For post-docs - (Jul/22/2009 )

For those who are doing their post-docs,
How did you find your mentor or lab of choice? Sure there are many ways, through collaboration, read their fantastic article, you just googled, your friend worked in same lab/dept.

Just curious how members here found their post doc position and what is there experience so far, like did they like it? is it what they expected? etc. etc.

Thanks for your valuable inputs.

Hey,

I wrote to the guys I was interested in working with, didn't get a reply from may of them. Visited 2 labs for an interview and the decided to join one.

Best,
TC

noelmathur on Jul 22 2009, 06:33 PM said:

T C on Jul 22 2009, 10:13 PM said:

I have had interviews and one postdoc after replying to job adverts in Nature etc. and then ended up meeting someone at a conference who passed on my CV and got me a job here in Japan. I would say going to conferences is a very good way of meeting people and getting contacts for postdoc work. Its not to say I didn't manage to get a postdoc on my own, but it does help when they know you (at least by name or lab) or it does seem like to me.

Totally agree on this, many of my friends got it this way...talking to people in conferences.

LostintheLab on Jul 23 2009, 07:09 AM said:

I just searched websites of the Universities/Institutes that had Haematology departments in places I was willing to move to (ie: the UK). I narrowed it down quite a bit based on what was written on the PI's research pages (to about 7 labs). Then I came over (from Australia) and had meetings with all of them. The lab I ended up is in Cambridge (as Cambridge 'felt right'). The lab I picked because the PI seemed nice and the projects sounded interesting. Also, people currently at the institute suggested I work for my current PI rather than any others here.

Sounds fair enough, BUT now I regret picking this lab - but I think it's for reasons I could not have predicted at the start.

Clare

Clare on Jul 23 2009, 11:05 AM said:

This is exactly what I am scared of. This has already happened with me once i.e. my current lab for my PhD and it has screwed up my career as a scientist a big time. Still, I have not given up hope and want to make a 'right' choice at least for my post-doc.

Hey,

Unlike PhD, while doing a postdoc u have an option of leaving anytime you want and it counts as experience. So if you get positive vibes from a lab and yes if you get a call, just go for it.

Best,
TC

noelmathur on Jul 27 2009, 08:28 PM said: