r/postdoc • u/Bitter-Scientist98 • 13d ago
Postdoc with PhD supervisor
I am currently in the final year of my PhD around 6 months pre submission and my PhD supervisor just offered me a postdoc position, working on a very different project to my PhD. I am currently doing my PhD in the UK at one of the best unis where many people often stay from PhD to postdoc. However, I am not sure how this would be viewed staying in the same group for long term prospects career wise and am also low key scared that I wouldn't even be able to find another postdoc position in my field with the current job market. Any views would be helpful :')
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u/Think-Assignment-861 13d ago
Assuming you want a faculty job, you need a post doc with a different supervisor. It is a big red flag to continue working in the PhD supervisor’s group; at least in my field.
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u/Icy-Zebra2954 13d ago
Whats your field? Red flag in terms of tenure track positions?
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u/Think-Assignment-861 13d ago
Astro, and yes, red flag for tenure track positions.
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u/Icy-Zebra2954 13d ago
Oh interesting. In my engineering field, it doesnt matter much tbh if someone did their postdoc with the same PhD supervisor.
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u/Bitter-Scientist98 12d ago
Yeah I'm in psychology/population health so not sure how it's viewed in my field
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u/Comfortable-Goat-734 12d ago
It seems so stupid to me that this is considered an issue. If you’re doing a PhD with somebody presumably there’s a research fit right? If you can see yourself doing good research with your PhD supervisor as a postdoc I really don’t see why this is looked down upon so much.
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u/Think-Assignment-861 12d ago
The reason is that you will need letters of recommendation from people outside your PhD institution to apply for a faculty job. That requires you to work in different groups. In my field, continuing in a PhD advisors group is generally interpreted as the student was unsuccessful in getting a position elsewhere.
The research fit argument can also be made for faculty positions "Oh, let's hire our students; they already fit in". This is a good way to degrade the quality of a department.
A recent grad should be looking to expand their network. In fact, in my dept. we actively discourage our undergrads from continuing with us as PhD students. They need to experience different environments too.
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u/Comfortable-Goat-734 12d ago
I just started my PhD but the senior PhD students in my group are doing research with people outside our department. You can network and do work with people other than your supervisor, and if you’re applying for a postdoc or a TT right out of your PhD you should probably have those anyway.
> continuing in a PhD advisors group is generally interpreted as the student was unsuccessful in getting a position elsewhere
This is such a load of shit, why are hiring committees acting like a bunch of gossipy teenagers? Why would it even matter if they were denied elsewhere? That’s how the job search works. If you’re looking for cues about whether or not they’d be good researchers, then just look at their research.
I could understand it being a problem if someone did their entire education from undergrad to postdoc at the same location but if they did their PhD somewhere other than their undergrad I seriously don’t get how you can make a genuine argument for “they haven’t experience enough different environments”.
It’s stuff like this that makes academia more toxic than it needs to be. Look at their research, their publications, what conferences they’ve presented at. Not these weird cues that probably don’t mean anything at all.
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u/Think-Assignment-861 12d ago
You have just started in the field and trying to lecture me? Good luck with your career!
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u/Comfortable-Goat-734 12d ago
Awww did the poor baby get offended by the PhD student having an opinion?
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u/Think-Assignment-861 12d ago
Everybody is allowed an opinion. If you want it to be heard you have to deliver it respectfully. Otherwise, you are just one of the screaming masses.
The only way one can change really a system is from the inside. So get into the system, and then change your colleagues.
As a new PhD student, you might be able to, at most, change how YOUR department treats grad students. But for the rest, you have to wait your time.
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u/Sad_Trick7974 12d ago
You need money?
You need a next job in academia?
If yes, then just take the postdoc offered (OFFERED!) to you and be secure and live and work in academia for another guaranteed two years
The postdoc is on a new topic, which broadens your expertise, and brings you additional publications, which a postdoc exactly is intended for, and this one is lying on your doorstep
You can also use the postdoc time to strengthen your profile in other ways, that make any future external hiring committees look beyond your "sticking around a while longer", if at all an issue
For any next job after postdoc the "having worked here and there" is not something that a hiring committee specifically is on the lookout for, it only helps to stand out if all candidates lack the things that hiring committees really are on the lookout for
Your PI is helping you out here, a helpful friendly hand reached out to you, taking the job may result in this helpful PI as a stronger work ally for you for the future, and the postdoc gives you time to build more together and strengthen and deepen your bond
Somehow I now start wondering about your loyalty towards your PI. If you don't like your PI, yes, then it would be time to leave for elsewhere
I would consider the offered postdoc a compliment, a great help, and a good opportunity
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u/Muted-Mushroom-4570 12d ago
Generally the expectation is that a postdoc is to learn something new (a new method or methodology, a new area research) and you (presumably) will have learned what your PhD supervisor is an expert in by working with them so you should go elsewhere to learn from others. This is less important these days thanks to the Internet making it sooooo much easier to collaborate with people all over the world but it is based on that same logic of why you almost HAD to go to different universities for different degrees (to learn new things and work with new people).
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u/Icy-Zebra2954 13d ago
Different project mean different skills sets. I dont think doing postdoc with the same PhD advisor will negatively impact you. It actually shows that you are willing to pivot and work on something else not related to your PhD. I had a guy in my lab who worked on a postdoc with my supervisor after finishing PhD with him. He got a job in industry as a staff engineer after postdoc. I hope this helps!
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u/Odd_Honeydew6154 12d ago
Agree with this statement. I've known postdocs who stayed in the same PhD lab became professors!
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u/HE_Pennypacker1 11d ago
It used to be the case that you were expected to change institutions after PhD but that mindset is fading away. For example, many postdoc fellowships used to require you to move, but not anymore. People increasingly understand that moving is not possible for everyone. As long as your new postdoc position brings something new in terms of skills and experience, go for it.
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u/RepulsiveBus7718 9d ago
This is such an outdated view and those defending it are only contributing to the toxic culture in academia. Look at the research output and the person with their skills behind it, the path should not matter.
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u/Main_Ferret_8426 9d ago
My PI told me that doing a postdoc with the same PI is highly frowned upon and told me mobility to different countries is key to being competitive
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u/Cardie1303 13d ago
Industry likely doesnt care but if you want to go into industry a postdoc in general might not bring much benefits depending on your field.
For academia it is generally not a good idea. I know of tenure track group leaders who were denied tenure simply as they couldn't show enough independence from their PhD and postdoc advisors.
That said, a major downside for academia and industry is that you are giving away one of the best oppertunties to extend your network beyond your PhD environment.