For example, if you are working on your postdoctorate degree in medical science, you may begin looking for work as you complete your degree so that you can transition right into being a postdoctoral fellow at your subsequent area of employment.
If your advisor cannot give you leads in regard to postdoctoral fellow employment, one of the best places to look for postdoctoral fellow research jobs is on the Internet. The Internet is a rich resource because not only does it have listings of postdoctoral positions in every discipline, it also has them listed in just about every area of the country. You may also network with other colleagues as you complete your doctoral work to find out about suitable positions in your area.
What Can You Expect from a Postdoctoral Fellowship?
Most postdoctoral fellowships are temporary research-positions held by people who have completed their doctoral studies. In most cases, postdoctoral fellowships are appointments that last for between six months and five years. In most cases, they are dedicated solely to research; however, in some cases, postdoctoral positions may focus on teaching, if the candidate in question wants to move into teaching within his or her career.
Those who engage in postdoctoral fellowship positions may be called “research associates,” or “fellows.” In most cases, your postdoctoral fellowship will occur in the arts or sciences. Engineers, too, can assume postdoctoral positions, but because most engineers move straight into positions that are non-teaching, and because engineering itself is a relatively lucrative career, most Ph.D. candidates in engineering move straight into engineering positions instead of going the postdoctorate route once they complete their studies.
In most cases, these positions are full-time, forty hours a week; they will specialize in your area of expertise and will give you the opportunity to hone skills before you move into full doctoral positions.
Obtaining a Fellowship versus Going into a Full-time Ph.D. Position
It is up to you, but oftentimes, a fellowship will offer you greater opportunities to concentrate solely on research in your particular area of expertise, to travel to conferences, and in general to do more self-study. One might take a sabbatical, for example. In many cases, postdoctoral fellowship positions utilize 100 percent of your time in research, a luxury not afforded to Ph.D. candidates who are employed full-time in other types of positions. As a fellow, however, you may also be responsible for other colleagues who are pursuing their Ph.D. studies, depending on the position.
Another of the benefits to pursuing a fellowship is that your research may result in your ability to publish for years to come on what you found during this time, when you focused solely on research. In addition, obtaining a fellowship before you move into a full-time a post-doctorate position can help with both tenure (if in the academic world) or in advancement and promotion outside of the academic world.
If the area of expertise you pursue is in the academic world, you will usually begin your postdoctoral fellow work at a higher level of pay than colleagues who did not pursue fellowships might.
In addition, because you are largely responsible for your own time as a fellow (assuming you are not supervising other Ph.D. candidates), you have the ability to not only pursue research 100 percent of the time, but also to travel to conferences and otherwise do other self-study work that can benefit you later in your career. In fact, at no other time in your career will you have as much time to yourself to pursue your own interests as they relate to your career as you will if you become a postdoctoral fellow.
Cons
That being said, there are some cons to becoming a fellow. Although you may perform much of the same work as your fellow faculty members, you will be given significantly less salary for the same work. In addition, while you may be given awards for publishing, the same publication done as a full doctoral member may give you more clout. In addition, you are at the whim of your employer in a way your non-fellow colleagues may not be.
That said, though, because you are given the freedom to pretty much do as you please (within your area of expertise, of course), this advantage can be balanced out against the greater responsibilities a full postdoctoral colleague may have.
Compensation
Many of these postdoctoral positions pay about $40,000 a year, assuming full-time research employment. This varies depending on the focus of the postdoctoral fellow position, the responsibilities included within the position (including perhaps supervisory work over those doing Ph.D. candidate work), and the area of the country the postdoctoral fellowship position is located.
