Should I do a Postdoc after PhD?

Should I do a Postdoc after PhD?

28 November 2020

Should I do a Postdoc after PhD? Doing a PhD is sometimes cumbersome and tedious. For some people, the journey can take up to five years. The question everybody starts to ask is “if I should do a Postdoc?”. The answer to that is not very simple and we try to approach it from a different perspective.

Do you want to be an Academic?

If you are willing to join your faculty and become a lecturer/professor, doing a Postdoc after a PhD is a MUST. If you navigate all the vacancies for Lectureship/Professorship, you noticed that in the Ad description, there are a clear statement that discusses your “Postdoc Experience”. The expectation is even sometimes more and the employer (University Selection Committee) expects you to have done your Postdoc out of the place where you have done your PhD.

In all cases, your chance of success will be higher if your Postdoc Experience is not only outside of your PhD alma mater but even outside of the country where your PhD university was located. These are all vital as academics, you should be able to adapt yourself to a new conditions such as a new research stream, new colleagues and different research culture.

Do you want to work in industry/outside academia?

If your intention is to move outside of Academia/University, a Postdoc is not necessarily the best choice. That is due to many reasons which we outline below.

For industry, experience in the industry is the primary factor for recruitment. The reason is the fact that the expectation in University is centred around conducting some research in favour of article publication. However, in industry, the goal is the generation of money and the satisfaction of the customers. As the mindset in these two employers (Industry and University) diverges, the guys in the industry wish to work with people who are familiar with industrial culture.

In short, you should do a Postdoc if you are planning to be a academic otherwise it would be not an appreciable experience in the industry.

Postdoc Positions in Europe:

Postdoc Positions Beyond Europe:

Would you like to know the salary amount of PhD and postdoc positions in Europe?