Start thinking about your post-doc now

Are you within 12 – 18 months of finishing your dissertation?

I know that’s a hard question. And you can’t really know with any certainty.

But do you feel like you are approaching the end of this process?

One possible next step is a post-doctoral fellowship

SSHRC has a program.

Many universities have internal funds for this purpose.

The deadlines for this year have passed. But that’s okay, because I’m suggesting you start now to apply in fall 2010 and start a fellowship in summer 2011.

Even if you are closer to finished or have already defended your dissertation, you may still be eligible. Read on. It’s not too late.

A post-doc should not be a parking lot

A post-doctoral fellowship is a way to dedicate a year or so post-PhD to really establishing your program of research without the extra challenge of also trying to establish new teaching responsibilities, and participate fully in collegiate governance.

Now that you have a good sense of what your doctoral dissertation is about, you can start thinking about where you want to go next with your research.

• What are the big questions that interest you?
• What specific questions are arising out of your doctoral research that could be explored further after the dissertation is finished?
• If you were to examine more sources or collect more data to investigate those questions, what would those sources be?
• Are there any skills that you need to pursue your research questions that you didn’t gain during your doctoral research?

Pondering these questions will not only help you frame a solid post-doctoral fellowship application, but they will help you put a firm boundary around the doctoral project.

If you know what you will do next, you will be less tempted to squeeze extra stuff into your doctoral dissertation. And that means actually finishing it.

A post-doctoral fellowship is an opportunity to expand your training and gain new experience and insight

One of my clients did her PhD in a relatively traditional history department. But her research interests include public history and using new web-based technologies to communicate historical knowledge to a broad audience.

In our discussion we talked about using a post-doctoral fellowship to work with someone with strengths in digital humanities to improve her skills in this area and get her firmly on this new path.

Another client decided that his research program would benefit from working with established scholars who knew his field study area but brought knowledge from different disciplines to his questions.

He devised a post-doctoral fellowship proposal that is strongly based in a particular region. He’ll be collecting new data while learning to analyze different types of data and building relationships that will underpin a longer term program of research.

Building a strong fellowship application

Most post-doctoral fellowship funding requires that you work with a new supervisor in a different institution from where you did your doctoral studies.

And the evaluation criteria include the fit between your project and the proposed place of tenure. The reference from the proposed supervisor is also heavily weighted in the evaluation process.

Your past performance, including past awards and fellowships and the duration of your doctoral studies, are also evaluated but there isn’t much you can do about them apart from making sure you get your dissertation finished in a timely manner.

The other main evaluation criteria is the quality of the proposal, based on the likely significance of the contribution to knowledge.

Defining a next project

A post-doctoral fellowship is only 12 to 24 months in duration. That said, it is 12 to 24 months when you are primarily focused on research. You have no teaching responsibilities nor any significant service obligations.

The project needs to be more than just getting publications from the dissertation out, though you will also be doing that during the tenure of your fellowships.

It needs to advance your program of research and make a significant contribution to knowledge. Not earth shattering or paradigm shifting, but a contribution none the less.

You can frame the project in relation to the big questions that drive your research, but you need to focus on one specific question that you are going to investigate during the fellowship.

Initially you are likely to think of this in terms of what you want to do — data you want to collect or analyse, an article you want to write — but you then need to ask yourself why you want to do that.

What contribution to current debates in your field do you hope to make by doing the proposed research?

Finding an institution and supervisor

If you start planning now, you have lots of time to research possible supervisors and institutions. And to build a relationship with the researcher(s) that you want to work with.

That researcher might also have a strong positive contribution to make to the design of your post-doctoral project.

And if they turn out to be the kind of researcher that is looking for disciples rather than collaborators, you have time to change course and find someone whose approach suits you better.

Other sources of post-doctoral funding

In your search for a good place to work as a post-doctoral fellow, you may also discover other sources of post-doctoral funding.

The supervisor you would like to work with might have access to internal funds at their institution.

Or they might have a research grant that could be used to fund a post-doctoral fellowship.

Or they might be preparing to apply for a research grant in the fall with an objective that could include your project. It might be possible to work together on the supervisor’s grant proposal and include funds for a post-doctoral fellow in the budget.

This last option does not have to mean a loss of autonomy. It is not uncommon for a SSHRC Standard Research Grant proposal to have 2 or 3 specific objectives under the main objective. And one of those specific objectives could be a discrete project that contributes to the more general objective but is your project.

In addition, working with an established researcher on an SRG application is great experience for you that will serve you well when you do get a tenure-track position.

You have choices

Although the circumstances are not always of your own choosing, you do not have to relinquish control of your future to those circumstances.

If research is important to you… If you want a career in which research plays an important role… Then you need to define your research program and prepare yourself to take advantage of opportunites that arise.

Clarifying your research goals and building relationships with people who can help you achieve them is an important first step.

Even before you have finished your doctoral dissertation.

Need help?

If you think this sounds like a good idea but you don’t know where to start, I can help.

A 1-hour career coaching session is only $150.

In one session, you will be clearer about where you want to go and have concrete steps to take to get started.

We can also deal with some of your anxieties around the process so your job search is starting from a position of confidence instead of quiet desperation.