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Improving the Postdoctoral Experience

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From bench to bedside -- Naturejobs, Thursday 28 August 2003
The training takes longer, but those willing to invest extra time in getting to grips with both basic and clinical research can reap the benefits, not least in job satisfaction, says Karen Kreeger.
Doctors Without Orders: Highlights of the Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey
Results of Sigma Xi's survey of 7600 postdocs at 46 US institutions. Very interesting discussion of salaries, training, and administrative oversight.
A Bridge to Independence
ScienceCareers.org, Feb 3, 2006. "A March 2005 report by the National Academy of Sciences called on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to build a 'bridge to independence' for young scientists struggling to establish themselves as independent researchers. On 27 January, NIH Director Elias Zerhouni answered that call by opening just such a bridge, in the form of an innovative grant program that will speed postdocs into assistant professorships and independent research."
NSF Wants PIs to Mentor Their Postdocs
Science, August 11, 2006. "U.S. funding agencies have traditionally steered clear of micromanaging the relationships between principal investigators (PIs) and their postdocs, although federal grants typically pay the salaries of these unsung lab heroes. Postdocs say this hands-off policy encourages PIs to treat them as skilled laborers rather than apprentice scientists. Last week, the National Science Foundation (NSF) took a small step toward addressing that complaint with a directive aimed at getting scientists to take their mentoring role more seriously."
ScienceCareers Postdoc News
ScienceCareers articles on postdocs
Postdocs as Intellectual Entrepreneurs
"University administrations are struggling to develop policies that catch up to these realities. Much of the controversy has been framed with questions such as 'Is a postdoc a student or an employee?' These questions, although important, sidestep the central issue: the quality of the postdoctoral experience."
Improving the Postdoctoral Experience: An Empirical Approach
A detailed analysis of the findings of the Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey. Contains fascinating results on factors contributing to postdoc research productivity and satisfaction.
The role and rights of postdocs www.naturejobs.com
The postdoc's lament is a sad song heard in labs all around the world. It usually includes some variation of the refrain "overworked, underpaid, under appreciated and possibly working on an artifact". In the biological sciences, postdoctoral training is now a requisite phase of a research career. This was not always the case.
Professors of the Future Post Doc Career Development
To develop and provide a program of professional career development activities, including mentored research and mentored teaching experiences at the University of California Davis and San Francisco State University, as part of a comprehensive training program.
At last, a chance for postdocs to learn how to teach
by Karen Kreeger, Naturejobs, February 28, 2002. "Most postdocs have little teaching experience when they apply for their first faculty position. They have been primed to emphasize research, often at the expense of everything else."
Training programmes with vision
Making the transition from PhD student to fully fledged research scientist is not always easy and timing is often one of the problems. The trouble with many PhD students is...
Looking (Without Much Success) for New Ways to Help Postdocs
Chronicle of Higher Education, March 23, 2001. "Leaders of research organizations and grant-making organizations met with representatives of postdoctoral fellows here this month to devise ways to improve the way postdocs are treated. And while all participants agreed on the need for change, they couldn't agree on concrete steps to take."
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