The train from PhD to PostDoc #2

In this new series, we are asking postdocs who have recently received their PhDs on the whens and hows
of the process.

Our interviewee for today's blog is Dr. Hannah Rogers, a postdoc at ISTerre, Universite Grenoble Alpes. She did her PhD at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She works on applying mathematical methods to the inversion process that produces core surface flow models from satellite magnetic field change (secular variation) data. Currently she is a member of the GRACEFUL ERC grant, looking at incorporating weighted averages of satellite data to improve stochastic flow models. One day she hopes to use the secular variation to constrain the regional dynamics happening under the seismic anomalies observed at the base of the mantle.

When is the right time to start looking for a postdoc?

This is a very difficult question as I don’t think that there is a ‘right’ time. Unfortunately, there is an element of luck and good timing depending on who gets funding when. Personally, I started thinking about postdocs and future jobs about 7 months before my thesis submission because I wanted to contact people who I had never met (Covid-19 limited conference interactions) and I would have struggled to fund a prolonged career gap. I had multiple rejections and was applying to jobs outside of academia as well. Be flexible and consider what your priorities are: is it staying in the country you live or staying in academia or staying within your direct discipline? It is okay to apply for multiple positions and decide which way you rank them later.

Assuming you want to start right after, how to obtain a postdoc position?

Depending on your situation, it is very difficult to start ‘straight after’ the PhD. When I moved country to start my postdoc, visa applications and paperwork coincided with the French holiday period, meaning that I had to delay my ideal start date. Some friends (particularly those staying at the same institution) were able to start immediately with zero problems! However, I’d recommend that you schedule some time to rest for yourself as well. You will have just submitted (probably) the biggest piece of writing from (probably) one of the most stressful periods of your life! You deserve to give your brain some rest before diving into the next chapter! 

What changes come between PhD and postdoc?

Quite a lot changed for me between my PhD and postdoc – new country, new day-to-day language, new department, new coding language, new satellite dataset, new mathematical process…. However, my colleagues are amazing and I feel excited by tackling new problems that I hadn’t seen during my PhD. I feel like I’m juggling a lot more projects as I try to finish papers from my PhD alongside working on my current job and also having to consider what comes next as well. At the end of the day though, I’m still using satellite data to study an interesting inversion process to try and find out more about the Earth’s outer core motion. Personally, the jump to a postdoc has been really positive and I’ve loved it. This is despite the beginning being overwhelming and at moments you question why you do a job that seems more difficult than working outside of academia.

Let us know your questions in the comments you want answers to in the next blog of the series!