Navigating my postdoctoral path..
Finding the right fit for your postdoctoral research holds immense significance for your career progression. While graduate students with their PhDs from American universities, applying for postdoctoral position has numerous advantages, in-coming postdoctoral scholars from India and other non-commonwealth countries have various additional hurdles to cross and to understand the fine prints of the academic, industrial and entrepreneurial landscape. Add to that, settling down in an alien country and playing constant catch-up with food, language and socio-cultural differences, extreme climatic conditions and on top that to push for research productivity in the lab from day one. It all adds up slowly and unfortunately sometimes become untenable. Small avoidable slips can cause you months and sometimes years to recover and have the potential to change your career trajectory. Therefore, the availability and access to a mentor network is of paramount importance. Not just any mentor network but one that specifically understands your needs as a foreign scholar and ones who have themselves navigated the terrain.
Choosing a great lab based on, on-ground intel and planning things out ahead of time before you even land here gives you the best possible chance to excel. However, it’s not very easy from thousands of miles away and that’s when a mentor and peer network from the universities and labs that you are applying to becomes vitally important. Once you land here, time is of essence and the clock on your visa, lab funding, eligibility to apply for national grants starts ticking. Renewing your H1 or J1 visa (every year or a couple of years) is the time when your P.I has to show funding for your salary for the next two years. Here is where things starts to get dicey and you may have to move lab if funding is not available. Moving to a new lab and renewing your visa is a delicate time bound exercise, that could be stressful. Combine that with research workload and things could get really rough. These are times when we are most likely to make bad decisions and quickly accept offers in labs with terrible working conditions and bad P.Is. or just join a no-name lab in the backwaters. This could start a vicious cycle that has the potential destroy great careers. Realistically, since we cannot change the system that creates this situation, the next best thing is to make decision that gives you the best start possible. Having the knowledge to make critical decisions in time and being aware of the challenges ahead both academically and financially is where mentor network comes into the picture. These are folks who bore the brunt of the flawed system and survived in their own enterprising ways- these are the folks who can guide you the best.. We are here to help so that no one goes helpless and gives up on our watch. This is free forum with thousands of peer and high level mentors who can help you in various aspect of your lives and give you the best possible chances of success in the way you see it. We have done it and somebody somewhere is doing it. We will team you up with peers and mentors and bring the community together to level the playing field for success. REACH OUT TO DHRUVISH, MAKE IT YOUR NORTH STAR. Write to us, Zoom with us on your doubts, challenges, and for information for FREE. Because you are our past. And we need to make it better.
Postdoctoral Journey Map:
01.
Writing to diverse faculty in the US and Canada
02.
Interview: Understanding the PI, the lab and my role
03.
Settling down: Lodging, community & food
04.
Aligning postdoc position with my long term goals?
05.
Preparations to apply for Green Card.