tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post5864702028883362072..comments2023-10-08T05:00:23.559-04:00Comments on Clarissa's Blog: Research Is UnforgivingClarissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11027134365260069910noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-16419507713262749542011-02-25T07:41:20.466-05:002011-02-25T07:41:20.466-05:00From my experience, in experimental sciences the p...From my experience, in experimental sciences the postdoc does research which s/he is told to do. Unless one comes with a prestigious scholarship from some foundation. Because if s/he does not have an independent scholarship, s/he is paid by a professor from a research grant. Of course a good professor does not micromanage a good postdoc, but the general direction of research is determined by the professor. Who in turn got a grant to explore subject X, and not subject Y. You want to be a postdoc researching subject Y - apply to the group which deals with the subject Y. It is not just about egos and control, there is one very objective issue involved: One needs fancy equipment to research subjects X and Y, and that equipment may be different...<br /><br />On the issue of postdoc teaching - I see it as highly unusual in sciences. To the point that when I actually wanted to gain some teaching experience while being a postdoc, I had to volunteer. (My boss died, and we were given his grants and a year to look for new jobs, so it was not an issue of him pulling the string so that I would concentrate on research; he really did not care anymore)Vnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-68927660483112962592011-02-25T01:34:44.011-05:002011-02-25T01:34:44.011-05:00I had no idea that PostDocs had such great opportu...I had no idea that PostDocs had such great opportunities in Mathematics. Did I make a wrong career choice? :-)<br /><br />In statistics there are postdocs where one isn't required to teach at all. People are given salaries comparable to mine just to participate in a research project.Clarissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027134365260069910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-22447834040449044672011-02-25T01:28:21.015-05:002011-02-25T01:28:21.015-05:00Research groups are the norm in science and engine...Research groups are the norm in science and engineering. They are rare in mathematics. I have a number of joint publications, but far more singly authored ones. I have never been a part of a group as such, either as a member or as a leader. And, indeed, many mathematicians, me included, believe that some of the things research groups do are unethical, such as the leader of a group being listed as author of a publication, even if he or she did not do any of the work. PostDocs are expected to work on their own research and collaborate with senior people if an opportunity for collaboration arises, but it may well not. They are expected to participate in seminars, presenting their own work or that of others that the seminar members want to study.Pagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-46875656689523208212011-02-25T00:52:00.075-05:002011-02-25T00:52:00.075-05:00The problem is that nobody wants to hire them afte...The problem is that nobody wants to hire them after that. The general assumption is that something must be wrong with a person if they had to accept a postdoc instead of a TT job. Even though many people don't have any other options, this assumption still plagues them. <br /><br />On the other hand, there are people who might be genuinely not ready for a TT, and a year as a Visiting or postdoc could benefit them intellectually or as scholars. It's similar to not being ready for marriage until you are ready. But appearances still matter too much for that to count.Clarissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027134365260069910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-38633162306330747492011-02-25T00:48:32.572-05:002011-02-25T00:48:32.572-05:00That is definitely not a good thing.
But, I seem...That is definitely not a good thing. <br /><br />But, I seem to recall that one of our foremr deans was trying some years ago to implement a policy of uniformly low teaching loads for PostDocs in all College of Arts and Science departments. That might be a more wothwhile thing to work toward than the elimination of PostDocs. But, maybe I am just naive.Pagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-90506932202813535142011-02-25T00:43:57.773-05:002011-02-25T00:43:57.773-05:00If I'm not mistaken, postdocs in sciences are ...If I'm not mistaken, postdocs in sciences are expected to work on research in a lab or on a project of a senior scholar. In Humanities, we don't have any group projects. Senior scholars don't need postdocs' help. So they are given big teaching loads instead. <br /><br />There is no well-defined system of postdocs in the Humanities. When I got my Visiting position, another person with very similar credentials got a postdoc at the same department. We had the same duties, but I had a much higher salary and benefits, which she did not. I have no idea how or why that decision was made. It made for a lot of tensions between everybody.Clarissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027134365260069910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-90359271890210533172011-02-25T00:39:02.823-05:002011-02-25T00:39:02.823-05:00I think that 1-1 is pretty typical of PostDoc teac...I think that 1-1 is pretty typical of PostDoc teaching loads in mathematics at respectable universities. It may be even less when there is a supporting grant.Pagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-75110484523582007152011-02-25T00:34:56.529-05:002011-02-25T00:34:56.529-05:00I agree that the word is weird. But it's the t...I agree that the word is weird. But it's the term we used in union organizing, and I got used to it.<br /><br />Postdocs in my profession are a kiss of death for young scholars. I know people who got postdocs at Harvard and Cornell, were extremely happy at first, and then discovered that nobody would hire them afterwards. <br /><br />Yale issued a statement in my last year there that it was going to try to turn postdocs into a common practice in the Humanities, and my union took a very firm stand against it. Since then, I kind of broke up with theunion, but I wish them the best of luck in this important endeavor.<br /><br />I also never heard of postdoc in the Humanities (or anybody, for that matter) to teach 1-1.Clarissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027134365260069910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-13648295631728978142011-02-25T00:31:13.346-05:002011-02-25T00:31:13.346-05:00Aha. I understand, but I still think it a strange ...Aha. I understand, but I still think it a strange choice of word. Is it not merely downgrading the profession. <br /><br />Do PostDoc positions in the Humanities not serve to catapult young scholars into better jobs than they might have gotten otherwise? One would think that a PostDoc with a 1-1 teaching load would make it possible to publish a significant book in a couple of years, rather than a few journal articles. Of course, if a PostDoc's teaching load is much more than 1-1 it is, shall we say, a PINO: PostDoc in name only.Pagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-63934002984960514912011-02-25T00:24:48.991-05:002011-02-25T00:24:48.991-05:00I'm sorry, it's union speak. :-) The more ...I'm sorry, it's union speak. :-) The more I hear about Wisconsin, the more I slip into my union past. :-) <br /><br />Casualization is when more and more academic jobs are performed by underpaid and overworked adjuncts, instructors, lecturers and postdocs. Less and less TT positions are created. Often, when a tenured professor retires, a TT position isn't opened as a result. Two or three adjuncts are hired instead. That's casualization. <br /><br />Our professional organization, the MLA, recognized a few years ago that casualization is the main problem that prevents our field from flourishing.Clarissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027134365260069910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-63991448306033323362011-02-25T00:21:16.784-05:002011-02-25T00:21:16.784-05:00"effectuate the casualization of the job mark..."effectuate the casualization of the job market."<br /><br />I know what 'effectuate' means, but I do not know what casualization means in this context at all, Clarissa.Pagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-7700361352835495572011-02-24T23:05:11.474-05:002011-02-24T23:05:11.474-05:00I know that it's very different in the science...I know that it's very different in the sciences. In the Humanities, though, postdocs are a new way to effectuate the casualization of the job market.Clarissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11027134365260069910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3164556861454970487.post-41008870659713115912011-02-24T23:00:42.173-05:002011-02-24T23:00:42.173-05:00In my field, PostDocs for a year or two position a...In my field, PostDocs for a year or two position a person for a tenure track job at a better institution than might have been possible to aspire to as a fresh Ph. D. But, one does need to do a lot of research while employed as a PostDoc.Pagan Topologisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01611788563582362688noreply@blogger.com