Most Ph.D.s in the sciences will tell you that their dream job is in academia. I received my Ph.D. in biomedical sciences, and I'm no different. What is it about a faculty job that attracts so many postdocs? I think, at least for me, it is the promise of getting to research something that you are passionate about (so long as it is funded) and working with a diverse population of faculty, students and postdocs. It is about being a part of something that is so much larger than one person, including yourself, and one idea. It is the desire of the teacher in all of us to have the chance to inspire a student and have him or her go on to create a better and brighter world that you and I can't even imagine.Sadly, there is a huge bottleneck of postdocs so much so that many either select to enter a different field, such as industry, or seek a second, third and even fourth postdoc experience. I am entering the third year of my postdoc and applying for faculty positions around the U.S.. This blog is to record the process of applying for an assistant professor position in the sciences. Some of the posts will be about work I have already done and comments (some encouraging, some...we can call frank) about my outlook. I hope to let others know more about the process that they are about to embark on. I think the huge message from this blog is that having a Ph.D. is simply not enough, at least not enough anymore. Expect that it will be a long road before someone finally opens a door and says "we've been waiting for you."
