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[meister]

Hi,

I am scheduled to start a federally funded postdoc in October, and will be defending my Ph.D. next week. Over the past two weeks, I have applied to a few positions in the international affairs/NGO world in order to see if I'd get hired (I worked in this industry for a year before commencing my Ph.D.). So far I haven't received any offers/interviews, but perhaps it's too early to tell?

I would like to try to return to the international affairs sector before starting my postdoc to see if that's where I belong. Right now it is so competitive to get hired in a TT position in my field (like most fields) - especially in a city where my husband could get transferred/find work. I also worry about maternity leave, getting hired if pregnant, and work/life balance in academia. The latest I can push back my postdoc is January start date. Would it be unethical for me to try working outside of academia for 3 months (Oct-Dec) to see if it's for me before starting the postdoc? Should I tell my postdoc supervisor if I do this? I suppose it would be difficult to hide...It's just that I figure this may be my last opportunity to see what else is out there before fully committing to academia (which I guess I already did when I pursued a Ph.D.)...

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you!

[offthemarket]

If you can push back the postdoc and they don't have major issues with it, and you want to do something else for three months, sure, go for it.  I would NOT want to tell the postdoc advisor.  They would think that you aren't 100% committed to research and be concerned about it.

If you are having doubts about academia now, and you want a TT position (as opposed to industry or something else), then I can only imagine the doubts would grow with time.

[mleok]

Getting a Ph.D. doesn't preclude a return to the non-profit or industrial position. Indeed, as you're said, a TT position when you have geographical or spousal constraints is even more challenging. In general, if you're uncertain about what to do, you should keep your options open, and explore all possibilities. So by all means go out and try something besides academia, in all likelihood, that is something you'll eventually end up doing anyway, even after the postdoctoral stint.

[chicago_48]

Hi,

I am scheduled to start a federally funded postdoc in October, and will be defending my Ph.D. next week. Over the past two weeks, I have applied to a few positions in the international affairs/NGO world in order to see if I'd get hired (I worked in this industry for a year before commencing my Ph.D.). So far I haven't received any offers/interviews, but perhaps it's too early to tell?

I would like to try to return to the international affairs sector before starting my postdoc to see if that's where I belong. Right now it is so competitive to get hired in a TT position in my field (like most fields) - especially in a city where my husband could get transferred/find work. I also worry about maternity leave, getting hired if pregnant, and work/life balance in academia. The latest I can push back my postdoc is January start date. Would it be unethical for me to try working outside of academia for 3 months (Oct-Dec) to see if it's for me before starting the postdoc? Should I tell my postdoc supervisor if I do this? I suppose it would be difficult to hide...It's just that I figure this may be my last opportunity to see what else is out there before fully committing to academia (which I guess I already did when I pursued a Ph.D.)...

Any advice or thoughts would be appreciated. Thank you!

Because of the job climate, push for  the job first and then work on your Post-doc, even if part time. 

[merinoblue]

On the other hand: the international/NGO world is also extremely competitive, as you know. And the hiring cycle can be incredibly long. You don't have an offer in hand, as you do with the postdoc. Are you prepared to push the postdoc start date to January, be unemployed from now til then while waiting for an NGO offer, and then take up the postdoc if an offer doesn't come through? In other words, will you be able to survive financially for three months if you postpone the postdoc start date? What if you take up the postdoc in January, and an offer from an NGO comes through in February? That's 4 months that you could have had in the postdoc, getting a sense of whether it's the right environment for you. I'm probably not being very helpful, but I just want you to encourage you to consider an alternative scenario.

[totoro]

I would just do the post-doc and then apply for tt and NGO jobs at the same time and see what happens. If the post-doc is relevant to the area the NGOs work in I can't see that they'd see it as a negative. Right now one of my wife's PhD cohort is moving from a post-doc at an Ivy League school to an NGO in Washington that works in the same area. Given his record I'm sure he could get a TT job later if he wants (and doesn't spend too long in the NGO world).