Monday, September 21st to Friday, September 25th marked the Postdoc Appreciation Week at UConn in partnership with The Graduate School, UConn Health, and The Center for Career Development. Even though all events happened virtually, we hope our Postdocs know that you aren’t only important to us this week, but year-round. To recapitulate, here are some highlights from this past Postdoc Appreciation Week:
On Tuesday, September 22nd, The Graduate School hosted a panel discussion, Next Steps on the Academic Ladder: Reflections from Former Postdocs, regarding the challenges and opportunities of Postdocs moving forward. We had a diverse panel that included former UConn Postdocs who are now at new faculty positions across the US or who stayed at UConn, and Postdocs who competed their Postdoc at other universities who are now faculty at UConn as we were also excited to see some familiar faces at the event. The panelists shared tips and tricks for navigating the job market, what challenges they had encountered, and how their takes on balancing work with job search looked like. The panelists also shared their advices for current Postdocs looking to secure a faculty position: it is important to be intentional about institution and position while navigating the job search, as process and opportunities would look different and depend on the field. Panelists had different opinions regarding when to apply to jobs, some agreed to apply as fast as possible while others suggesting being more intentional of what’s the right fit. It is important to check in with your advisor or mentor to get their opinions and support as the job search process can vary within the field and institution.
On Wednesday, September 23rd, Dean Holsinger from The Graduate School hosted AMA (Ask Me Anything) session where Postdocs had the chance to ask Dean Holsinger about anything they wanted, whether it’s about postdoc life at UConn, life after a postdoc, or fountain pens. During the event, Dean Holsinger answered questions on being a Postdoc at UConn and looked for ways The Graduate School can better serve the Postdoc community. Many Postdocs asked questions focused on work-life balance, while Dean Holsinger shared that when it comes to career and finding a position, Postdocs should keep their eyes open on a broad range of careers. Their PhD work can be applied to many different areas and a faculty position doesn’t have to be the fallback. When asked about working on research versus finding funding for research projects, Dean Holsinger shared that it is difficult to answer as this might vary by individual cases. It is tough to find a balance between the two, yet prioritization is always an important skill that has to be developed over time.
A final thank you to all the postdocs for everything you do! We will continue to support you during your journey here at UConn!
