Postdoc : How to Navigate Your Career After Grad School

A practical guide to thriving as a postdoc and preparing for what comes next.

Postdoctoral scholars are among the most productive researchers on campus, yet the postdoc role often comes with uncertainty, isolation, and uneven support. In Postdoc, Victoria Hallinan and Alark Joshi address the unspoken expectations that shape postdoctoral life and offer concrete strategies for turning a temporary position into a purposeful career stage.

Hallinan and Joshi provide detailed guidance on setting goals, clarifying mentor expectations, developing a research agenda, pursuing grants, publishing strategically, and collaborating effectively. They confront difficult but common challenges head-on, including authorship disputes, compensation concerns, lab culture conflicts, burnout, and misconduct. Dedicated chapters walk readers through academic job searches—from preparing application materials to negotiating an offer—as well as industry and alternative academic careers, with practical advice on translating scholarly experience into new professional contexts. The book also looks beyond the postdoc itself, offering guidance for the first year as a faculty member and a comprehensive chapter for international scholars navigating visas, employment systems, taxes, housing, and cultural expectations in the United States. Interviews with postdocs, faculty, administrators, and industry professionals throughout provide lived perspectives and actionable insight.

This essential guide also addresses the often-overlooked work of building community, networking, conducting informational interviews, joining professional associations, and cultivating relationships across departments. Postdoc equips scholars to advocate for themselves and move confidently toward their next role—inside or beyond the academy.