Postdocs: When to Shift Focus?

[psychologypancake]

I'm on internship right now and have been on the job market for academic positions and research postdocs, with the goal of going onto the tenure track. So far it is not panning out. I'm nervously watching the job boards and am wondering at what point it is time to cut my losses and aim for clinical postdocs. I'm trying to balance finding a postdoc or job that fits my professional and personal needs vs. the fear of not ending up with anything at all. Any thoughts?

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[beginner2011]

Are you geographically flexible? I constantly see good (sometimes great) research postdocs advertised in various outlets, including my APA division list serv. They're all over the country, though.

I know the UND for clinical postdocs is coming up next week, and I believe there will be a phase 2 in the near future if you decide to move in a clinical direction.

 

[singasongofjoy]

Not sure how widely applicable this strategy is, but I was equally interested in both the research-heavy and clinical-heavy postdoc positions at my top choice, and applied to both and explained why. They ended up merging the postdoc into (what was supposed to be) 50/50 (more like... 65/65 in reality, I think, but I loved it).

you might also end up at a place that has mostly clinical but still some research time, throw yourself into the research portion during any extra time you can / after-hours and then apply for a research position there or eslewhere the next year (bonus of clinical position - at least you can get licensed a lot faster).

 

[futureapppsy2]

I'm on internship right now and have been on the job market for academic positions and research postdocs, with the goal of going onto the tenure track. So far it is not panning out. I'm nervously watching the job boards and am wondering at what point it is time to cut my losses and aim for clinical postdocs. I'm trying to balance finding a postdoc or job that fits my professional and personal needs vs. the fear of not ending up with anything at all. Any thoughts?

I did a research post-doc (85/15 research/clinical but could be adjusted based on individual needs). I applied in, I think, late March and got the offer an early May. A fellow post-doc picked up her slot even later (I think July?)?when the original person had to drop out due to not being able to complete their dissertation on time, so there are definitely positions that pop up later. Good luck!

 

[flerfmcgerf]

What are your research interests?