The Beginning of a Scientific Career (Part 7)
Well, we will continue, without departing from the cash register.
In this part, we will focus on the "external" funds and other ways to gain a foothold in the university walls. In the end, it is the last task that corresponds to the title of the entire series of articles :)
As I noted in the previous section , there are two different ways of post-graduate life at the university: “scientific” and “teaching and scientific”. The difference between them is quite large.
"Scientific" way
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A person engaged in post-graduate research, in practice, is usually referred to as “postdoc”, “researcher”, “research assistant / associate”. The problem is that there are almost no permanent jobs with such names in universities.
Thus, a place can usually be obtained by participating in a research project. Here, different paths stretch before us again (yes, life is complicated).
1. You explain the situation to your supervisor (before the defense), and he, if possible, “identifies” you into one or another group. This method has already been discussed.
2. You are looking for on the bulletin boards open vacancies in projects and submit an application. This method requires a good formal summary, as well as “sharpening” for a specific project. Usually such an announcement means a simple thing: the university received money for the implementation of some clearly outlined research. All "their" or already attracted, or their strength and skills are not enough. Accordingly, they will search for the perfect match, that is, exactly who they need. The competition is substantial.
3. You compose a detailed description of your project for one of the scholarship funds and hope for a grant. This is a real opportunity to deal with your own project, the topic of interest, and the role (not paying out of pocket) of the authorities is quite formal. Cons - high competition (in the specified fund last year there was a competition of 15 people per place), the need to compose a good project proposal, a long (4-7 months) waiting time for the result.
If life forces us to use methods (2) or (3), we can recommend the following. First, hone your resume, write a decent cover letter. In general, take seriously the set of required documents. Secondly (concerns 3), work as it should on the project description. This, generally speaking, is a difficult and painful affair. Fortunately, having one good description makes it easy to “adapt” it to the requirements of various organizations. In other words, write a proposal once - and it will serve you for years. As a table book, I highly recommend “The art of grantsmanship” by J. Kraicer . Thirdly (also concerns 3) make good contacts with the intended host organization. They can assist in the preparation of decent documents and in communication with the scholarship fund. Fourth, get colleagues who are aware of your work and can write you a good letter of recommendation. Unfortunately, letters of recommendation are required. The further you progress, the more they may be required. For example, at one of the vacancy announcements of the Associate Professor (a high enough rank) they asked for up to twelve letters!
Yes, it should be borne in mind that “scientific” vacancies are always distributed for a fixed period, usually from a year to three. Toward the end of the contract will have to come up with something new.
"Educational and scientific" way
There is another course of action - to try to take a place in the faculty. As I said in the first part , a fresh graduate of a postgraduate course may well claim to be an assistant professor.
Already in the description of vacancies the difference in priorities is clearly visible. From the postdoc usually requires a narrow focus, the ability to benefit the specific, articulated project. Professors want to see versatile, able to teach various courses.
It is necessary to clarify at once that the activity of a professor is by no means limited to teaching. Most places offer a 40/60 scheme (teaching / research). Being a professor, a person is forced, of course, to spend a lot of time on teaching. On the other hand, the time for research is also saved, the intervention of the authorities, in theory, is minimal, plus there are graduate students, and there are also graduate students who can assist in the work ... In general, we must look at the profile of the institution. In colleges where there is no science, there are also professorial vacancies. In this case, research may not be implied in principle. As a rule, this is indicated in the job descriptions.
Funny, but honest detail: the ability to win grants is valued no less than good publications. The person who won the grant will definitely indicate this fact in his resume! Once I even saw a vacancy (formally, it seems, like “researcher”), where I was offered on a full-time hiring basis to write requests for grants! They promised to pay quite a decent salary (around 55 thousand euros per year, if I'm not mistaken). Such are the grimaces.
For the rest - the same remarks as in the previous section. Good resumes, reference letters are necessary. A description of the scientific activities is also necessary (same project proposal, only a short version). Sometimes they want a teaching statement - such a free (but short) essay on the topic "how I see my teaching."
Yes, another important point. The professor is usually hired under tenure-track conditions, that is, for a long probationary period (from one to four years). After that, it is supposed to work on an ongoing basis.
Piece-global world
Finally, it makes sense to talk about some of the intricacies of finding jobs in different countries of the inhabited world.
The easiest way, I think, is the process in the USA. There are large centralized sites with job postings. Browse, select, write! In addition, States are the largest market for scientific work. Like it or not. If you randomly select 10 international vacancies, at least 7 of them will be in the States. In the end, it is more correct to translate the USA as “United States of America”. Indeed, there are many states in America and many vacancies, respectively. True, the scientific level from university to university they can very much ride. Suggestions must be studied carefully :)
Europe - the place, I think, the most comfortable for life. But with science here is somewhat more complicated. A united Europe is not so united scientifically. While there are common European monetary funds (if I understand the trends correctly, their role is continuously increasing), the contribution of individual countries is still great. That is, the formal search for a grant in Europe is complicated by the fact that there is no “common portal” of vacancies. Most likely, you will have to go through the sites of different countries and even different universities. And sometimes it’s not easy to get to the necessary information. Sometimes a great English-language ad comes from a link that is available only in the “national” interface of the site. In general, interstate careers are slightly difficult in Europe. Moving from country to country with a smooth career growth is not always easy to combine. They are trying to solve this problem, but there is still something to work on.
Individual states ( Japan , for example) have their own good programs to support international postdocs.
In general, there are many possibilities. But you need to be able to use them correctly!
In this part, we will focus on the "external" funds and other ways to gain a foothold in the university walls. In the end, it is the last task that corresponds to the title of the entire series of articles :)
As I noted in the previous section , there are two different ways of post-graduate life at the university: “scientific” and “teaching and scientific”. The difference between them is quite large.
"Scientific" way
')
A person engaged in post-graduate research, in practice, is usually referred to as “postdoc”, “researcher”, “research assistant / associate”. The problem is that there are almost no permanent jobs with such names in universities.
Thus, a place can usually be obtained by participating in a research project. Here, different paths stretch before us again (yes, life is complicated).
1. You explain the situation to your supervisor (before the defense), and he, if possible, “identifies” you into one or another group. This method has already been discussed.
2. You are looking for on the bulletin boards open vacancies in projects and submit an application. This method requires a good formal summary, as well as “sharpening” for a specific project. Usually such an announcement means a simple thing: the university received money for the implementation of some clearly outlined research. All "their" or already attracted, or their strength and skills are not enough. Accordingly, they will search for the perfect match, that is, exactly who they need. The competition is substantial.
3. You compose a detailed description of your project for one of the scholarship funds and hope for a grant. This is a real opportunity to deal with your own project, the topic of interest, and the role (not paying out of pocket) of the authorities is quite formal. Cons - high competition (in the specified fund last year there was a competition of 15 people per place), the need to compose a good project proposal, a long (4-7 months) waiting time for the result.
If life forces us to use methods (2) or (3), we can recommend the following. First, hone your resume, write a decent cover letter. In general, take seriously the set of required documents. Secondly (concerns 3), work as it should on the project description. This, generally speaking, is a difficult and painful affair. Fortunately, having one good description makes it easy to “adapt” it to the requirements of various organizations. In other words, write a proposal once - and it will serve you for years. As a table book, I highly recommend “The art of grantsmanship” by J. Kraicer . Thirdly (also concerns 3) make good contacts with the intended host organization. They can assist in the preparation of decent documents and in communication with the scholarship fund. Fourth, get colleagues who are aware of your work and can write you a good letter of recommendation. Unfortunately, letters of recommendation are required. The further you progress, the more they may be required. For example, at one of the vacancy announcements of the Associate Professor (a high enough rank) they asked for up to twelve letters!
Yes, it should be borne in mind that “scientific” vacancies are always distributed for a fixed period, usually from a year to three. Toward the end of the contract will have to come up with something new.
"Educational and scientific" way
There is another course of action - to try to take a place in the faculty. As I said in the first part , a fresh graduate of a postgraduate course may well claim to be an assistant professor.
Already in the description of vacancies the difference in priorities is clearly visible. From the postdoc usually requires a narrow focus, the ability to benefit the specific, articulated project. Professors want to see versatile, able to teach various courses.
It is necessary to clarify at once that the activity of a professor is by no means limited to teaching. Most places offer a 40/60 scheme (teaching / research). Being a professor, a person is forced, of course, to spend a lot of time on teaching. On the other hand, the time for research is also saved, the intervention of the authorities, in theory, is minimal, plus there are graduate students, and there are also graduate students who can assist in the work ... In general, we must look at the profile of the institution. In colleges where there is no science, there are also professorial vacancies. In this case, research may not be implied in principle. As a rule, this is indicated in the job descriptions.
Funny, but honest detail: the ability to win grants is valued no less than good publications. The person who won the grant will definitely indicate this fact in his resume! Once I even saw a vacancy (formally, it seems, like “researcher”), where I was offered on a full-time hiring basis to write requests for grants! They promised to pay quite a decent salary (around 55 thousand euros per year, if I'm not mistaken). Such are the grimaces.
For the rest - the same remarks as in the previous section. Good resumes, reference letters are necessary. A description of the scientific activities is also necessary (same project proposal, only a short version). Sometimes they want a teaching statement - such a free (but short) essay on the topic "how I see my teaching."
Yes, another important point. The professor is usually hired under tenure-track conditions, that is, for a long probationary period (from one to four years). After that, it is supposed to work on an ongoing basis.
Piece-global world
Finally, it makes sense to talk about some of the intricacies of finding jobs in different countries of the inhabited world.
The easiest way, I think, is the process in the USA. There are large centralized sites with job postings. Browse, select, write! In addition, States are the largest market for scientific work. Like it or not. If you randomly select 10 international vacancies, at least 7 of them will be in the States. In the end, it is more correct to translate the USA as “United States of America”. Indeed, there are many states in America and many vacancies, respectively. True, the scientific level from university to university they can very much ride. Suggestions must be studied carefully :)
Europe - the place, I think, the most comfortable for life. But with science here is somewhat more complicated. A united Europe is not so united scientifically. While there are common European monetary funds (if I understand the trends correctly, their role is continuously increasing), the contribution of individual countries is still great. That is, the formal search for a grant in Europe is complicated by the fact that there is no “common portal” of vacancies. Most likely, you will have to go through the sites of different countries and even different universities. And sometimes it’s not easy to get to the necessary information. Sometimes a great English-language ad comes from a link that is available only in the “national” interface of the site. In general, interstate careers are slightly difficult in Europe. Moving from country to country with a smooth career growth is not always easy to combine. They are trying to solve this problem, but there is still something to work on.
Individual states ( Japan , for example) have their own good programs to support international postdocs.
In general, there are many possibilities. But you need to be able to use them correctly!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/51656/
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