Hi Jeremy,
I am a postdoc currently. Lionel's advice is very sound; the job market
at both the post-doc and faculty level are very competitive. I would
add, that if you end up having a choice that your decision should be
largely based upon your ultimate goals. If you are aiming for a faculty
position at a research university, than you should choose the post-doc
that will provide you with the best prospects for high productivity; not
to mention provide you with the tools and experience that will allow you
to do the science you see yourself doing for the next 3-5 years (and
beyond). In this context the higher salary and comfort is less
relevant, because they only last for 1-3 years (which fly by very quickly).
But these points only matter if you have a choice.
Best of luck,
Robin Warne
Lionel Pawlowski wrote:
Dear Jeremy,
I had the privilege to be both post-doc and recruiter for post-doc.
There's no straight answer to that because it also depends on the job
market in field of research.
In your position, I would accept post-doc 1 if the job market is bad
and you find the offer suitable. If on that market, that offer is not
that great in terms of location, perspective and salary, I would
decline the offer on post-doc 1 and rather wait to see the result from
post-doc 2. But keep in mind that higher salary may increase the
competition for this position.
If you want to play it safe, you should consider accepting post-doc 1.
If you think you can have better, you should consider waiting for
post-doc 2 and apply for post-docs 3,4,5 in the meantime...
About asking for some delays for offer 1, you can try. But it's always
a mess to deal with, from my perspective of recruiter, with people
asking delays in a world where projects have deadlines. Some
recruiters don't like that (because it means you are actually seeking
for something better), some other don't mind.
Good luck
Lionel
2010/3/19 Jeremy L. Conkle <[email protected]>:
I am completing my PhD this spring and have been applying for post-docs. I
have a dilemma and I would like to ask the all knowing ECO-LOG if they have
some good advice for me.
I have been offered one post-doc (we will call it *post-doc 1*) doing
research that is in line with what I do, and also will expand my knowledge
base drastically. However, I have also recently interviewed for another
post-doc (which we will call *post-doc 2*) that will also be great for me
and is closer to family and in a place I would love to live. It also pays
almost 2x as much. Basically *post-doc 2* is my first choice, but *post-doc
1* is also a great option.
The professor at *post-doc 1* needs an answer asap, because the position
needs to be filled soon. He gave me time to figure out *post-doc 2* or until
he found another suitable candidate. He found another candidate and now
needs an answer, so he is giving me first right of refusal. I won't
officially hear back from *post-doc 2* until early April. I sent the
researcher I interviewed with at *post-doc 2 *an e-mail to explain my
situation and to ask him let me know if I was at least still being
considered for the position. That way I could make a decision on *post-doc
1*. I haven't heard back yet from my e-mail to *post-doc 2 *and I don't
want to leave the *post-doc 1* professor hanging and potentially miss out on
both opportunities.
Do you have any suggestions. I have been told that I should just accept
*post-doc 1* and then back-out if I get *post-doc 2*. I am not sure if this
is the best course of action and I wanted to get some feedback? I was
thinking I should just send the *post-doc 1 *professor an e-mail explaining
my situation and ask for a few more days while I wait for *post-doc 2 *to
respond to my e-mail.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Jeremy Conkle
--
Jeremy Landon Conkle
PhD Candidate
Wetlands & Aquatic Biogeochemistry Lab
Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences
Energy, Coast & Environment Bldg, Rm 3221
Louisiana State University
p 225.578.1123 f 225.578.6423
[email protected]
Lab Website:
http://www.ocean.lsu.edu/whitelab/index.html
MER Website:
http://www.ocean.lsu.edu/mer/
