After the dissertation you are on a high from the massive accomplishment you've just done. Then you start your postdoc. You are surrounded by new people who have no idea who you are or what you are capable of and for that reason you may find yourself feeling like a first year grad student all over again, trying to prove yourself and feeling strangely like an impostor despite your newly minted PhD title. This feeling may even have started when you first began looking for postdoc advisors and were intimidated by professors who had no idea who you were. Here are some tips to help you cope:
(1) You're still in training! - Remind yourself that you are capable and you have a PhD, but you are still in training and it's okay to admit when you don't know something and need help. I'm sure you've helped a fellow postdoc in your former lab as a grad student, so look to grad students in your current lab as they are likely the experts on new protocols and such. It's more than likely you'll go through a second round of impostor syndrome (assuming your first was in grad school), but know there is support. On Valerie Young's site, you can sign up for weekly 'impostor buster' words of wisdom to remind you you're not alone and you can do it!
(2) Seek out teaching/mentoring opportunities - As a former senior grad student in a lab, you may be used to having people solicit you for help. Though this may have been taxing on your time, it comes with a sense of authority and know how that maybe you are lacking as the new resident 'knowledge sponge' of the group. You should seek out opportunities to mentor and/or teach as a postdoc. This will help boost your morale and beef up the CV in preparation for job applications (should that be your ultimate route). Volunteer for a guest lecture here and there to keep your teaching current and to reinforce the stuff you're learning in your postdoc.
(3) Don't let yourself stay isolated - Even in a large lab or department, a postdoc experience may differ drastically from a grad student experience where you start with a large group of incoming students from different labs and your academic committee forces you to interact with other PIs. It is important to find a group of folks either at your university or elsewhere that you can meet with regularly for emotional and scientific support. If you need help defining or organizing such a group, see: Every Other Thursday for how this model has succeeded for women in science for decades.
(4) Keep up with the literature related to you dissertation work as well as your postdoc - After my first year as a postdoc, I attended a specialized meeting in my research area and realized I had lost touch a bit with the literature in just a year being surrounded by folks in a new area. Upon discussing this with another fellow postdoc finishing up her first year as a postdoc, we decided to organize a virtual journal club for just the two of us via skype. This has been GREAT and grown in the last few years to now include ~5 people. I highly recommend it as a way to keep up with the literature while undergoing new training. It can also satisfy #3 above as a group that helps you from feeling isolated (but a local group always helps).
(5) Get out there and make a name for yourself - You're a postdoc now and an increased level of independence is expected of you. Be proactive about making a name for yourself as a scientist. Some suggestions:
(1) You're still in training! - Remind yourself that you are capable and you have a PhD, but you are still in training and it's okay to admit when you don't know something and need help. I'm sure you've helped a fellow postdoc in your former lab as a grad student, so look to grad students in your current lab as they are likely the experts on new protocols and such. It's more than likely you'll go through a second round of impostor syndrome (assuming your first was in grad school), but know there is support. On Valerie Young's site, you can sign up for weekly 'impostor buster' words of wisdom to remind you you're not alone and you can do it!
(2) Seek out teaching/mentoring opportunities - As a former senior grad student in a lab, you may be used to having people solicit you for help. Though this may have been taxing on your time, it comes with a sense of authority and know how that maybe you are lacking as the new resident 'knowledge sponge' of the group. You should seek out opportunities to mentor and/or teach as a postdoc. This will help boost your morale and beef up the CV in preparation for job applications (should that be your ultimate route). Volunteer for a guest lecture here and there to keep your teaching current and to reinforce the stuff you're learning in your postdoc.
(3) Don't let yourself stay isolated - Even in a large lab or department, a postdoc experience may differ drastically from a grad student experience where you start with a large group of incoming students from different labs and your academic committee forces you to interact with other PIs. It is important to find a group of folks either at your university or elsewhere that you can meet with regularly for emotional and scientific support. If you need help defining or organizing such a group, see: Every Other Thursday for how this model has succeeded for women in science for decades.
(4) Keep up with the literature related to you dissertation work as well as your postdoc - After my first year as a postdoc, I attended a specialized meeting in my research area and realized I had lost touch a bit with the literature in just a year being surrounded by folks in a new area. Upon discussing this with another fellow postdoc finishing up her first year as a postdoc, we decided to organize a virtual journal club for just the two of us via skype. This has been GREAT and grown in the last few years to now include ~5 people. I highly recommend it as a way to keep up with the literature while undergoing new training. It can also satisfy #3 above as a group that helps you from feeling isolated (but a local group always helps).
(5) Get out there and make a name for yourself - You're a postdoc now and an increased level of independence is expected of you. Be proactive about making a name for yourself as a scientist. Some suggestions:
- Take to the web: get on twitter (this can help with #3), build a website, or start a blog!
- Be active at meetings: volunteer to chair a session or to mentor an undergrad or grad student
- Get invited to give talks: ask friends to invite you to their universities to give a talk or invite yourself to nearby universities to talk so that folks in your area know who you are
(6) Have fun! This is the stage where there is the least amount of oversight on you - no committee meetings, no real requirements of you at all. You aren't a professor yet, so you don't have to teach or be on any university committees. You just get to do science! Although this sounds freeing, it is also just enough rope to help you lose sight of your goals - don't let that happen. Stay connected to the field and avoid going deep into academic purgatory!
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