“You’ve got to be flexible. This project has been a case study in having to adapt when things go pear-shaped. My original project had to be modified significantly soon after arriving because I learnt that other researchers on similar projects were further advanced. I had to sit back and think, ‘Well, gee, what am I going to do now?’ When you’re only here for 12 months you’ve got to scramble and that caused a bit of anxiety initially. Now I’m in a position where I’ve got more than enough to do.
“And you’ve got to be prepared to travel, and network, network, network!”
This is what Erich has learnt in preparing for, and working towards his first post-doc. When ScienceHub last spoke to him, he and Karen had been in Washington D.C. for 9 months.
“The main thing is to know where you want to go and who you want to work with. Research them. If you want to do a post-doc, you have to organise it quite some time before you finish,” adds Karen, who experienced all the difficulties inherent in finding work overseas. She felt she was immediately disregarded for many positions because of her eligibility to work in the US for a relatively short period. And after arriving in Washington, also had to reassess how much it would cost to live in the US, and find a second job to cover expenses.
“It’s been an unusual situation, uprooting to move here, having to organise all that, having to work at a relatively high tempo, then Karen having to find work and not having the normal sort of basis back in Australia that we’re used to ,” reflects Erich.
And now that their time in Washington, D.C, and effectively their first post-doctoral experience is coming to an end, what are the two young scientists most proud of? Ladies first -
“Sometimes I wonder … I don’t have this experience, or that … but then I realise I’m doing okay. I like what I’m doing and am glad I’ve had the opportunity to do it. If I had the chance to continue in palaeontology, that would be great. But my interests have always been very broad.
“I’m most proud of finishing my PhD and already having published some of it. But also, getting here to Washington, and finding work here, even if it’s not technically at a level at which I’m supposed to be capable. It’s important to me that I’ve done it.”
And Erich?
“That’s easy! When I was five years old, a family friend asked me, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up? A fireman, or a footballer, to play cricket?’ The stereotypical things. She said I responded with a straight face, ‘No, I want to be a palaeontologist’, and what I’m most proud about is that I did it. You know, even if I end up making bread or selling shoes, that’s fine. If I don’t make a job out of it forever, at least I can say I was palaeontologist for a while.”
Summary:
• Network
• Plan ahead
• Be flexible
• Be prepared to travel to find your dream job
• Expect to be out of your comfort zone and that things won’t be the same as at home
ScienceHub is incredibly grateful to Drs Karen Roberts and Erich Fitzgerald for the generosity with which they’ve shared their experiences and opinions. From time to time, ScienceHub will have other articles featuring this pair of talented young scientists – we wish them very well.
Related articles:
- Spotlight – Palaeontology: a study of life in the geological past
- Pavloc’s Epilogue: Bright young things, part 1 – post-docs in the USA
- Pavlov’s Epilogue: Bright young things, part 2 – the value of advice
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