Resource Guide for Postdoctoral Researcher Development

Postdoctoral scholars (postdocs) often voice concerns that they have not received enough training to succeed in their chosen career path. Further, mentors and trainers of postdocs may be ill-equipped to provide training in the wide range of professional knowledge, skills, and capabilities required in research careers both within and outside of academia. In 2022, a National Science Foundation-sponsored workshop brought together current and recent postdocs, postdoc mentors and trainers, and content experts, to develop training modules that can be implemented in a range of situations and settings. The resulting Resource Guide for Postdoctoral Researcher Development can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8415525.

Resource Guide Modules

  • Personal Skills Development
    • Career Management
    • Personal Effectiveness and Leadership Skills
    • Work-Life Integration
    • Foster Creativity
  • Collaborating and Working with Others
    • Teaching
    • Collaboration and Team Science
    • Facilitation
    • Integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
  • Project Management
    • Proposal Development
    • Managing Research Projects
    • Communicating Science to the Public
  • Managing Research Data
    • Data Management
    • Programming

How to Use the Resource Guide

Each module contains themes, exercise, and resources linked to learning objectives. Trainers and facilitators are encouraged to mix and match based on the needs of their audience, the nature of the setting, and time constraints. Some modules may be addressed in a single session; others, like Programming, are more realistically covered over two or more days or even a full semester. The Resource Guide offers suggestions for thematic groupings of modules, such as Professional Skills for the Academic Setting, or Collaborating and Building Effective Teams. Although the Resource Guide may have some utility for postdocs learning through independent self-study, the modules were designed for a group setting with active learning and group discussion.

Development of the Resource Guide

This project was initiated by a group of six university faculty and researchers associated with NSF EPSCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) and eventually grew to include 25 people representing a large number of roles, expertise, geographic regions, programs, and institutions. The development of the guide was informed by the results of a survey of EPSCoR personnel and a survey of postdocs (publication pending). Contact Selena Connealy connealy@epscor.unm.edu or April Heyward april.heyward@outlook.com.

This project was funded by National Science Foundation (NSF) award #OIA-2125922. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.