Blog – Reflections on my (kind of) first year as a post-doc

I tend to get quite reflective at this time of year and I realised that I’m almost coming up to one year as a post-doc. So, I thought what better thing to do than reflect on the role and the very wobbly transition from PhD to post-doc life. So, in the spirit of reflectiveness at this time of year, I thought I’d reflect on some things I’ve learnt since starting my post-doc role.

You can’t control every aspect of the project

As I stayed in the same lab group that I completed my PhD in, expectations-wise I didn’t expect that much to change. I already knew the people I worked with, I knew the facilities and I thought it would be one of those projects’ I’d just be able to start from the get go and get my teeth fully stuck into – and that was true. However, one thing I’ve learned over the past year is that even if you stay in the same lab for your first postdoc role it doesn’t mean you’ll always get started off the get go – because science is science. New projects take time to get into, and with new projects comes lots of logistics and planning and organising and learning of new techniques. Due to feeling pretty skilled at certain things at the end of your PhD it’s easy to forget what it’s actually like to be a novice again – and if your post doc role involves new techniques you’ve never tried before you will go back to being a novice – which is one of those wonderfully exciting and challenging things to be. As well as all of the above you can only control certain aspects of your project, you can’t control when things arrive (even if you plan till your heart is content) and because science is science you also can’t plan for equipment issues either. So, one very important thing that I’ve learnt over the past year is that you cannot control every aspect of the project. Many aspects of a project are out of your control and because I’m someone who loves a good plan that is something I’m constantly having to remind myself about.

A postdoc is a big job – and it should be treated as a job

I thought my PhD was a big job but then I started my post-doc and wow – post-doc jobs are BIG. I think this obviously depends on the grant you’re working on but let’s be honest, for grants to get funded they have to be ambitious, so the chances are you’ll be working on something very ambitious – which is exciting but also slightly terrifying. For me, I don’t think I realised how many spindles a post-doc role would have. I had some idea of course but I think practically I didn’t know what that would look like on a daily basis. And being a post-doc, you’re expected to plan studies, complete experiments, analyse data, write up the data, keep on top of your own professional development, develop your cv, supervise and teach PhD students new techniques. On a daily basis your days are likely to look very different – which for me I enjoy. But, because the role encompasses so much this can also be super overwhelming. And this is something I’ve been figuring out for myself during the past year or so.

There will always be more to do

Just like any job there will always be more to do. There will be more reading, more experiments to plan, more experiments to complete, more analysis to do, more grants you could write, more training courses you could go on, more students you could supervise. And in academia let’s be honest we are a sector of doing more, more, and more until we then realise oh wow, I think I’ve been doing too much and now I am very burnt out (from my personal experience anyway). And I think for me, one of the most important things that I’ve been learning over the past year is that I cannot do it all – as there will always be more to do. I’ve been working on setting myself more specific to do lists so that I’m not left with huge numbers of tasks to complete at the end of the week. And I’ve been working on being okay with not taking on the world!

Time is your most precious resource

Post-doc roles are most likely fixed contracts. Positions can range from 6 months to 5 years. And because the roles often have an end date, where the grant money runs out it often means that time is your most precious resource. And time goes exceptionally quickly during your post-doc. I mean I honestly can’t believe I’m almost one year into mine already! Because time is the most precious commodity, I’ve found it essential that I continually work on my time management skills and setting of boundaries. I’m constantly having to reassess what I have the capacity to take on. There are so many courses or webinars I get emailed about but I have to really sit down and assess whether that will be beneficial for me. This is a something I’m definitely having to work on, because I often said yes to lots of things during my PhD but that’s just not doable anymore. But, on the plus side it does mean that anything extra I take on is something I’ve really thought about, want to do and know will be valuable for me and the skills I want to develop for my future. One thing I’ve also realised over the past year is that just because one time management strategy worked for me during my PhD, it doesn’t mean that it will still work for me during my post-doc and I am frequently trying to refine my time management strategies.

Being a postdoc is cool – but the constant fear of ‘what’s next’ is not cool

There is this weird transition period between the end of your PhD and post-doc role – and if I’m honest I’m not sure I’m fully transitioned yet, especially as I did so much of my PhD during the start of my post-doc role. The transition is weird, because you spend years pouring your heart and soul into your PhD and then one day it’s done and that’s it – and you move on to a new project. But, I try and look back on the start of my PhD journey and I think to myself, wow look how far you’ve come – you’re in a position that you never thought you’d be able to get to a few years ago and that is cool. And, I do really love my research field, doing the research, problem solving and figuring out new things – even if at times research is frustrating. But even though there are many good things about a role as research scientist, due to the security of roles and the short contracts, I am always in a position of ‘what next’ and I often find myself unable to be ‘in the moment’ as I have to think of my next move. I guess this is something that I need to get used to if I want a career in academia, because this is what it will be like until I get a permanent position – which isn’t a definite for anyone – (probably a blog for another day).

I feel like this blog may have ended a little sour – but it’s not sour this is just the reality of post-doc positions. Science, is dynamic, projects regularly change and so do people. I think it’s easy to think that we just live in a vacuum when we are doing our PhDs and post-doc jobs but we don’t. We change from year to year, and the things that were once important to us may become less important and things that maybe weren’t important to us at the start of our journeys may became more important to us. So, I think what I’m trying to get at is that everyone’s experience of their PhD and post-doc roles will be different. There is no one way to do either of them you just have to figure out what’s right for you at that moment in time.

Personally, this is something I am still trying to figure out. Which, is itself frightening but on the other hand very exciting. I love that I get to do science every day, however I will never love the lack of security and the feeling of continually having to think about what’s next, and I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only one who feels this way.

Beth Eyre

Author

Beth Eyre is a Postdoctoral Researcher (Dr pending minor corrections) at The University of Sheffield, researching Neurovascular and cognitive function in preclinical models of Alzheimer’s disease. Beth has a background in psychology, where she gained her degree from the University of Leeds. Inside and outside the lab, Beth loves sharing her science and we are delighted to have her contributing as a regular blogger with Dementia Researcher, sharing her work and discussing her career. 

Follow @bethsbrainbites