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One Year Before Completing Degree
At least one year before completing your degree, you should be developing a plan for finding your next position. If you plan to take the traditional postdoctoral route, this will mean preparing a curriculum vitae and letter of inquiry to send to prospective postdoctoral mentors.
Prospective mentors are often identified through attendance at national scientific meetings, attendance at campus colloquia, and through consultation with your mentor and members of your committee. In selecting a postdoctoral mentor you should read widely to identify research topics that interest you, identify research areas that are growing (is there funding to support this type of research?), consider productivity and funding, and talk with current and former postdocs in the laboratories you are considering.
You should be prepared to apply for postdoctoral grants prior to defending your dissertation. For general information and information about other types of positions, websites such as The Chronicle of Higher Education Career Network, jobs and employment information; Science Next Wave, a career development resource for scientists; and Mentor Net, an electronic industrial mentoring network for women in engineering and science, may be helpful.
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