"The largest employers of Post Graduate Students are scientific research and development services firms as well as the Federal Government.
- Job basic research usually requires a doctoral degree;
- Applicants may face competition for basic research positions due to limited funding.
- Computer scientists,
- Database administrators,
- Network systems, and
- Data communication analysts.
- The areas of computer science research range from complex theory to hardware design to programming-language design
- researchers work on projects, such as developing and advancing uses of virtual reality, extending human-computer interaction, or designing robots.
- They may work on design teams with electrical engineers and other specialists.
- Computer science researchers employed by academic institutions have job functions that are similar in many ways to those employed by other organizations.
- In general, researchers in academic settings have more flexibility to focus on pure theory, while those working in other organizations usually focus on projects that have the possibility of producing patents and profits.
Resources: Labor of Statistics, "Post doctoral Scientists in computer Occupations”, 2008-2009
"Salaries researched and the following list presents the range for post doctoral researchers:
0 - $36,996
1 - $38,976
2 - $41,796
3 - $43,428
4 - $45,048
5 - $46,992
6 - $48,852
7 - $51,036
The Graduate College recommends when appointing new Postdoctoral Research Scholars (FP01) and Postdoctoral Research Fellows (FP02) that the salaries be determined by the NIH/NRSA salary guidelines. (Listed above)
The Graduate College strongly advocates utilizing these salaries. If for some reason you cannot meet this salary requirement, a letter of justification must be attached to the Form F. The College is concerned about equity for current postdoctoral scholars/fellows and encourages departments to bring their salaries into alignment with new hires."
Resources: The University of Iowa, Last Revised 08/05/2008
University of Southern California, Los Angeles
Center for Interactive Smart Oilfield Technologies
Postdoctoral Associate Position
"A postdoctoral research position in Computer Science/Computer Engineering is available at the Center for Interactive Smart Oilfield Technologies (CiSoft), University of Southern California, Los Angeles. CiSoft is a USC-Chevron Center of Excellence for Research and Academic Training on Interactive Smart Oilfield Technologies. Established in December 2003, the Center includes participating research scientists from various departments in the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and from Chevron.
We are seeking applicants to join our Integrated Asset Management (IAM) project and apply advanced computer science technologies to challenging problems in IT-enabled oilfield operations.
The successful applicant will have a PhD in Computer Science with a willingness to receive the necessary cross-training in the basics of oilfield operation and the challenges in achieving the vision of IT-enabled smart oilfields. Research experience in one or more of the following areas is required: semantic web technologies, knowledge management, information integration, metadata management, grid computing, web services and service oriented architectures. Software development experience is also desirable.
The successful candidate will be a highly motivated self-starter with prior research experience that demonstrates creativity and independent thinking. Key components of your role will be interacting with various stakeholders to define tasks, objectives and milestones for the various areas of IAM project, translating business needs into short-term and long-term research directions for graduate students, and monitoring graduate students activities, deliverable and deadlines. Excellent skills in oral and written communication are essential.
The position offers a competitive salary and a flexible and attractive working environment.
To apply, please send your CV, a brief (1-2 pages) description of your thesis work and related research interests, and two of your best publications. Your CV should include your publication record and the names and contact information of 3 references."
"Postdoctoral research position in Computer Science/Computer engineering", V.K. Prasanna, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, January 15, 2009.
Post Doctoral Positions are expected to increase as the enrollments in Universities continue increasing and many tenured faculties retire. Of course, positions dealing in computer science are one of the many which will be in a group of popular disciplines in the next 5 years. The work environment is a mix of others in high academia. Since computer science works in many school disciplines, you might find an extremely accomplished research scientist in Biology as your partner.
The work environment for a researcher in computer science will be as it was in PhD courses, working mostly at the computer at a desk in a nicely cooled environment. Since computers work better in cool conditions it's not very likely the environment will be overly heated.
The post doctoral positions pay well as listed above. You can no doubt live on it, but after a few years, you will finish and move on to other jobs or research positions. The salaries can almost double as you move in the best direction. As we discussed early, government hires about half of the students who have completed their post doctoral position and firms hire half as well. Where ever you go, getting a beginning in the post doctoral program can definitely help improve skills in computer science. The years in a post doctoral program can also put some good experience in your corner. So when you complete your post doctoral position there will be some beneficial experience behind your doctoral degree.
