msmathgrl
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Posts: 37
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« on: July 20, 2011, 02:41:24 PM » |
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My husband has been working as a postdoc for the last 11 months. The relationship between him and his sponsor (?) has been pretty casual in terms of expectations and collaboration. He's been encouraged to work on his own projects, doesn't have any teaching responsibilities, etc. The contract goes through August. They are almost at a point where they can _start_ writing up the results.
His new job as a VAP starts mid/late August. We are moving away from postdoc land to VAP land on August 1st because we don't have the financial ability to pay rent in both locations for a later move.
He assumed he'd be continuing to work on the postdoc project, but from afar. Given the nature of their field, skype meetings with the help of a tablet would be pretty effective means of communication. But his sponsor is thinking of ending the contract this month since he'll be moving away. But I think she still expects to be working on the project together.
This is a bit of a disaster for us financially, obviously. Is there any way for him to make a case to keep getting a paycheck for the next month? I anticipate that he'll be collaborating with her for the next several months until this paper gets finished.
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kron3007
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« Reply #1 on: July 21, 2011, 11:40:52 AM » |
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This is one of the oddities of academia, it is expected that you will continue working on a project after you leave for free. Not only that, you are expected to be happy to do it because you will get publications and people that dont comply they are seen as uncooperative or worse. Unfortunately they have us, we do need publications and their reference, so we have to work for free after we leave. As such, I think the only thing your husband can do is explain that he would ilke to continue to working on the project from new location until his new position starts and hope that his boss agrees that it is worth compensation.
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alleyoxenfree
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« Reply #2 on: July 21, 2011, 11:54:55 AM » |
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He should talk to someone at the university in the grad student office, or whatever office sponsors post-docs. While she may have the power to do this, someone should tell her that it will damage her reputation with future prospective post-docs, since she's essentially blackmailing him into doing work for free if he wants the publication that is his right by virtue of having done the work. She's thinking short-term, as in saving money, and she should be thinking long-term. So should he, but that doesn't mean he should try to talk to the university, pleasantly.
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dr_strangelove
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« Reply #3 on: July 21, 2011, 11:56:02 AM » |
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His advisor seems very cheap and petty to me to not continue your husband's salary up to the start date of his new position. On the other hand, I don't think you can expect to "double dip" and collect two salaries during the last half of August when the contracts overlap.
Getting paid for the first two weeks of August seems reasonable to me.
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I have an inbox?
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kron3007
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« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2011, 08:42:52 AM » |
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I think that he should be careful talking to the university as many porfessors would see it as going over their head. Also, I dont think it will help to talk to them, in my contract it is specifically stated that either party can end the contract with 2 weeks notice, so nothing would come of talking to the school as they are well within their contractual obligations. You should, and IO assume you have, read his contract to see what the conditions are.
I think as with most problems he needs to deal with it directly and just talk with the PI and hope they are reasonable.
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scampster
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« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2011, 05:08:56 PM » |
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His advisor seems very cheap and petty to me to not continue your husband's salary up to the start date of his new position. On the other hand, I don't think you can expect to "double dip" and collect two salaries during the last half of August when the contracts overlap.
Getting paid for the first two weeks of August seems reasonable to me.
Although from her point of view she is probably thinking "There is no way that with a big move and pre-semester prep etc. he is going to be working on this project during the first two weeks of the month." I think it is petty largely because he will probably put in that month of work over the next however many months to get the results out. Did your husband not spend a second on old stuff when he started working with her? For those who complain about being expected to work for free after you finish, at least in my field there is almost always some wiggle room at the beginning of a postdoc where one is finishing up diss papers while starting postdoc work. It gets paid forward in that you finish up your postdoc stuff either before you leave, or if you don't finish it up, you work on it after you start your next job. |
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When you are a scientist your opinions and prejudices become facts. Science is like magic that way!
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macaroon
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« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2011, 06:18:51 AM » |
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Did your husband not spend a second on old stuff when he started working with her? For those who complain about being expected to work for free after you finish, at least in my field there is almost always some wiggle room at the beginning of a postdoc where one is finishing up diss papers while starting postdoc work. It gets paid forward in that you finish up your postdoc stuff either before you leave, or if you don't finish it up, you work on it after you start your next job.
It's completely normal to be expected to write after leaving a position in my field as well. What are the consequences for health insurance? |
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lyndonparker
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« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2011, 06:39:59 AM » |
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I'll be a contrarian here, but I don't see how your husband can expect to be paid when he has moved to take another position. When I left my doctoral program I left a month early so I could pack up and get ready on my own time.
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Lyndon always has such a nice succinct way of putting things.
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niceday
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« Reply #8 on: July 24, 2011, 08:55:22 AM » |
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Absolutely ignore all advice about going over the PI's head. That's not how academia works. It could well end your husband's career for good. Such drastic action is reserved for really drastic situations such as sexual-harrasment, plagiarism, major misconduct, etc.
He can ask the advisor to continue the contract for two more weeks and promise he'll be putting in at least two more weeks worth of work at some point. It would be petty of the advisor not to do this but such things can happen, especially if the PI is short on her budget. I also don't see how he can double-dip for four weeks.
In reality, your husband will likely end up putting in more free work in order to get the publications out. Usually the way it works isn't that your name is withheld if you don't continue to work but if you don't do the work, nobody else writes the paper your name would be on.
Publications are the real currency of the realm and almost everyone works for free at some point for publications which bear their name --unfunded summers, weekends, what-have-you.
Good luck with the VAP and the move.
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