Postdoctoral researcher survey

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We are doing a little survey for the Postdoc Appreciation Week (in 2022, it is taking place from Monday 19 September to Friday 23 September). Originally, it was an initiative by the National Postdoc Association in the US, and later in the past years, also, the UK started to celebrate it. We can't see a reason why we can't do the same in other countries! So, please let us know what experiences you have/had during your Postdoctoral appointment(s).

Results of the survey will be transformed into a blog post that will be published on the EGU Geodesy Blog: https://blogs.egu.eu/divisions/g/

We are also planning to publish some interviews during that week. So, if you are interested, please contact us (via ecs-g@egu.eu) or put your email down in the related question. Thank you for sparing some time to do this questionnaire/survey!

EGU Geodesy division ECS team

Postdoc... "Piled Higher and Deeper" by Jorge Cham www.phdcomics.com

So, let's first start with the definition! Are you familiar with the comic "Many ways to spell Postdoc" by PhD comics? If you don't that's okay, we will give you the options listed in the comic. We were wondering which one is the right spelling. *

postdoc: the lazy way

Post-doc: the grammatically correct way

PostDoc: the German way?

Postdoc student: the confused admin way

Post-doctoral fellow/scholar: ‘’Look at me, I'm Ivy League ‘’

Postdoctoral researcher/associate: ‘’I'm not sure this is better but throw me a bone, will you ‘’ way

At what stage are you in your postdoc? *

Hey, I just started! (less than 1 year)

1 - 2 years into

Let's say around 3 years

How long is your current position/contract? *

Less than 6 months

Between 6 and 12 months

1 year

2 - 3 years

3 - 5 years

I have a long-term contract

How do you find the availability of your past and current positions? Were you able to go where you wanted to? *

I couldn't find any position in the place where I wanted, so stayed in the same university

Settled down with the first possible option

Close enough

Found a job where I wanted

If not, what were the restrictions?

How do you feel about job security in academia? *

Pessimistic. Unacceptable.

Not very positive, you know. But it is not so bad I would stop.

I think it is good for creating a network and gaining experience.

Are you thinking about continuing in research beyond the postdoc stage? *

I don't know what else I can do.

I might consider leaving if I can find a job outside of academia.

Love research, hate short-term contracts. I will find a research institute/agency.

I will stay in academia.

How is your experience so far compared to your PhD period? *

Not so different

Feeling more pressure, due to the amount of time and how much I need to accomplish

It's been exhilarating

What were/are the difficulties you encounter/-ed during the position hunt? *

Contracts shorter than a year, having trouble to move and start again

Unrealistic expectations (number of publications, independence i.e. only first-author papers etc)

Cannot find a job position for my partner/difficult to move with family

Not enough funding

Visa/residence permit problems

Discrimination (gender, nationality)

Other:

Required

We would like to hear your thoughts on the current postdoc crisis and what can be done to improve the situation

Asking this to understand how diverse and inclusive we are in our community *

Female

Male

Non-binary

Prefer not to say

Where are you based in currently? *

And finally, would you like to participate as an interviewee for our blog? *

Maybe

Yes

If yes, can you share your email? You can also send us an email (ecs-g@egu.eu) that you would like to be interviewed.

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