I know that if one wants an academic career then publishing is really important. According to my supervisor in the first year or two of my PhD I should maybe try and send in a couple of reviews to journals, and try and publish one or two articles at the beginning of the third year (possibly end of the second year).

My question is: how much do reviews count when you apply for post-docs, fellowships etc?

TIA!

Hey SBCC! Reviews definitely count- it's also a good idea because you can be writing and submitting review papers early on in your PhD before you have enough results to publish. I'm not sure what field you're in, but in my field (Clinical Psychology) there are journals with very good reputations (and impact factors!) that are devoted to review papers. Review papers in relevant topics are often very highly cited as well. Before I had enough results to submit for publication I wrote 3 review papers and got them all published- my very first publication (in a review-only journal) is definitely the one that is commented on most by people looking at my CV, because of the journal it's in. The other two were in slightly less prestigious journals, but they all count! And of course it gets you used to the peer-review process as well. Although I haven't quite finished my PhD (two weeks until viva!) and have only just started applying for jobs, both interviews I have attended I was offered because of my publication record- the interviewers were very clear about that. So go for it! Seeing how hard the job market is, the best piece of advice I would give to new PhD students is to publish as much as possible. Best, KB

Thanks Keenbean! Good luck with your viva, fingers crossed!

I'm in the humanities, but I guess it's more or less the same as for you. Even though we don't have an official impact factor list of journals, it is still quite clear what the good and the not so good journals are in one's field. I think I'd better start thinking about what I want to review (my sup gave me a two page list and told me to pick a couple...).

Thanks again! :-)