www.the-scientist.com).  All of the institutions in the top rankings share two things in common -- first, a concerted effort directed at helping new post-docs adjust to their home and work environment and second, the career development of each individual.

Taking a role in helping post-docs adjust to their new lives is not to be under-estimated.  The Scientist reports that 61% of post-docs are not citizens of the country where they are working and 76% of them receive their PhDs abroad.  Since the majority of post-docs are working outside their home country they must not only adapt to a new job but also to life in a new country.  The Nobel Foundation in Oklahoma provides each new post-doc with a dedicated staffer trained to get them accustomed to their new life. The Karolinska Institute in Sweden provides day-long seminars to train post-docs in issues ranging from Swedish healthcare to effective communication with Swedes.

Institutions are also engaging more heavily in the career development of post-docs.  At the University of York, post-docs receive training in marketing, finance, and management which helps them to assimilate to a career in the private sector if they desire to pursue that option after their post.  At Systems Biology in the US, post-docs can apply for a one-year fellowship to work as science consultants for an investment group using their knowledge to help select biotech start-ups to fund.

Perhaps the most notable thing out of the 2009 list of best places to work for post-docs is the fact the list is dominated by institutions outside the university system.  Of the top 15 places in the US, only one university made the list (the University of Minnesota).  Although many post-docs maintain aspirations of staying within the world of academia, the world outside the Ivory Tower is courting the most talented post-docs. 

With each passing day, I can see myself leaving the university system.  While I considered such a thought mere heresy just a year ago, I am becoming more aware of the opportunities in the "real" world. While I was once driven by the ambition to be published in the top ranked journals (for reasons of vanity and pride), I have recently felt the burning desire to make a difference. Perhaps it took a post-doc to show me what I really wanted in life - not a career that adds to the endless reams of journal articles on library shelves that rarely, if ever, get read, but a career that might actually change the life of someone else.

Ironically, the evening after I wrote this blog my department chair invited me to apply for a lectureship opening up.  I'll let you know how that goes.