双语|如何寻找、申请和选择一个博士后职位-动机篇

是否做博士后？如何寻找、申请及选择博士后职位，这位美国神经科学家给出了建议和答案。知识人网小编采用双语对照的形式分别叙述。本篇为动机篇。

If you're reading this, you're either wandering around my website or you're approaching a place in your PhD where decisions about the future can no longer be procrastinated and you're starting to think about a postdoc.

如果你正在看这篇文章，那么你可能正在考虑接下来的事业发展，并开始考虑做博士后。

If you're feeling a little clueless about the process or just generally overwhelmed, that's okay! Much of the process of transition to a postdoc is opaque to many people and full of "hidden curriculum" types of nuances, so it's not your fault. The goal of this article is to hopefully provide you with tools to move forward, or at least get you thinking so you can develop a strategy of your own.

如果你感到有些茫然或者总体感到有点压力，那么没关系！许多人都感到博士后的转型过程大部分是不透明，充满了“隐形课程”的细微差别。本文的目标是希望为你提供前进的工具，或者至少让你思考，这样你就可以制定自己的策略

The foremost thing to ask yourself is: should I do a postdoc?

首先要问自己的是：我应该做博士后吗？

To transition to a postdoc shouldn't be viewed as the default next step to getting a PhD. There are plenty of opportunities to explore that aren't research-based or academic and they range from communications to policy to biotech and more.

过渡到博士后不应该被视为是获得博士学位之后默认的下一步选择。而是有很多机会可以探索，这些机会不是基于研究或学术的，而是涉及沟通到政策再到生物技术等等。

If your answer to this question is maybe, then it's worth starting the process of searching for a postdoc and talking to people, while at the same time exploring and applying to other jobs. Having your doctorate opens up many career options for you, so I encourage looking at other jobs if you're not sure an academic postdoc is the move for you. The goal is to find and do what makes you happy and fulfilled, whatever your goals are. The reason I encourage you to do both (begin academic postdoc search process while exploring and applying to other jobs) is because this will likely help clarify whether it's the right call for you. You can always pull out when you realize it's not for you before committing to anything. Of course the flipside is true - you may find the prospect of a an academic postdoc, if it's the right fit, energizes and motivates you. Lastly, some non-academic jobs require or highly favor candidates who've gone through a postdoctoral stage. This is however widely variable and you should read job descriptions and/or do informational interviews to find out what the best approach for you is. I just wanted to make sure to mention it.

如果你对这个问题的答案是“可能”，那么就值得展开寻找博士后的过程并与其它人交流了。同时你也应该探索和申请其他工作。拥有博士学位为你开辟了许多职业选择，如果你不确定学术博士后是否适合你，我鼓励你看看其他工作。无论你的目标是什么，最终是要找到并从事让你感到快乐和满足的事情。我鼓励你两者兼做（在探索和申请其他工作的同时开始学术博士后搜索过程），因为这样做可能有助于澄清这是否适合你。当发现这不是你想要的工作时，你可以随时在承诺之前退出。当然，反之亦然。如果合适的话，你可能会发现学术博士后的前景会给你带来活力和动力。最后，一些非学术工作需要或非常青睐经历过博士后阶段的候选人。然而这差异很大，我只是想提一下，你应该阅读职位描述和/或进行信息面试，以找出最适合你的方法。

Bottom line: take time to reflect on what your goals are and what energizes you, and explore the various paths you can take there.

总之:花点时间思考你的目标是什么，是什么让你充满活力，并探索你可以实现目标的各种途径。

Other things to consider as you read this article

阅读本文时需要考虑的其他事项

1. My words aren't meant to be prescriptive. Everyone's PhD experience is unique, and the postdoc is the same way. Take all advice with a grain of salt; mine and others'. Take your time to reflect on what's important to you - your needs and ambitions.

1. 我的话并不意味着是规定。每个人的博士经历都是独一无二的，博士后也是如此。请在接受我或其他人的建议时保持谨慎，并思考自己的需求和抱负。

2. There are some numbers suggested in this article that might seem high to you. I provide a rationale for why I think those numbers are appropriate, but if that rationale doesn't fit your case, change up the numbers.

2. 本文中提到的一些数字可能对你来说有点高。我会解释为什么我认为这些数字是适当的，但如果这些理由不适用于你的情况，请自行调整数字。

3. You'll notice at no point do I suggest browsing job ads. That's because, although they're useful for finding jobs, they're not the only way. This is one of those ‘hidden curriculum’ types of things in academia. The reality is, there are tons of labs that do not post job advertisements and the way they hire is through prospective postdocs cold emailing them. If there are people you want to work with as a postdoc, just email them (see below). Definitely check job ads, but don't limit yourself to applying to labs based on them having an advertised position.

3. 你会发现我在整篇文章中都没有提到浏览招聘广告。这是因为，尽管广告对找工作很有用，但不是唯一的途径。这是学术界的“隐藏课程”之一。现实情况是，有大量的实验室不发布招聘广告，其招聘的方式是通过准博士后给他们发邮件。如果你想做为博士后与之合作，给他们发电子邮件就行了。当然，你也可以查看招聘广告，但不要局限于实验室广告上的职位招聘。

4. Other caveats: I'm a neuroscientist based in the U.S. The suggestions I make might therefore be more relevant to the life sciences and to U.S. based researchers or those seeking positions within the U.S.

4. 其他注意事项:我是一名在美国工作的神经科学家。因此，我提出的建议可能更适应于生命科学和在美国工作的研究人员或那些在美国寻求职位的人。

5. Postdoctoral positions exist outside of academia (for example some large pharma and biotech companies have such positions), but the strategies I outline here are mainly intended for those pursuing an academic postdoc.

5. 博士后职位也存在于学术界之外（例如一些大型制药和生物技术公司也有这样的职位），但我在这里概述的策略主要是针对那些追求学术博士后的人。