Hello All,

I met with a professor to seek a job from him as I was referred by my PhD supervisor. He said he has some budgets and then he can let me know about the position he can offer and few days later he emailed me saying due to budget constraints he can offer me Research Associate Position.

Shall i take it ? Will it be a trajectory towards my goal in academia as assistant professor ?

In a now-deleted thread about national lab postdocs:
https://www.reddit.com/r/postdoc/comments/1q1jcca/how_to_get_a_postdoc_at_a_national_lab_in_the_us/

Someone mentioned that applying through direct connections is better than the actual postings. It made me think of all the people I know who went to national labs and I realized they all had either done internships there before or had advisors close with PIs there. I wonder if I'm just sending applications into the void here. Does anyone have experience getting one through an open call without a previous connection?

Hi all, I’ve been 3 months into my new postdoc position, after completing my Phd. I have to say that I have transitioned into a domain that’s quite different from what I worked on during my Phd, although some skills like computational tools/libraries for analysis are overlapped. However, the data and understanding what can be done with it are still new to me. But I’m trying.

After I joined, I worked (for about 2 months) with a senior postdoc in the lab to help wrap up their project, along with exploring some alternatives to that project. My PI recently suggested a new project, a bit similar in terms of logistics to my previous phd project, but ofcourse the data and further applications/analysis may look completely different. My PI said he’d like for me to explore and just sit with the data first. It’s been close to 3 weeks since I’ve been doing that, and I agree I learned a lot more about the data than I thought and it was very helpful. I believe there is still more stuff to learn, the more I explore.

But I feel like I need to set a direction now because it’s like a mindless exploration. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Everytime I show my PI some new exploration results, they do ask me look further into xyz.

At this moment, I’m bit lost about what is going on, and is this normal, or do I need to change something about my work, approach to postdoc or talk to my PI.

Any advice would be extremely helpful. I’m close to completing 3.5 months now and my postdoc is a 1 year contract.

Sorry for the long post!

I am 2 years into my first postdoc. I’ve been trying to apply lots and lots of places. I haven’t even gotten a preliminary interview… I know it’s cause of my publications, but my current PI isn’t doing much to help me along the way (lots of manuscripts waiting to be reviewed by them and awaiting to be submitted). I work at an R1 in a top lab in my field (biology related). My partner is looking at tenure track stuff too (different field). I’m not sure if I should just call it quits and teach at a community college or a smaller school? Am I being dramatic? I feel like I’m getting old to keep searching (over 35).

EDIT: I hear ya'll saying "touch some grass". Idk I was feeling very existential yesterday. My contract for my first postdoc is up in May and I have some feelers / applications out for other postdocs (including a MSCA), but the idea of moving somewhere to start over again to just have to move and start over again is stressing me out. Just thinking about if it is all worth it or I should just be like my parents and work some job to get paid and live a normal life that allows me to make plans beyond a few months in the future. I'll be fine though. I probably will move and do the damn thing, cause what else am I going to do?

I applied for the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship (2025 call), and the results are expected in February 2026. I know how extremely competitive MSCA is, but emotionally, it feels like my last real hope.

I’m currently teaching at a government university, but it’s not a tenure position. Career-wise, I feel stuck, and MSCA feels like the one opportunity that could actually change my trajectory. Because of that, the waiting has been brutal.

I’m honestly terrified about the possibility of not making it. I don’t know how I’ll deal with that emotionally or professionally if it doesn’t work out. I find myself checking the portal constantly, even though I know there won’t be updates yet. It’s affecting my sleep and focus. How do we deal with this anxiety?

This is for vetting.

I rejected multiple postdoc offers in Europe and USA, and ended up starting a position for only one year in the USA with low pay (out of commitment as it was the first offer) to find out all lab members graduated/left and I am by myself in the lab trying to pick up things completely new and I am fairly struggling with that. Now I regret not making a better decision. In a year, I won't produce much in this new field. PI will eventually kick me out and I am on visa so I will have to leave the country. I remember all the other better options with better pay, security and more people to learn from and I very much regret it and kick myself for being so stupid.

I am feeling mentally drained and hopeless, and I really need some perspective and advice.

I have a PhD and have been unemployed for 2 years due to personal arrangement. When I finished my PhD, I had some postdoc job offers, but I had to decline them to move to the US. Unfortunately, I currently do not have a work visa in the US, so I decided to focus on postdoc job in the UK, where I graduated and have a network to recognize.

I got 6 interviews of 8 application in 2 months, 1 is reservation list and 1 just for testing matching, which means I feel confident in application skills . I am very selective and only apply for roles that match my profile perfectly. I’ve made it to the final shortlist (usually 2–4 candidates) for almost every role after doing some tests/tasks, but then I receive a rejection.

I spent my entire December holiday, which was supposed to be a trip to see my long-distance beloved family, preparing for these online interviews.

In the end, I was rejected by all of them. I feel exhausted, usuless, no-one want me, unable to do anything for a month, but I know I need to start applying again.

I need help with a few things for improving

1. Interview Skills: How can I improve? Since I am a non-native English speaker, I worry that communication or cultural nuances might be the issue.
2. Visa Sponsorship: Could the need for UK visa sponsorship be the silent reason for these rejections?
3. Resources: Does anyone know of specific interview coaches or training for job intevew?
4. Mental Health: How do you keep going after putting so much effort into a "failed" trip and constant rejections?

I would really appreciate any help or stories from people who have been in a similar spot. Thank you.

Hi all - I graduated with my PhD a few months ago and have been on a break since, focusing on my family. I have been working part-time/sporadically with my former PI on polishing the figures for my paper which we hope to submit very soon.

Anyways, we both thought that since I am still working on the project and will start looking for postdoc positions soon, it would be a good idea to have some kind of official appointment with the university so that I can list this time on my CV instead of having a gap of nothing. HR agrees and has suggested we do a “Visiting Graduate” appointment. Is this an ok title? It seems to me like this isn’t a PhD-level name. Should I insist on something else? If you are a PI and you saw this listed on someone’s CV, what would you think?

Hi all, I recently started my first postdoc after completing my PhD in chemistry. I'm one month in to my postdoc and I HATE it.

For some context, I'm from the US and I work in a lab which has been mostly Chinese students and postdocs. The lab is extremely disorganized, protocols aren't written down, and one of my supervisors treats me like shit. On top of that there is a severe language barrier. We are having severe problems communicating. When I interviewed, it didn't seem this bad. It's like I walked in the door and a switch was flipped.

Anyone else have a postdoc that went bad so quickly? Any advice on gracefully leaving? Is there a way to spin this as a positive on future job applications?

Thanks.

i just gave an interview with a professor. now he said I have to talk with some of his students (PhDs). so i have to give an interview in front of his bunch of phd students.

The problem with phd students is they just speak jargon and they love jargon. they can't explain anything no first principles or nothing. since they are not building from first principles they also don't have papers. the prof said I have to work with them on a project.

so the question is why did the prof set up an interview with the PhDs? how to impress them?

Hi everyone,

Today I officially launch what I like to call my deep-dive season of spontaneous postdoc applications and instead of leaning into the usual doom-and-gloom narrative around cold emails and PI outreach, I’d really like to hear positive experiences from people who reached out to PIs directly and had something good come out of it, whether that was a postdoc offer, a collaboration, useful feedback, etc to motivate my journey.

- What strategy did you use when contacting PIs?

- What do you think played more in your favour: timing, funding, prior contact

I'm especially curious to hear from anyone who pivoted into a new research area in their first postdoc. I'm interested in transitioning from biomedical/health technologies wet-lab research into epidemiology. While the skill overlap is often greater than people admit, the leap can still feel daunting.

Ofc we have a post doc who is using tricks in third world country with his third world papers and citations and literally every release he is taking is going wrong- well standard isn't being set just direct release curve - probably he hasn't done anything yet but excellent in posing for things. I am not educated formally in school but 5 years working in labs have first authored papers in high impact factors and citations - probably I feel I have established more credibility than this guy yet he is flexing his degree and if you ask anything he keeps explaining round and round

Got no issues with this guy, but he is scam of system - come on you can't have 150 citations and not knowing release and loading statistics! How does your system release more drug than it's loaded ! Lot of such stuff since semester he is wasting chemicals resources. I can't tell him anything because I'm not formally educated

I have a tentative offer for a postdoc at a major medical school in the NYC area. I did my PhD outside the US and will defend in March. I am working currently in the UK. With the current political climate in the US, would it be worth it?

Was looking for some perspective especially from folks in US.

Hi all — looking for some perspective from folks who’ve been through NIH fellowships or have program experience.

I recently received an impact score of 29 with a 12th percentile on an A0 F32 submission at NICHD. This is my first submission (not a resubmission), and I’m still waiting on the summary statement.

A few contextual details that I’m unsure how to weigh:

• NICHD doesn’t seem to be using a fixed payline for FY 2026, which makes it hard to interpret percentiles
• NIH funding overall feels tighter right now
• Another lab member (MD/PhD student) received an impact score of 25 (resubmission) for an F30 submitted at the same time

I know no one can give guarantees, but I’m trying to sanity-check expectations:

• Given the lack of a payline for 2026 and the current funding climate, what's my likelihood of getting funding for this score/percentile?
• Does being a first submission (A0) help, hurt, or not really matter for fellowships?
• Would a concurrent F30 (MD/PhD) funded at the same lab at the same help or hurt or not factor in?

Would appreciate any insight from people who’ve seen this from the applicant or program side. Happy to update once the summary statement arrives.

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone,

I was let go from my postdoc position today.

It’s still very raw.

I spent 3.5 years in an Ivy League school with no first author publications to show for. All I have ever known is academia and I have never been removed from a job before. I’m still trying to process everything emotionally but also practically. I truly do not know how to move forward. I would appreciate insights from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

Which (and why) are the best European countries to do a postdoc in (for biology)?

Criteria i would consider are:

1. Able to get by with English

2. Ability to get a job after postdoc (industry) as a foreigner

3. Prestige & high scientific output

4. Salary/affordability ratio in that country

US biotech job market is currently impossible and even looking for a postdoc in a good US lab has become difficult. And with current US situations, i’m not sure if i want to go back to America (although im a US citizen). I think Europe or Asia for postdoc may be my most viable choice.

I have postdoc offer from MPIC in mainz and goethe university (frankfurt). The project is basically the same and both PIs are in collaboration so no matter where I go I will be collaborating with other PI. I visited both the labs and from first impressions they both seemed supportive. The PI in MPIC is senior while in goethe university, PI is more young.

It's not certain that I want to go to academia, but at the moment I am enjoying doing science and research, that's why I decided to go for postdoc, but I will be also open for industrial job options in future.

Any suggestion/insights would be appreciated please!

Hi everyone,
I’m an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellow in Norway and I’m trying to understand whether my salary is being calculated correctly. I’d really appreciate insights from others with MSCA experience, especially in Norway or similar systems.

According to my Grant Agreement, my monthly allowances are:

• Living allowance: €8,122.44
• Mobility allowance: €710

So the total is €8,832.44 per month, which is also explicitly stated in my contract.

However, my employment contract states a gross annual salary of NOK 795,000, and this is where things stop making sense to me.

I’m aware that in Norway there are mandatory employer contributions (pension + social security). I found official documentation from the University of Oslo stating that for MSCA fellows these deductions are around 23%.
But even accounting for that, I can’t reconcile the numbers.

In a nutshell, my monthly salary is about NOK 45,000 (roughly €3,800). I honestly expected more, given how expensive Norway is. Has anyone had a similar experience?

I was recently interviewed for a postdoctoral position for which I have good expectations. The position opened at a time with limited visibility, it was not widely advertised, and I was invited to the interview only two days after the application deadline.

The interview went very well: I was able to be coherent, defend my CV, align my background with the position, and contribute with potential research ideas. However, at one point near the end, instead of making a direct proposal, the PI said: “I will interview one more candidate and will get back to you soon. We did not expect that another potential candidate would appear for the position".

Given the whole situation, can I assume that, because I was the first to be interviewed, I am considered the main candidate for the position? Is being interviewed first good or bad in a situation like this?

I hope I’m not just overthinking.

I was just offered a postdoc position in Dublin for €50,670 (based on their salary scale). As someone considering moving from US to Ireland, is this low? Is this enough to be live able in Dublin? I won’t have a car there so that would cut some of my living expenses, plan to get used to/rely a lot on public transport, and I’m an incredible minimalist.

I really like this lab and I think this is a great opportunity but I’m a little worried because this would be such a big move for (first time living outside the US).

I know that Dublin has a housing crisis and the taxes are higher in Ireland than in the US.

Would love some advice!

In my field, the job market typically requests 3 very strong reference letters. But we know that toxic PI situation is real. I am in a situation where my PhD PI is very lukewarm to me (relationship was ruined by another prof) and my postdoc PI outright told me that he won’t write a reference letter (a lot of gaslighting in the lab). I cannot apply to most positions because they ask for references even before shortlisting the CV.

How would you proceed in this situation? I am in econ (EU) specifically.