#sciencephd

It is no secret that academic jobs today, in the sciences and humanities, can be hard to come by. I didn’t concern myself much with the potential availability of academic jobs when I was a graduate student or even when I was two years into a postdoc. That probably sounds ridiculous like I was burying my head in the sand, but I can honestly say that during this time I had never planned on having an academic faculty-type career.  I pursued graduate school and continued into a postdoc because I was curious about the research questions that I wanted to pursue, and the more research-related tasks that I became involved in the more I just enjoyed my days doing the work (designing, carrying out, analyzing and writing research studies) and engaging with my colleagues. Say what you will about my procrastinated entry into the workforce, in those years I bought myself out of almost 10 years of entry-level work that I don’t necessarily envy my friends for doing.

By the time I was finishing my postdoc, I could see what a faculty position at a research-intensive university involved and I was pretty happy playing a support role. I would have been equally happy at a teaching-intensive university or college but found that path hard to pursue when I moved to a new city to do my postdoc and union rules governed these types of teaching positions. As I saw it, staying in a supportive role, as a research associate, meant continuing to do all the things I really enjoyed doing, and was good at – the research, the writing, the on-the ground work (btw – I was absolutely wrong about this being the job).  But slowly I started to realize that it wasn’t enough – that the whole point of these different stages of a graduate career were about growth, and my desire for growth hadn’t stopped even if my professional path seemed like it had. A realization then - I wanted an academic job! And guess what I found out - want is not enough.  

Once I launched myself into the academic job search I learnt many things, including the fact that I was working against the clock; that some of the building blocks that I needed to align years before to prepare me for a search and successful candidacy were not there. So I want to share with you some of my key building blocks for setting you up for the academic career you want (or may want in the future!):

1.     Graduate scholarship applications require effort and persistence: Apply for graduate scholarships early and often. Don’t limit yourself to the standard national or provincial funding bodies that everyone applies to – look for internal scholarships at your university.  Some of these (I held a Killam Trust scholarship) are more prestigious that the ones that everybody holds!  They may also open doors for you at your university – someone local now knows your name! Good graduate scholarship applications tell a story and have clear organization (repeat, repeat, repeat).  Take advantage of opportunities at your university or in your department to get feedback on your application. McGill University’s Skillsets runs a Would You Fund It? session every Fall. Pay specific attention to the adjudication criteria – I know that’s for the reviewer and not for you – but there is a reason they provide you access to it. Reviewers will look at your application in the order they are asked to adjudicate it and so understanding how they will review your application can clarify if the story you have told is in the right order.  I have read applications where I can’t even tell where a person was planning on studying, or what relationship they had to a referee.  For this reason don’t view your project proposal in isolation to the rest of the application.  

2.     Conference posters are not posters, they are presentations: For those of us who have a difficulty overcoming shyness and networking, posters can be a way to ease into uncomfortable territory.  After all, it is less about your poster, and more about the story you will tell using a visual aid. Don’t pass up an opportunity and let an attendee read your poster! Ask them if you can walk them through what you did and prepare in advance with a short, clear presentation – the conversation will flow from there.

3.     Volunteering for a committee shows that you are a good colleague: Working on any type of committee (think student committee) shows that you have teamwork skills, communication skills, organizational skills, and leadership skills. It diversifies your CV and appeals to department chairs and university administrators.  Why? – well because academic positions require a great deal of administrative work and your work on committees not only lends confidence that you can get this work done, but also suggests that you will take on your fair share of higher departmental and institute responsibilities.  Evidence of committee work means that others won’t have to twist your arm to have you participate when you are on faculty. 

4.     See a grant, work on a grant, expose yourself to grant applications: Definitely more important for those at the later stages of their degrees or postdocs; you absolutely will be more prepared, both practically and for the job search process, if you understand the grant cycle and structure of funding applications. Ask your supervisor or another mentor for a successful grant application, or two from different competitions, and study it.  What is done well, how is it structured, what are the different sections? If possible, participate to a grant application’s writing – graduate students and postdocs can often be listed as co-investigators or collaborators and if you are this should feature principally in your CV. Even if you are not, indicate your grantsmanship skills on your CV if you have been involved in writing or editing applications. Become also familiar with the key structure of funding mechanisms in other countries if there is a potential that you will apply there.  For instance, I was very surprised by the differences in funding for ethics research between the US and Canada, and this fact also helped me enormously in making judgements about what funding expectations I could have in the US (low expectations which made soft money funded positions seem all the more treacherous).

5.     Publishing papers is a must but aiming high could get you further: Of course publishing your work in peer reviewed academic journals is an essential part of preparing yourself for an academic position.  Today, I would be surprised if you would have a case without any published papers (although I have read accounts of this in the past) but sometimes we still aim too low in publishing. If you think your work is important than shouldn’t it be in a high impact journal? Tell the story that you would tell to make that impact known and consider submitting your paper to a prestigious journal. Don’t ignore top tier journals because you assume your work will never get in one – many of these journals have quick editorial review ahead of peer review so you won’t be delayed if they are not interested.  I once published a paper in a top tier neuroimaging journal without any pictures of the brain even though everyone said there was no way it would get accepted for that reason!  All this being said, make sure that you tailor your paper to the audience that reads the journal (researcher, clinician, general scientifics).

6.     You wrote your thesis, now own it: Yes, most science is collaborative and lots of people have contributed to your research outcomes, but your thesis is different.  By the time you have a thesis, you should have your own story about the research you have conducted, what it means and where it could go.  Your thesis and defence are opportunities to try out the story and fine tune it, but make sure everyone knows it is your story.  I frequently tell students heading into a defense that every answer should start with I instead of We. Credit is shared for a lot of the work that we do, but it’s important that you start to speak of yourself as a leader, and have others see you in this position.

7.     I know you get sick of your supervisor, but keep in contact anyways:  In today’s academic environment, I know more people who have landed academic jobs at their alma mater than anywhere else. The relationships you make in graduate school, especially, are important to your future. Start talking to these people before you leave for that postdoc about the possibility of coming back in a faculty role.  These conversations are pretty low stakes for them because you aren’t ready yet but it allows time for reflection on their part.  There is always a possibility they could develop a position that you might be qualified for. There is no guarantee of course, but you will look like a strong ambassador of the program or department if you are looking to return.