A postdoc guides a doctoral candidate

Advanced postdoc years

Building an academic profile, habilitation, leadership of junior research groups and junior professorship
A postdoc guides a doctoral candidate
Image: istockphoto.com/Moyo Studio

The advanced Postdoc phase begins one to two years after completion of the doctorate. A well-considered decision for a scientific career should now be behind you. The advanced postdoc phase is designed to qualify for a professorship. This usually involves work on a habilitation or equivalent achievements.

Most are employed as an academic researcher at a chair or in a third-party funded project during this phase. It is important that you develop your own scientific profile in this phase and not just follow the research agenda of your supervisors. To do this, you can also acquire your own third-party funded project, and ideally even acquire and lead your own junior research group. Another attractive option is the junior professorship (best with tenure track): With this, you have the rights and duties of a professor while still in your qualification phase and prove yourself in research and teaching, so that you can then move on to a permanent professorship.

Hand holding puzzle pieces
What is part of a strong academic profile? How can I use the postdoc phase to develop my profile?
Head of a junior research group in physics
As head of a junior research group, you pursue a larger research project on your own authority and budget
Habilitation, Book
Information on the requirements and the necessary qualification
Michael Wutzler, Dr
Counselling for postdocs
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Graduate Academy
Dr. Michael Wutzler
Image: Norbert Krause
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Baustellenschild Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz
Academic employment law ("Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz")
The Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz regulates the employment options in the postdoc phase on budgetary and third-party funded positions.