How to change the research area - (Sep/11/2008 )
I want to change my current research area becasue of lot of reseaons. I am currently working on electrophysiology, but i donot want to do it after my PhD. I am waiting for my publication to be accepted so that i can fising it but in my post doc i donot want to do it.
First i am not very well expert of it becasue my second boss donot want be to be expert of it cuz he is afraid i will stood in competition with him.
I am not fully confident about electrophysiology becasue it requires lot of analysis and i donot know how to do that.....
I am just partially sharing my publicaiton write up. I did experiment but in writing i contribute some part but not whole paper is written by me.
I think i like other topic more like epigenetics, or development... It inspire me, does not require lot of calculations and second its cell based techniques and i can be expert of them in short time as compared to electrophysiology......
But mostly lab takes those people which are expert of the area but if i want to join thier lab i dnot know any thing what methods they used so how can i convience them i want to work them and they will take me.
If you donot want to continue with electrophysiology, you could change it during your postdoc. Many people change their field entirely after PhD. I did my Phd mostly working with animals and had no clue about biochemistry yet my present lab is doing mostly biochemistry and no animal work. The only thing my current boss wanted from me was that I know molecular biology, that's all.
Just relax and look for a position in labs that are not electrophysiology based. You could always tell in your interview that you wish to learn other techniques to make yourself a better scientist so no one will ask too much about why you wish to leave electrophysiology.
Good Luck !!!
Are you sure? b'coz I thought every supervisor wants post-doc who can start working on the project from the day one and if you are changing the field, it will take a while before you are upto the mark and can handle the project all by yourself. To cut long story short, how do you sell yourself?
I am in similar position as the OP, my work has been scooped out by my collaborator (yes, collaborator) and my boss couldn't (or didn't) do anything. There is no support from my supervisor for anything that I do, so I am all by myself. The lab environment is not good either. There is only one post-doc who is really willing to discuss with me without making me feel fool (so I feel more easy to discuss with him than my boss who prefers to tell me how he is sick of me and resorts to shouting and bullying). Overall, I am completely fed up and have lost interest in my current work. So I decided to change the field. I still have one and half year to finish everything up but I plan to start applying from beginning of next year. The question keeps popping up in my head, how do I convince my new supervisor to hire me when probably I don't have a skillset that is required in the new lab!!
Any help is appreciated.