Advice for doctoral students
Early Postdoc years
The first one to two years after the doctorate, sometimes three or four years, serve as orientation.
Here, you can find out which typical career steps are important in the early postdoc phase.
Typical career steps in the early postdoc phase
In the early postdoc phase, finish smaller side projects from the doctoral project or produce book publications of the doctoral thesis (in the humanities and social sciences).
Use the early postdoc phase ideally for an experience abroad or a change of location.
If you decide to follow an academic career, you should now look for a new research focus. Learn new topics and try to publish them.
Make a decision about which formal path you want to take (habilitation, junior professorship or habilitation-equivalent achievements)? Therefore, find out whether a habilitation is common in your subject and start planning it.
As a postdoc, you acquire your own third-party funding. The Walter Benjamin Programm der DFG is best suited for the early postdoc phase. Over the course of a year, there are information events on the DFG's funding portfolio for researchers in the early stages of their careers, alternating between German and English.
Further funding opportunities you can find under Calls & Jobs.
Applying for travel and material funds will also help you to realize and present your own research ideas.
You already have networks from the time of you doctorate. Expand them in the postdoc phase, e.g. by participating in (international) conferences or in a mentoring programme.
In addition to research activities, you will be involved in university teaching and contribute in development of young researchers. You will also take over administrative tasks and be involved in committee work.
