Hello,

What would you think when after 2 telephone interviews you were offered a postdoc position. I do wonder if it is common when you apply for the position that is in other continent and it is about the money - to pay for the interview expenses (expensive flight and the accommodation). However if it is well founded institution it seams strange for me....I was offered a job but feel anxious....I would prefer to see the people and the lab before signing the contract. What would you advise?

Thanx in advance,

Joanna

======= Date Modified 08 Jul 2010 21:29:51 =======
If it's in North America, I think this is fairly normal (at least I have two friends who this happened to). If they were willing to pay then they would have brought you over for interview, but for a fixed term postdoc, I can see (particularly if it's a state university in a state with financial problems) that they might think the costs are too high. There will be other people they interviewed, so you may find that they only give you a short time to decide. Basically, you just have to decide whether or not to take the risk.

Also given how awful the academic job market is right now, you might really want to think about how likely it is another position will come up. Judging by the amount of people I know struggling to get science postdocs, I'd say grab it, but only you know your situation. Could you get advice from your supervisor?

Thank you for your reply. I really do not know what to do, if it is a good idea to accept it or not and to search for sth else. The position is in North America, exactly in Canada, and this is a training 3-year postdoctoral fellowship with the money just for one year initially and then I would have to applly for my own grant to cover the salary. The research topic is totally different then the one I was working on during my PhD, so I do not think my supervisor will know the PI and can help. It is very challenging: new country, new research topic, very interesting to me, but on the other hand I would like to see the PI, talk with the people and to "feel the atmosphere in the lab" before I decide that I see myself in that lab and take this long journej to setlle down there for couple of years. I heard that quite often you might not be so happy as a postdoc...working as a slave...etc...