Postdoctoral Researchers play a vital role in the research productivity of several countries and serving as leaders, mentors, guides, teachers, and scientists. These researchers have developed their own skills and preparing themself for their scientific research careers with various research groups worldwide. Even performing in a short term, they need to spend additional years in some special cases for succession in their research careers. Senior research investigators or leaders who have promised to their younger colleagues or students for a long term contract in the academics should find a new pathway to make it possible to stay and plan for their long-term career. Also, these investigators should be more flexible, patience, and supportive for everyone in their research groups. But the main key point which they should focus on that was the researchers who want to pursue fulfilling careers in science elsewhere need to be supported in all means, whatever matters, whoever may be, the talented people will always find a satisfying career in the field of science. The research funding is also, very less for many postdocs in some countries worldwide. We can see that several major funding organizations in the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia have inquired that, what they are really doing us to help to overcome this crisis. However, the funding organizations expressed that they are supporting the early-career postdoctoral researchers, by providing full-time financial support and extension of the projects for a certain period of time[1].
This year, the word ‘pandemic’ really worsened the globe particularly, for the scientific professionals, for example, postdoctoral researchers who reside abroad. Nature, the publishing group survey shows, ‘the pandemic is adding to postdocs’ and the results of new distress showed the current generation might be facing the most severe career break and health a crisis so far until for the past 10 months[1]. Besides, how the pandemic condition is really affecting the current and future career plans and their health? how they feel whether their research hosts are really supportive in this critical condition?
An Indian researcher recently pointed out that he is unable to take up the postdoctoral offer because of travel restrictions abroad which have implemented during the COVID-19 the pandemic period. Similarly, a physicist from Brazil feared about his government would reduce or stop his postdoctoral funding. In Nature’s self-selected survey, a biochemist in Brazil commented that “they live in a reality where Ph.Ds need to sell food on the street to support themselves financially, as most are unable to obtain scholarships or jobs [2]. Meanwhile, the researcher from Africa too faced similar issues related to his postdoctoral research funds. These individual stories in reports reflect that in fact the universities are under more financial pressure due to this pandemic and facing many problems, and are widely stop recruiting and cutting the postdoc positions to solve further issues which also led to a financial and economic crisis.
COVID-19 “definitely made an uncertain situation feel more uncertain,” says Danielle Fagnani, a second-year postdoc at the University of Michigan [2]. Even before the pandemic condition also, the postdoctoral researchers have faced many challenges with more pressure of continuous assessment with hard work, mental tortures, and highly competitive with the conditions of less secure working atmosphere. A crushing, urgent crisis for individuals now risks in becoming a financial crisis for the entire global system. The basic needs are that today’s postdocs are to become tomorrow’s research scientists in various academic, research institutions, industries, and government sectors. However, this pandemic situation really shattered the research careers of these smart young scientists who are likely to contribute to finding a solution to it. Such uncertainty is adding more strain to being as experienced postdocs too, who worry for the lab experiments and unfinished manuscripts will set back for the guarantee of the job. As can be seen that many postdocs are trying to leave their postdoctoral positions now, anticipating that situation would come too worse in the upcoming months. So, mainly global universities, research institutions, and international labs must think of initiating innovative ways to support these postdocs in all ways to solve this crisis for the next generation [1].
Figure 1. The current position of postdoctoral Researchers. Source:https://www.nationalpostdoc.org/page/POSTDOCket_1806
Figure 2. Current pathway of postdoctoral researchers. Source:https://www.academics.com/guide/how-to-find-a-postdoc-position-germany
The universities also, cannot be expected to bear these additional expenses, in some places where research is cross-subsidized from monthly income, postdocs are most vulnerable to lose their jobs which will affect the peoples, particularly from developing countries. Many postdocs tolerate and adjust these worst conditions in hopes of using their experience to propel them into permanent positions as faculties or researchers from outside academia to nearly about from 5 to 6 years after Ph.D. But the real situation is that even they sacrifice and tolerate these conditions, many of them are still struggling to hold a stable position elsewhere[5,6]. Sometimes, due to unemployment, postdocs are fed up and lose their confidence levels which leads to more mental pressure and struggling with an inferiority complex. Even nobody gives proper respect for a postdoctoral position and the researcher and treating them only as fresher or like master students, sometimes worse than that. No opportunities for young talented scientists, only the money and recommendations play a major role in India elsewhere, which is a bitter truth. The new economic crisis that arises due to COVID-19 results in stay-at-home with a growing list of universities to freeze hiring research professionals and halts new faculty hiring and lowers the chances for the postdocs to obtain for a full-time position. Meanwhile, the clarity about the prospect of extensions and continuous funding has become uncertain, that postdocs are conducting for their short term contracts.
Our SNB team recommend this research article to help the reader to know and realize about the postdocs crisis in this new pandemic condition, although many institutions have granted the pandemic relief to the academic community, postdocs have been still suffered and overlooked. These institutions should offer temporary assistance to help vulnerable postdocs with health support and other future challenges [7,8]. The top universities and other high-level research institutes must initiate some immediate action, to retain these postdocs, and not lose them for the next generation research scientists to protect the future and diversity of science and technology.
References
[1] Nature
585, 160 (2020), doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02541-9.
[2] Nature
585, 309 (2020), doi: 10.1038/d41586-020-02548-2.
[3] S. C.
McConnell et al., eLife 7, e40189 (2018).
[4] S. Kahl,
D. K. Ginther, Nat. Biotechnol. 35, 90 (2017).
[5] M. Ålunet
al., Nat. Ecol. Evol. 10.1038/s41559-020-1178-6 (2020).
[6] C.
Woolston, Nature 565, 125 (2019).
[7] K. Spratt, “Affordable child care for postdocs: One institution’s solution,” Science (2000).
[8] M. Kristoffersen, “Postdocs struggle with child carecosts,” Yale News (2020).
[9] K. Kelsky,
“The professor is in: Stranded on theacademic job market this year?” The
Chronicleof Higher Education (2020).
Blog Written By
Dr. Y. Sasikumar
School of Materials Science and Engineering
Tianjin University of Technology, China.
Editors
Dr. A. S. Ganeshraja
Dr. S. Chandrasekar
Dr. K. Rajkumar
Reviewers
Dr. S. Thirumurugan
Dr. K. Vaithinathan
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