Do I stay or do I go?

One of the major decisions many postdocs struggle with at some point in their career is whether to continue to pursue their current career track and aim for a permanent academic position, or whether to cut their losses and get out before they are pushed out. Whilst it is relatively easy to secure a first or second postdoctoral position – since it is usually highly relevant to previous PhD research – moving from a junior to a more senior ranking post is harder, and becoming more so as funding cuts start to bite.

Unlike the academia of 20 – 30 years ago, the working culture is much tougher and more competitive nowadays what with journal impact factors, personal H-factors, pressures on funding and the rise of new global research competitors. Whilst the number of professorships and lectureships may not have diminished, there are far more PhD studentships and postdoctoral research positions available, and permanent departmental technician posts have all but disappeared in many universities. As a ‘second-best’ scenario, many postdocs would consider a permanent faculty research/technical post so that they can realise a more balanced and stable working life. However, although recent national policies have improved the rights of contract research staff in many countries, it is still the case that postdocs are funded on ‘soft’ external money, while institutional technical and research positions are funded internally by the institution itself (which may not have the budget or the will to create such posts). On a personal level, postdocs would need to be willing to change their research focus to adapt to the requirements of the department which, understandably, many are not prepared to do.

What do postdocs themselves think? There’s been an interesting recent discussion on one of the LinkedIn groups I subscribe to “PhDs outside Academia” asking the question “Why do you want to leave academia?” Here is a snapshot of some of the replies: 

“Some leave academia because they realise that they actually don’t like research / teaching / work-life balance; some leave for the money and some leave due to pragmatic reasons. In my case, I love research and am good at it, I love teaching one on one, I love the interaction with others. However, my research track record while good, is not outstanding. To get a grant funded position requires “outstanding”. I might be able to work in someone else’s lab. But that opportunity hasn’t arisen – and a government job has. The job I am going to pays twice as much as academia and acknowledges my previous 25 years of clinical experience, which academia doesn’t. I hope to keep my research going in the spare time…”

“Among the many reasons I left Academia is the lack of a clear career path: I don’t want to move from temp job to temp job, aka postdoc, in the hope I’ll get a professorship in my 40s— it’s too much of a gamble and the risk is not hedged at all.”

“What really gets me is the mobility requirement… It is often the case that – if you fail to secure a grant to continue at the institution you are based at (which you often do considering the fierce competition) – you have to relocate to another town (or country!) to work on a project within your field of expertise. At some point you just don’t want to move any more…”