Leaving Post-Doc Early?

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shutterbug433

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Hi All,

I have unexpectedly received an invitation for an in-person interview for a psychologist position with a VA after a brief phone interview. I've gotten the sense from them on the phone/email that they will likely make me an offer on-interview and want to get going on starting the position following all the processing paperwork (likely March-ish start date). I'm currently a post-doc at another VA, and will be licensed in a "new-law state" (no post-doc hour requirements) likely next month. My post-doc is relatively young and the training committee has voiced concerns about my potential early departure and the reputation it will have on their program. They also have APA coming to visit in March to hopefully accredit the post-doc program.

Do others have the experience that some post-docs do not finish the full year? I'm still planning on continuing supervision at my next job if I were to leave early, but I would be surprised if this scenario has not happened to others? What are the expectations set by your post-docs about getting jobs prior to the official end of post-doc and how did they feel about your departure?

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Can't speak to a purely clinical post-doc, but on the research end this is usually not viewed as a negative (at least in my limited experience). Indeed, the goal of post-docs is basically to set people up for finding competitive jobs. If people are able to get those competitive jobs, I find it hard to believe anyone would view a site negatively because its post-docs are in demand for desirable jobs.

Sounds like I'm in a slightly different world, but we had someone do that here fairly recently. It was viewed as a good thing, and my advisor was happy to have another mentee going on to a prestigious faculty job.
 
Hi All,

I have unexpectedly received an invitation for an in-person interview for a psychologist position with a VA after a brief phone interview. I've gotten the sense from them on the phone/email that they will likely make me an offer on-interview and want to get going on starting the position following all the processing paperwork (likely March-ish start date). I'm currently a post-doc at another VA, and will be licensed in a "new-law state" (no post-doc hour requirements) likely next month. My post-doc is relatively young and the training committee has voiced concerns about my potential early departure and the reputation it will have on their program. They also have APA coming to visit in March to hopefully accredit the post-doc program.

Do others have the experience that some post-docs do not finish the full year? I'm still planning on continuing supervision at my next job if I were to leave early, but I would be surprised if this scenario has not happened to others? What are the expectations set by your post-docs about getting jobs prior to the official end of post-doc and how did they feel about your departure?

I know a few people who landed VA jobs relatively recently and were already in the system. They all started several months after they expected to start so I wouldn't worry about the March date yet. My understanding is that if you are not licensed yet it will take them a while to verify your credentials once you get licensed. I know there is also variability between VAs, but in general i've heard that it can take a while to get started. March start date can become June or July.

VA Psychologist jobs are very hard to come by (at least in my state) so I wouldn't refuse an offer simply because you are concerned about your training program's response.
 
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Hmm. I am curious how you got an "unexpected invitation" to interview? Was this a VA you had applied to while you were also applying to post-docs, or after you had already started your post-doc? Also, until the position is officially offered, one should remain cautious, especially within the VA system, as there may be some contact between officials, who may speak negatively of the current situation. Personally, it sounds like a great opportunity for yourself, but is very bad not just for your VA, but also the other applicants who also were vying for the post-doc you are at now.
 
I meant "unexpected" by the fact they contacted me a week after I submitted my application. From what I know about the VA system, it can take many, many months to get contact after submitting the application. I submitted my application last month, thinking I would get responses maybe by May. The problem in applying for VA position, as I am finding, is that the variability among response time for an application is huge, which means I don't think there is a "right" or "wrong" time to apply for jobs during post-doc. Ugh....
 
Yeah that is difficult, but I think given that, if you get it and want it then take it. Maybe they will have some flexibility on start date, but you will also want to see if completion of a post-doc is a formal requirement, and what happens if you do not complete your post-doc (e.g., salary reduction, gs level) that you will start with. But its good to have these problems, rather than no options:)
 
Hiring at the VA takes forever. Even after you've been given a start date, it can be 6-9 months before you actually start, in my experience. And until the formal offer comes from HR, nothing is set in stone. I like the VA system, don't get me wrong, but the hiring process is absurd. I don't think you necessarily need to raise this issue with people at postdoc until you at least have an informal offer.
 
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