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- Jan 11, 2011
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Hi everyone,
I graduated in the fall and accepted a postdoc position at a university to work with a PI whose work I thought was interesting. However, I feel I may have made a mistake -- I feel like my PhD program was much stronger in terms of methodology and how we approached research questions. I also feel as if the PI will use me to get his data analyzed, but I don't see how I will benefit from the experience -- my goal is to apply for a tenure track position in Developmental Psychology at the end of the postdoc, but the fact that the postdoc is in Education seems to put me at a disadvantage even though we do developmental research. My concerns are as follow:
1. I've been bombarded with data set left and right. So far this semester, I've been collecting databases from different people who worked with the PI at different schools. There is no plan yet as to what papers we will write, but he says he has 12-15 in mind for the next year. The number itself is a concern to me because: 1) I don't think doing quality work lends itself to that many pubs; 2) I'm the only one who has skills to actually analyze data; 3) he plan to submit grants and will be writing grants from february to june and then the summer comes, so I don't know where exactly there will be time for writing this much; 4) I think a few pubs but of high quality is better than many of so-so quality; 5) PI likes to find a 'home' for pubs whereas for me it is more important to have 2-3 that are in good journals etc.
I've discussed some of these concerns, but he reassured me he knows what he is doing, but I have a hard time b/c what we do is so much different than what I was taught in grad school.
2. He says he does not think the tenure track is the route to go because the tenure track process stirs people away from doing good research and the goal should be doing good research. I agree with the latter, but I think one can do both. I also accepted the position thinking that I'll be able to write for publication and improve my CV before I actually apply for jobs, so I don't see why he is thinking that the tenure track is to be avoid it. Frankly, it makes me feel so discouraged that he'll be using me with no actual intention to help me get to where I want.
3. I don't think anyone that he directly mentored went into academia. He also talks bad about one of the old postdocs who worked for him. He also talks about another person who he co-mentor who is actually well established as a researcher, but he doesn't seem to respect her.
4. I told him I was interested in a training program that he is an affiliated faculty of. He said that if I wanted, it is a possibility that I will be successful. Yet, he says I don't need that training experience through the organized program b/c I can get to where I want without it. He also says the training program is for people who want to put "a line on their vita" and for self-promotion. Frankly, lines on vitas help and when one applies for job, those lines help. Same applies in my view with conferences, but he seems to be on a different page with this, too.
5. We have only a few people on our staff spread between 3 sites. I'm the only one here, which means I do all the work for this site.
I would like to ask the members on this forum to comment on my experience and whether you think I should be worried about how things are going. I feel very discouraged and I don't know if i made the right choice. I know that he pays me and that I am supposed to work on whatever he wants me to work, but I want to be able to get experiences that will help me, as well. Any comments would be appreciate it. Thanks very much.
I graduated in the fall and accepted a postdoc position at a university to work with a PI whose work I thought was interesting. However, I feel I may have made a mistake -- I feel like my PhD program was much stronger in terms of methodology and how we approached research questions. I also feel as if the PI will use me to get his data analyzed, but I don't see how I will benefit from the experience -- my goal is to apply for a tenure track position in Developmental Psychology at the end of the postdoc, but the fact that the postdoc is in Education seems to put me at a disadvantage even though we do developmental research. My concerns are as follow:
1. I've been bombarded with data set left and right. So far this semester, I've been collecting databases from different people who worked with the PI at different schools. There is no plan yet as to what papers we will write, but he says he has 12-15 in mind for the next year. The number itself is a concern to me because: 1) I don't think doing quality work lends itself to that many pubs; 2) I'm the only one who has skills to actually analyze data; 3) he plan to submit grants and will be writing grants from february to june and then the summer comes, so I don't know where exactly there will be time for writing this much; 4) I think a few pubs but of high quality is better than many of so-so quality; 5) PI likes to find a 'home' for pubs whereas for me it is more important to have 2-3 that are in good journals etc.
I've discussed some of these concerns, but he reassured me he knows what he is doing, but I have a hard time b/c what we do is so much different than what I was taught in grad school.
2. He says he does not think the tenure track is the route to go because the tenure track process stirs people away from doing good research and the goal should be doing good research. I agree with the latter, but I think one can do both. I also accepted the position thinking that I'll be able to write for publication and improve my CV before I actually apply for jobs, so I don't see why he is thinking that the tenure track is to be avoid it. Frankly, it makes me feel so discouraged that he'll be using me with no actual intention to help me get to where I want.
3. I don't think anyone that he directly mentored went into academia. He also talks bad about one of the old postdocs who worked for him. He also talks about another person who he co-mentor who is actually well established as a researcher, but he doesn't seem to respect her.
4. I told him I was interested in a training program that he is an affiliated faculty of. He said that if I wanted, it is a possibility that I will be successful. Yet, he says I don't need that training experience through the organized program b/c I can get to where I want without it. He also says the training program is for people who want to put "a line on their vita" and for self-promotion. Frankly, lines on vitas help and when one applies for job, those lines help. Same applies in my view with conferences, but he seems to be on a different page with this, too.
5. We have only a few people on our staff spread between 3 sites. I'm the only one here, which means I do all the work for this site.
I would like to ask the members on this forum to comment on my experience and whether you think I should be worried about how things are going. I feel very discouraged and I don't know if i made the right choice. I know that he pays me and that I am supposed to work on whatever he wants me to work, but I want to be able to get experiences that will help me, as well. Any comments would be appreciate it. Thanks very much.
