Post docs

[compilerbitch]

Well, I now have just over a year left on my PhD, and it seems that postdoc application season is upon me already. I am therefore wishing to Pick Brains, so anyone reading this with relevant knowledge is Encouraged to Contribute.


I should probably start by saying what I'm doing about this already. I am intending to go through the Cambridge Reporter and all of the college web sites grabbing application forms so that I can apply for essentially all relevant JRFs in Cambridge, both stipendary and non-stipendary. I am also intending to apply for funding from several sources, at least including EPSRC, the European Space Agency and the USAF research laboratory. I will also be going through jobs.ac.uk in some detail, of course. This much is common sense, and is basically what my PhD supervisor has suggested.

What I was wondering about was whether this is enough. What are my real chances of a JRF? I know that *someone* has to get each and every one of them, and that, as PhD projects go, mine has been pretty good and has resulted in quite a few papers already. It also has the space science angle which tends to be interesting to general non science people, so I suppose that might help. I also have a pretty ridiculous CV from the point of view of real world experience. Having said that, I am very mindful of the fact that all four of my chosen colleges turned me down when I applied to Cambridge, so I am obviously not seen as all that good. My backgroud is very non-Cambridge, I suppose, but I don't really know if it will be seen differently now. I know I will get good references, that much is clear, but then, I had pretty good references when I came to Cam and a fat lot of good that did with the colleges.

I suppose what I'm doing primarily at the moment is trying to put funding together to fund my own postdoc. The grant will of course be held by my current PhD supervisor, rather than me personally, although the project will be entirely mine. I'll essentially be a group leader in practice though not in name. Is this likely to be seen as any better than if I just happened to sign up for a random postdoc that someone else has already got funding for, when I get to the point of applying for a lectureship at some point in the future? If I get the funding, what happens if I don't get even a nonstipendary JRF?

I know that I could probably get a lectureship immediately after my PhD if I was prepared to go to an ex-poly or some such. Do people ever manage to get back into top tier institutions after doing that?

OK, lots of questions, I know, but I have more.

Should I stay in Cambridge, or go somewhere else for a postdoc? Obviously, doing the latter is relatively straightforward if I find something and apply for it. If I found funding from somewhere, I suppose there is always the possibility of going along and asking somewhere to accommodate me. I'm already essentially self-sufficient, given the relatively small amount of contact I have had with my supervisor in recent months. I was also thinking about Oxford as a possibility. What are my chances of getting a JRF there, on the basis that most likely I'd be turning up and bringing a new subject speciality with me to whatever department I'd end up in (could either be maths, computing or engineering, realistically).

And, finally, if anyone out there is looking for a postdoc in October 06, do shout! :-)

Comments

[compilerbitch.livejournal.com]

I have, and am doing basically what he suggested, which is to apply for everything that moves (or that doesn't move), whilst putting together a few grant proposals that he's happy to front. It's just that he's only slightly superhuman, so it's wise for me to ask around!