LIFE AFTER THE Ph D Daniel J Jacob

LIFE AFTER THE Ph. D. Daniel J. Jacob

TYPICAL Ph. D. CAREERS – – – Professor (research university, teaching college) Research scientist (national lab, university, industry, small business) Expert scientist (consulting, industry, government, NGO) Science manager (government agency, private) Wall Street, etc. WHERE ARE THE GROUP ALUMS (including postdocs)? • Professors at research universities: Denise Mauzerall (Princeton), Yuhang Wang (Georgia Tech), Randall Martin (Dalhousie), Colette Heald (CSU); Lyatt Jaegle (UW), Francois Ravetta (U. Paris), Isabelle Bey (EPFL), Mat Evans (Leeds), Dylan Jones (Toronto), Paul Palmer (Edinburgh), Rokjin Park (SNU) • Research scientists in national labs: Yves Balkanski (CEA), Larry Horowitz (GFDL), Hongyu Liu (NASA), Qinbin Li (JPL), Arlene Fiore (GFDL); Mian Chin (NASA), Martin Schultz (KFA), Philip Cameron-Smith (LLNL), Celine Mari (CNRS), Nadine Unger (NASA), Solene Turquety (CNES) • Expert scientists: Jinyou Liang (CARB), Amanda Staudt (NWF), Nathalie Poisson (ADEME) • Postdocs: Yaping Xiao (UNH), Rynda Hudman (Harvard)

IS A RESEARCH CAREER FOR ME? Good reasons to choose a career in research: • Exert your creativity- contribute to human knowledge, search for truth • Science is so much fun; euphoria of understanding something new • Achieve success by objective measures of merit, not social skills or appearance or public approval • Don’t deal with human suffering or people who hate you or want to step on you – just numbers, equipment, and nice colleagues. • Enjoy mutual respect with your peers in a relatively non-competitive atmosphere • See the world and meet the people who live there – the world is your village • Be guaranteed an upper-middle-class income, little financial pressure – true ‘professional’ • Gain professional and social acceptance as a nerd • Enjoy independence, stay a kid your whole life Good reasons not to choose a career in research: • I’m not having much fun as a grad student (psst – it doesn’t get much better) • I don’t enjoy science or the scientific community that much – would rather a 40 h/wk job or a people-oriented job • Research is too narrow– I want more big-picture, have more obvious impact • Research is too long-term – I want more variety in my work • I want to become filthy rich Bad reasons not to choose a career in research: • “I’m not creative enough” - you don’t know this, and the creativity bar is not high • “I don’t want the publish or perish mentality” – it’s not that harsh, and you can also work in a team where you don’t need to publish • “It’s too hard to get a good job” – it really isn’t, there are tons of jobs out there

RESEARCH CAREER: UNIVERSITY OR NATIONAL LAB? • University career – Incredible independence – Teaching keeps you in contact with fundamentals – Broad intellectual community – Contact with students, joy of mentorship, university environment – Focus on individual achievement – Not as difficult as it seems. Most universities are not like Harvard (every polar bear his own ice floe). Most actually provide a supportive and collegial environment, and don’t have unreasonable expectations for faculty. • National lab – Work with colleagues – be a team player; avoid isolation – Be part of an enterprise, make big things happen (like a satellite mission) – Benefit from institutional support for your research – Conduct science yourself rather than through students/postdocs – Avoid teaching

WHY DO A POSTDOC? Doing a postdoc is a good idea if you want a research career • • Broadens your expertise: gives you more flexibility for your future research Positions you better for seeking employment: your market value increases as your Ph. D. papers get out, you get involved in more projects, get to know more people, etc. Gives you a breather to think about what you want to do, apply for positions Allows you to carry out research with little interference from other duties and at a time in your life when commitment to research may be relatively easy; your postdoc may produce the best papers of your career [Jacob, JGR 1986, 333 citations; Jacob and Wofsy, JGR 1988, 312 citations] Why NOT do a postdoc? • You’ve decided against a research career • Excellent job opportunity strikes at the door (but then they will often still let you do a postdoc) • Personal issues (relocation, financial needs)

WHAT KIND OF POSTDOC? • • At a university – generally best if you want an academic position – University profs tend to have more fire in the belly, pressure to publish, personal contact with postdoc, mentorship experience – Stay in contact with university world At a national lab - best if you want to put your foot in the door for a position in that lab – Labs often use postdoc programs as feeders to recruit permanent staff How much should I (can I) change fields? • Ideally your postdoc should broaden significantly but build on your Ph. D. work – learn a new technique, work on a different problem • Changing fields is OK (if you can find an employer) but you lose the contacts acquired in your Ph. D. – detracts from career continuity Should I try to get an independent postdoc fellowship? • A prestigious fellowship (e. g. , NOAA) is good pedigree and looks good on CV • …but it can box you in to work at a specific institution or with a specific advisor • It’s a good way to do something very different – for which your advisor wouldn’t hire you on his/her own money • …but independence has its danger – possible neglect by advisor

HOW TO GO ABOUT LOOKING FOR A POSTDOC Don’t just look for advertisements!! Most postdoc jobs are obtained by networking • • • 1 st step – decide on the area you want to go into. Ideally it should broaden significantly your grad school experience while also building on it. 2 nd step: identify a few potential advisors you would like to work with. Nothing is more important than to have a boss that you respect and from whom you want to learn. 3 rd step: contact them by e-mail, or talk to them at a meeting. Tell them you’re very interested in their research and would like to work with them. You don’t have to identify a specific project – you can, but it’s their job to suggest. Offer to apply for fellowships – they may have fellowships to suggest, or they may tell you it doesn’t matter. The above is mostly for academic postdocs. Other postdocs (national lab, agency) may require more anonymous application to postdoc fellowship programs (NRC, ASP, AAAS, etc. ). Nevertheless, it’s always important to think about who you want to work with and contact them. People who can recommend you are your ace in the hole – coming out of this group is not going to hurt you, but having networked during your Ph. D. with outside people who can say you’re great is a big plus.

HOW TO SUCCEED IN A POSTDOC INTERVIEW • • Have some idea of what your future boss is doing and how you may fit in, but the most important thing is to demonstrate expertise in your Ph. D. work and to be able to convey it (having vision, being articulate). Your prospective boss doesn’t expect you to have expertise in their line of work – but looks for record of achievement, clarity of thinking, vision Your interview talk is very important – see “how to give an effective presentation” ‘. You must show (1) vision – demonstrate why what you’re doing is important, (2) tutorial skill – know your audience, start at the lowest common denominator, (3) rigor and mastery of your work. The most common criticisms I hear from Harvard professors about postdoc/faculty interview talks are: – “He couldn’t explain why what he was doing was important” – “I couldn’t understand what she was doing” – “He had lousy visuals, wasn’t articulate” …notice how detached this is from the technical content of the talk. A common misconception is that you have to gear your talk towards your host’s interests so you can impress him – you’re likely just to make a fool of yourself. Play instead to your strengths – your host will be able to recognize these even if they’re not in her area.

HOW TO SUCCEED IN A FACULTY INTERVIEW • • • The university has only very few appointments to make in your field, and is considering a lifetime commitment. It is critical that you present yourself as someone who has a clear idea of where the field is going, who will be a leader of the next generation, and who has sufficient vision and breadth to evolve as needed. Do your homework with the department – know what the faculty are doing, engage them in their research (they’ll be pleased even if you’re naïve), bring up possible avenues of collaboration Your talk is the most crucial part of the interview. Give an overview of what you’ve done for your Ph. D. +postdoc and then focus on one topic to go into depth. Your ability to convey your research to a broad audience is critical – provide adequate background, explain why your problem is so important. Show scientific vision, mastery of fundamentals, avoid technical detail. A few slides at the end to describe your future plans is a good idea – but show vision, don’t be pedestrian. You may be asked about teaching plans. Show flexibility in offering to teach a range of subjects, particularly at the UG level. You want to convey breadth, flexibility, collegiality, and strength in the fundamentals. You can be more serious as to what you actually agree to teach once you get the job You may be asked about start-up needs. Aim high – you will earn respect for that. Focus on what you need rather than on what it will cost – the university may have creative solutions to meet your needs. A starting package of $500 K is a very reasonable request for a modeler. Expect the initial offer not to meet all your expectations, but view it only as a starting point for negotiations – and negotiate! Once you have an offer your position becomes all of a sudden incredibly strong – an obstreperous faculty group has somehow managed to find consensus around you and to get an offer approved by the Dean, this kind of consensus happens once in a blue moon so they can’t afford to let you go and if they do let you go the Dean might take their position away!

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS • • • As a research scientist can I get away with having no social skills at all? (I love that question) – Of course not, but the standards are very low. Look people in the eye, be able to carry out a basic conversation, maintain basic personal hygiene… not much more is expected! How do I build vision, develop a sense of future research priorities? – There are plenty of community documents for that: IPCC, WMO, NRC reports, workshop reports…read them. Interview senior scientists, who love to be asked their vision of the future, and you might find something useful in their pontifications. Is it detrimental to skip the postdoc and go straight to a faculty position? – It generally is, though if you’re offered a great position you should of course take it (and then ask for a deferral to do a postdoc – that’s a standard thing these days). The risk in going straight to a faculty position is not having a chance to broaden your horizons – a faculty position hits you with teaching + administrative + proposal duties, it’s hard to find time for reflection and it’s hard to get funded outside of your narrow Ph. D. area of expertise. How should I approach a postdoc at the same institution as where I did my Ph. D. ? – There are two kinds of such postdocs; the ‘short postdoc’ in which you wrap up loose threads from your Ph. D. for a year or so after graduation, and a longer (more standard) postdoc. The former is just a brief extension of your Ph. D. and can be followed either by another postdoc or a research/academic position where your additional experience gives you some benefit. The latter is not necessarily a bad idea (there is no penalty in principle for doing your Ph. D. and postdoc at the same institution) but you should broaden your horizons – don’t keep on doing what you did for your Ph. D. How about a postdoc overseas? – This is a great idea if you want a career overseas, but in general not as good if you want a career in the U. S. First problem is you’re ‘out of sight, out of mind’ when time comes to apply for U. S. jobs – institution and recommenders may not be well known. Second problem is that the weight of the hierarchy is typically greater abroad than in the U. S. and the push to publish is typically less – in general it’ harder for young people to shine than in the U. S. But these are generalities of course and there are plenty of exceptions.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (cont. ) • • Should I do multiple postdocs, and how long should a postdoc be? – In atmospheric chemistry there is in general no need or reason to do more than one postdoc – jobs are plentiful. A second postdoc may hurt (‘why can’t that person get a real job? ’) unless it involves a substantial change of research direction or some personal imperative. A good postdoc should be at least two years, ideally three, to go over the learning curve and start producing papers. A very long postdoc (5+ years) is not harmful if you stay productive – sometimes on the contrary, and examples at Harvard abound. Is it a good idea to take a faculty position at a very good place but where I'll be isolated? – It’s obviously risky. But a very good place generally means good graduate students, good infrastructure, and a good ‘brand name’ with which to apply for research grants. It’s important in that case to gauge the level of support you will get from the faculty and the administration – if they recognize that you will be isolated and offer you support ( a good start-up package, opportunities for sabbatical, reasonable expectations for tenure, etc. ) then I would go for it. How should I pick recommenders (besides my adviser)? – It’s best to have (1) big names and titles, (2) names from outside your institution. Nothing is more important for a prospective employer than a recommendation letter from someone they know and somewhat respect. Of course the ‘big name and title’ has to be able to say something significant about you – but if they can’t they will generally tell you (by declining to write a letter), because they know that a bland letter is ineffectual and they can’t risk their good name on writing a strong recommendation for someone they don’t know well. Having recommenders from outside your institution sends the obvious message that your fame has already extended to the national (or international) scale. How do I build a good name for myself? – A record of high-quality publications and presentations is a sine qua non and the most important thing. Quality here is far more important than quantity. but it’s not enough. You have to generate a ‘buzz’ about yourself. This means networking with scientists outside your institution – through scientific meetings, engaging visitors, communicating by email…