3 ms·

"Harvard-trained" is a really weird way to say you did your postdoc at Harvard.

robotresearcher 7y ago
'Training' is a perfectly conventional way to describe a postdoc role. > So, What is a Postdoc? > [...] A postdoc is a temporary position that allows a PhD to continue their training as a researcher and gain skills and experience that will prepare them for their academic career. https://academicpositions.com/career-advice/what-is-a-postdoc https://academicpositions.com/career-advice/what-is-a-postdo... See also https://www.nature.com/articles/ncb0711-735a https://www.nature.com/articles/ncb0711-735a
- mattkrause 7y ago
  It's conventional, but perhaps a little misleading since it is almost entirely "on the job" training--there's almost never any coursework or anything like that, just (hopefully) advice from a more senior researcher.
  - nvrspyx 7y ago
    That’s the definition of training though; instruction coupled with practice. Why is formal schooling a required form of instruction for it to be considered “training” in your view?
    - mattkrause 7y ago
      Training doesn't necessarily require three lectures a week + 2 exams, or anything like that, but I think it does require some sort of sustained, deliberate attempt at instruction. I'm very happy with my postdoc, for what it's worth, and the very beginning did have some explicit training. The rest of it though, has much more like a job: you do something, get feedback on it, and make some changes. Repeat and hopefully need to make fewer changes each time. Critically, you don't get a lot of "generalized" feedback; it's coupled to the specific thing that you're both working on and comes from the one person you work for. I think in most other fields, the postdoc equivalent would be something like "jr. <whatever>" or "associate." Medical residencies seem to have a bit more structure, at least from the outside.
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'Training' is a perfectly conventional way to describe a postdoc role. > So, What is a Postdoc? > [...] A postdoc is a temporary position that allows a PhD to continue their training as a researcher and gain skills and experience that will prepare them for their academic career. https://academicpositions.com/career-advice/what-is-a-postdoc https://academicpositions.com/career-advice/what-is-a-postdo... See also https://www.nature.com/articles/ncb0711-735a https://www.nature.com/articles/ncb0711-735a

mattkrause 7y ago
It's conventional, but perhaps a little misleading since it is almost entirely "on the job" training--there's almost never any coursework or anything like that, just (hopefully) advice from a more senior researcher.
- nvrspyx 7y ago
  That’s the definition of training though; instruction coupled with practice. Why is formal schooling a required form of instruction for it to be considered “training” in your view?
  - mattkrause 7y ago
    Training doesn't necessarily require three lectures a week + 2 exams, or anything like that, but I think it does require some sort of sustained, deliberate attempt at instruction. I'm very happy with my postdoc, for what it's worth, and the very beginning did have some explicit training. The rest of it though, has much more like a job: you do something, get feedback on it, and make some changes. Repeat and hopefully need to make fewer changes each time. Critically, you don't get a lot of "generalized" feedback; it's coupled to the specific thing that you're both working on and comes from the one person you work for. I think in most other fields, the postdoc equivalent would be something like "jr. <whatever>" or "associate." Medical residencies seem to have a bit more structure, at least from the outside.
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