Introduction
Postdoctoral positions are a critical transition from student to
professional: they launch careers by providing opportunities for
independent research, skill development, and further professional
training (Sauermann & Roach 2016). Increasingly, postdocs can expand on
the academic skills and knowledge gained in graduate school to build a
bridge to careers outside the academy (Powell 2014; Sauermann & Roach
2016). Despite these benefits, personal and professional isolation is
common among postdocs, resulting from relocation away from support
networks or from remote work (Arnold 2014; Burgio et al. 2020).
These challenges can interfere with opportunities for development of
skills and collaborations, introduce personal logistical constraints
(e.g., childcare, inflexibility in job location of partners/family), and
negatively affect productivity and mental health. Postdocs may also
experience limited agency, for example, due to the short duration of
their positions and policies that prevent postdocs from applying for
grants as principal investigators. The COVID-19 crisis has only
exacerbated these challenges while simultaneously reducing the
availability of academic and other jobs.
We are a cohort of ~12 early career PhD-level employees
at a non-profit research institution who have built a postdoc program
that complements the individual training we receive from our
postdoctoral advisors. Our research interests are diverse, spanning
biogeochemistry, plant ecology, behavior, disease ecology, fisheries,
sociology, and community ecology. We are spatially dispersed over three
time zones in the U.S. We have a diverse set of professional goals that
range from academia to government scientist positions to non-profit
conservation and advocacy organizations.
Like many other postdocs, we share an overarching anxiety about
employment and the future of our careers (Shaw et al. 2015). For
those seeking academic careers, ongoing “adjunctification” means a
shrinking number of stable positions (Jenkins 2014). The growing number
of postdocs further imbalances supply and demand in the job market
(Dawson 2007), reducing opportunities for early career scientists. On
top of this, COVID-19 related hiring freezes and disruptions to lab,
field, and in-person work exacerbate the loss of opportunities and
amplify anxiety and loneliness (Duncombe 2020).
To address the typical and the current additional stresses of the
postdoctoral years, we initiated a formal postdoc program that is
bottom-up and peer-led. This structure has allowed us to adapt to our
changing needs. Our goals are to: 1) expand and refine our visions of
our future careers; 2) develop new skills and knowledge to become more
well-rounded, resilient, and adaptable scientists; and 3) build and
maintain a robust community with remotely-based peer colleagues. One of
the biggest successes of our program has been hardiness in the face of
the upheaval of the global pandemic and widespread civil unrest in the
United States. A major benefit of our program has been the development
of personal and professional networks that help overcome isolation: we
support one another by sharing trust, successes, and setbacks.
We outline below the structure of the program and actions we have
designed and implemented, connect them to benefits for individuals, our
group, and the field at large, and give recommendations to other
postdocs interested in developing a similar program (Figure 1). Our goal
is to encourage early career ecologists to work collaboratively with one
another and their institutions to build skills, knowledge, and
relationships that help them grow and thrive in the face of current and
future barriers and opportunities.