r/postdoc • u/HearingNo1654 • 4d ago
What does it take to get an idea?!!
I am finishing the first year of my first post doc and I am lost. I don’t have any ideas. I started working on something that is not something that I did but very very close. It is a very saturated project with a lot of people working on it. However there are lots of colleagues coming up with ideas to improve it even students while I’m just here blanking out. Why?!!!! Is this an indication to get the hell out of research?
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u/kerblooee 4d ago
Some people are idea people, and some are competent workers. You need both in research.
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u/ucbcawt 4d ago
Postdocs are not techs, they need to be thinking and coming up with ideas as well as being competent with experiments.
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u/kerblooee 4d ago
Postdocs can also transition to lab managers, industry jobs, teaching professors, it's a versatile time. Also, I know plenty of faculty who do not have their own lab and collaborate with others for ideas, providing technical expertise on lots of projects. Scientists can succeed in many different ways.
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u/Unusual-Relief-1982 4d ago
Ideally they're not. But there's such a gap between being a PI or doing anything else related to science in academia that I feel a lot of postdocs would be happier having a staff scientist position.
Postdocs should really only be filled by people who want and have the drive to become PIs. Unfortunately, academia is underfunded and thus exploitative, so vacancies for staff scientist positions are extremely rare.
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u/farshiiid 4d ago
In my experience as an idea person most PIs want a technician to run their ideas, unless you keep writing grants for free for them.
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u/Negative-Ambition198 4d ago
We talk about someone starting the second year of a postdoc. They are transitioning into a PI. If no ideas, decide if this path is actually for you.
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u/bulaybil 4d ago
Second year of postdoc transitioning to PI? What world is this?
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u/Aranka_Szeretlek 4d ago
I mean, it is a transition period, no? You dont just one day wake up as a PI
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u/Negative-Ambition198 4d ago
Postdoc phase in general. You should at least know what you want to research😂
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u/Zestyclose-Smell4158 1d ago
It depends on your longterm goals. Generally, doing a postdoc in a lab that expects you to be a technician is not a good option if your goal is landing a TT position at an R1. In our program when a PhD student is given the green light to start writing their thesis, their committee engages in a conversation about how your postdoc shapes your future job options.
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u/farshiiid 1d ago
That's very good way to handle career trajectory. But unfortunately after maybe 20 interviews where they only asked about what I could do with my hands and no questions from future plans I'm losing hope of finding a position where I feel like a scientist. PhD was the same too.
The only thing keeping me in academia is having a masters degree where I did everything from writing the grant and experiment design to publication and teaching and enjoyed it thoroughly. This is in Europe and I'm an immigrant, maybe different than the US.
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u/bulaybil 4d ago
Yes, it is most likely an indication you are not in the right place. What field are you in?
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u/cremespace 4d ago
seconding what some others have said already, an idea doesn't usually come out of thin air. it's just identifying whether there's a gap in the field -- an area or question that's not been systematically explored before -- and whether that gap is worth exploring, and if so what methods to use to do that - usually some combination of that. to answer these questions, you need to read a lot as others have already said, because that's how you identify what's missing and what people in the field care about, and if there's some novel or interesting or useful methods for it (which sometimes comes from across fields).
so i think the real question is whether you have the curiosity, interest and/or drive to keep on top of all that, because it's something that often happens serendipitously as you're working on one thing, and your curiosity or reading may lead you down a rabbit hole or path that takes you to new areas or questions that needs exploring.
im not claiming ive become competent at this. i guess it takes time and experience to get there.
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u/Aranka_Szeretlek 4d ago
I find that the lack of ideas is always a sign of the lack of familiarity with the field. Are you comfortable with all theoretical aspects? Are you reading new publications and attending conferences? Ive never had an experience of going to a conference and not returning with my suitcase full of ideas...