Career resources for postdoctoral researchers
This page provides links to a range of career-related resources for postdoctoral researchers in Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities under the following headings
- Academic careers and the recession
- Fellowships and funding opportunities
- Mapping postdoctoral careers
- Support for postdoctoral researchers
The theme of academic careers in a cold economic climate was explored at a workshop organised by the CRASSH Postdoctoral Researcher Forum on 3 December 2009 entitled 'Crunched? Academic careers and the recession', and some of the material here was presented at this event. Click here for the programme and speaker biographies.
There is also a dedicated section of the Careers Service website for Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities postdocs and research staff at Cambridge University which provides more links, information and resources (requires registration and log-in).
Academic careers and the recession
What are the particular challenges facing postdoctoral researchers in the recession? How will cuts in public spending affect academic research and Higher Education in general? Do we as researchers need to do things differently in a harsher economic climate? Dr Birgit Brandt, the British Academy's Director of Programmes, argued at the CRASSH workshop on this theme that the recession is likely to be a "point of departure" for Higher Education in the UK, which will see some universities make fundamental changes to their structures and what they offer in order to survive.
These links point to a range of perspectives on the impact of the recession of relevance to postdoctoral researchers - from media coverage of potential and threatened cuts in jobs and research funding to statistics on trends in the postdoctoral employment market, to briefings by major funding bodies setting out the challenges that economic downturn poses for academic research
- Dr Charlie Ball, Deputy Director of the Higher Education Career Services Unit (HECSU) maps out the likely impact of the recession on the postdoctoral job market.
- The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) outlines the challenges posed to social science by global economic turbulence.
- Cuts of £600 million in public funding to universities and academic research: from the THES.
- Universities UK hosts a debate on the future funding of Higher Education.
Fellowships and funding opportunities
Despite projected and potential cuts, there are still many funding opportunities for postdoctoral researchers.
- Anna Nerukh from the Cambridge Research Office gave this presentation at the 3 December CRASSH postdoc forum workshop on funding opportunities and fellowships for early career researchers (PowerPoint slides).
- This briefing by Anne Alexander from CRASSH Postdoc Forum covers much of the same information (PDF file).
- If you are considering applying to the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme, read these notes by a British Academy Assessor before you start. They are packed with useful advice for potential applicants.
- The Cambridge Research Office provides support for researchers at Cambridge University looking for funding opportunities and partners.
- The Careers Service has a specific page devoted to funding opportunities for arts, humanities and social science researchers.
Mapping postdoctoral careers
What does being a researcher mean? What do researchers do? These links point to policy documents and research attempting to give some answers.
- Researcher Development Framework - a project funded by Vitae to "describe knowledge, skills, behaviours and personal qualities acquired by researchers". The framework attempts to broaden the focus of the 2001 Joint Skills Statement listing the skills postgraduate researchers are expected to develop during their PhD, by looking at the whole length of a research career.
- First destinations of doctoral graduates by subject and career stories of 40 individual PhDs published by Vitae under the title 'What do researchers do?'. Tennie Videler, one of the authors of this report, presented on this theme at CRASSH at the postdoc forum workshop on 3 December.
- CROS (Careers in Research Online Survey) provides a snapshot of how large numbers of academic researchers view their careers. An analysis of the 2009 results is available here.
- If you are employed by Cambridge University as a postdoctoral researcher, then your employment grade is a reflection of how your job fits in with these academic role profiles negotiated at a national level by universities and the unions. Here are links to Cambridge University's generic descriptions of the 'Research Associate' and 'Senior Research Associate' roles.
Support for postdoctoral researchers
These links will connect you to a selection of national and local organisations which can offer support of different kinds.
- Vitae is a national organisation championing the personal, professional and career development of doctoral researchers and research staff in higher education institutions and research institutes.
- UCU (University and College Union) represents research staff across the UK. This is the link to the Cambridge branch. Click here for the UCU 'Researchers' Survival Guide'.
- PdOC (Postdocs of Cambridge) represents postdocs at the university in career development, contract research conditions, college affiliation and social and sporting issues. All Cambridge postdocs are welcome to join, and there is no membership fee.
