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Best Postdoc Locations

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  • 08-08-2008 12:13am
    #1
    2Scoops
    Registered Users Posts: 1,845 ✭✭✭


    The recently came out in The Scientist, ranking US institutions based on their postdoctoral education facilities. It incorporates measures of mentoring, funding, family life etc. Anyone have opinions on what the best places in Ireland are?
    http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/54365/

    And does the new Researcher forum mean 'Popular Science' is going to go into hibernation again? :D:pac:


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    #2
    Professor_Fink
    Registered Users Posts: 861 ✭✭✭Professor_Fink


    2Scoops wrote: »
    The recently came out in The Scientist, ranking US institutions based on their postdoctoral education facilities. It incorporates measures of mentoring, funding, family life etc. Anyone have opinions on what the best places in Ireland are?

    Well, I guess it depends what you expect to get out of a postdoc. For most it's a job. Would you really expect much mentoring? Frankly if it were me, I would rather be left to do my own thing, but I'm sure there are others who would rather see it as an opertunity for further training. For me it is more of a place to prove yourself.

    I would imagine most postdocs in Ireland are looking at IRCSET and SFI for funding, rather than the institutes themselves. Certainly you could be hired on grant money from a larger project, but that is still not specific to the institution (other than through the PI there).


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    #3
    2Scoops
    Registered Users Posts: 1,845 ✭✭✭2Scoops


    Professor_Fink wrote: »
    Well, I guess it depends what you expect to get out of a postdoc. For most it's a job. Would you really expect much mentoring? Frankly if it were me, I would rather be left to do my own thing, but I'm sure there are others who would rather see it as an opertunity for further training. For me it is more of a place to prove yourself.

    I would imagine most postdocs in Ireland are looking at IRCSET and SFI for funding, rather than the institutes themselves. Certainly you could be hired on grant money from a larger project, but that is still not specific to the institution (other than through the PI there).

    IMO, postdoc positions should be the last training stage to be an independent investigator so there definitely should be mentoring/advice on grant seeking and running a laboratory etc. Certainly, being left to get on with your research is great but the PI should still be training you so that you don't have to rely on his grants or anyone else's but your own to get paid.

    Treating a postdoc strictly as a job means you'll just end up as another lecturer somewhere. :eek: IRCSET and the like are not much more than salary grants.

    So, I think the most important factors to answer the question are: quality of facilities, experience/ability and mentoring of the PI, quality of the lab's recent publications, funding history, what the area is like to live in.

    Anyone have an excellent postdoc experience in Ireland?


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    #4
    Professor_Fink
    Registered Users Posts: 861 ✭✭✭Professor_Fink


    2Scoops wrote: »
    IMO, postdoc positions should be the last training stage to be an independent investigator so there definitely should be mentoring/advice on grant seeking and running a laboratory etc. Certainly, being left to get on with your research is great but the PI should still be training you so that you don't have to rely on his grants or anyone else's but your own to get paid.

    You can be a postdoc without a PI. In fact you can be a PI while a postdoc.


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    #5
    2Scoops
    Registered Users Posts: 1,845 ✭✭✭2Scoops


    Professor_Fink wrote: »
    You can be a postdoc without a PI. In fact you can be a PI while a postdoc.

    True, but that's probably more common and appropriate in physics than in either chemistry or biology.


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    #6
    fits
    Registered Users Posts: 13,254 ✭✭✭✭fits


    Whats a PI?


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    #7
    Professor_Fink
    Registered Users Posts: 861 ✭✭✭Professor_Fink


    2Scoops wrote: »
    True, but that's probably more common and appropriate in physics than in either chemistry or biology.

    Well, I know a few in both chemistry and biochem. Not so sure about biology.


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    #8
    Professor_Fink
    Registered Users Posts: 861 ✭✭✭Professor_Fink


    fits wrote: »
    Whats a PI?

    A Principal Investigator. The person in charge of a particular grant or research group.


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