Career paths after the doctorate

Making the most of the postdoc phase

Goals and measures
Career paths after the doctorate
Image: fotolia.com & GA

After completing their doctorates, academics continue to work at the university in order to contribute to research and teaching. At the same time, the postdoc phase serves as further qualification for a leading academic position. The promotion of young researchers faces the challenge that postdoctoral researchers pursue diverse qualification and career goals at the university, but are usually in a transitional phase due to their temporary positions. Experience shows that the majority of postdocs are unlikely to achieve their university career goals, be it the desire for a permanent position as a mid-level academic or for a professorship. The challenge is therefore to:

  • achieve a convergence of desire and reality, and support a well-founded decision for or against a long-term career in academia,
  • create transparent and plannable career paths, and ensure reliable framework conditions during the postdoc phase,
  • support appropriate qualifications (Habilitation, equivalent achievements, leading a junior research group, junior professorship) and the best possible profile development for an academic leadership position.

Create reliable and sustainable conditions

Good and attractive conditions are also essential for the postdoc phase. Although qualification and third-party funded positions usually have fixed terms, the university wants to provide a framework for longer-term planning of working phases and career steps. Appropriate remuneration or funding, a sustainable work-life balance and a constructive work environment should promote the satisfaction, performance, creativity and health of postdoctoral researchers.

  • Guidelines for fixed-term employment

    Guidelines for the fixed-term employment of academic staffpdf, 474 kb · de ensure appropriate contract durations and an appropriate volume of employment for budget-based and project positions, while at the same time enabling transitional funding. Family-friendly policies and equal opportunities are supported by granting additional time in the case of fixed-term contracts for qualification and extensions within the framework of the German Academic Short-Term Labour Contract Act. Guidelines and their implementation are regularly evaluated and developed further.

  • Role of supervisors and central contact points and advisory services

    Supervisors bear direct responsibility for shaping the working conditions and the environment. They are supported in this by Staff Development. In addition, the university offers central contact points and advisory services that are available to postdocs in the event of conflicts, funding problems or work-related crises.

Support informed decisions on different career paths

Postdocs usually spend the first one to two years after obtaining their doctorate completing projects from their doctoral research, becoming familiar with new research contexts in Germany or abroad, and seeking information and ideas for future career paths within or outside academia. During this phase, Friedrich Schiller University supports graduates in their career orientation and in reaching a well-founded decision on their professional future, which they make in consultation with their superiors and mentors.

  • Career talks with professors and central career guidance services

    Postdocs have a structured career talk with their superior and another professor, no later than two years after their doctorate. There is a guideline for this in Germanpdf, 172 kb · de and Englishpdf, 175 kb. Guidance on various career options is also facilitated by workshops, individual counselling and events relating to academic careers as well as alternative professional fields (Career Service for doctoral candidates and postdocs).

Promote academic profile development and growing independence as preparation for an academic leadership position

The advanced postdoc phase is geared towards qualification and developing a profile for an academic leadership position. This includes formal qualification for a professorship through additional academic achievements (Habilitation, equivalent achievements, junior research group leadership or junior professorship). However, it also involves the necessary experience and further qualification in the areas of teaching and supervision, third-party funding acquisition, research cooperation, leadership and management tasks, and academic committee work. Increasing independence in research, teaching and third-party funding acquisition is an essential component of a competitive profile. Postdoctoral researchers should have the best possible chances in application and appointment procedures for academic leadership positions in Germany and abroad through their profile development and qualification at Friedrich Schiller University.

  • Funding programmes and guidance services for the development of the individual academic profile

    The research environment at Friedrich Schiller University inspires and enables outstanding research. Diverse funding programmes support postdocs in acquiring and carrying out their own research projects, and in establishing independent collaborative partnerships in the postdoc phase. Reflection on the individual academic profile (e.g., second research focus, Habilitation or equivalent achievements, teaching, mobility, third-party funding, visibility) is supported by supervisors, as well as through additional counselling, mentoring and workshops. All the available services and funding offers from central institutions are brought together and communicated to postdocs in a single package.

Enable early appointment to a professorship

Friedrich Schiller University wants to make academic careers attractive, transparent and plannable, and thus contribute to diversity when filling professorships. This includes lowering the academic age for appointment to a professorship and promoting early transitions to professorships.

  • Establishment of tenure-track professorships at Friedrich Schiller University

    As a long-term practice, Friedrich Schiller University advertises some of its professorships as junior professorships with tenure track. Junior professors with and without tenure track are specifically supported in their probationary phase through a mentoring and qualification programme de.

  • Preparing postdocs to apply for external tenure track professorships

    Postdocs and advanced doctoral researchers are informed about the career path of the tenure track professorship and advised on successful profile development and applying for tenure-track professorships.

More information