Dear Jeremy, I had the privilege to be both post-doc and recruiter for post-doc. There's no straight answer to that because it also depends on the job market in field of research.
In your position, I would accept post-doc 1 if the job market is bad and you find the offer suitable. If on that market, that offer is not that great in terms of location, perspective and salary, I would decline the offer on post-doc 1 and rather wait to see the result from post-doc 2. But keep in mind that higher salary may increase the competition for this position. If you want to play it safe, you should consider accepting post-doc 1. If you think you can have better, you should consider waiting for post-doc 2 and apply for post-docs 3,4,5 in the meantime... About asking for some delays for offer 1, you can try. But it's always a mess to deal with, from my perspective of recruiter, with people asking delays in a world where projects have deadlines. Some recruiters don't like that (because it means you are actually seeking for something better), some other don't mind. Good luck Lionel 2010/3/19 Jeremy L. Conkle <[email protected]>: > I am completing my PhD this spring and have been applying for post-docs. I > have a dilemma and I would like to ask the all knowing ECO-LOG if they have > some good advice for me. > > I have been offered one post-doc (we will call it *post-doc 1*) doing > research that is in line with what I do, and also will expand my knowledge > base drastically. However, I have also recently interviewed for another > post-doc (which we will call *post-doc 2*) that will also be great for me > and is closer to family and in a place I would love to live. It also pays > almost 2x as much. Basically *post-doc 2* is my first choice, but *post-doc > 1* is also a great option. > > The professor at *post-doc 1* needs an answer asap, because the position > needs to be filled soon. He gave me time to figure out *post-doc 2* or until > he found another suitable candidate. He found another candidate and now > needs an answer, so he is giving me first right of refusal. I won't > officially hear back from *post-doc 2* until early April. I sent the > researcher I interviewed with at *post-doc 2 *an e-mail to explain my > situation and to ask him let me know if I was at least still being > considered for the position. That way I could make a decision on *post-doc > 1*. I haven't heard back yet from my e-mail to *post-doc 2 *and I don't > want to leave the *post-doc 1* professor hanging and potentially miss out on > both opportunities. > > Do you have any suggestions. I have been told that I should just accept > *post-doc 1* and then back-out if I get *post-doc 2*. I am not sure if this > is the best course of action and I wanted to get some feedback? I was > thinking I should just send the *post-doc 1 *professor an e-mail explaining > my situation and ask for a few more days while I wait for *post-doc 2 *to > respond to my e-mail. > > Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. > > Jeremy Conkle > -- > Jeremy Landon Conkle > PhD Candidate > Wetlands & Aquatic Biogeochemistry Lab > Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences > Energy, Coast & Environment Bldg, Rm 3221 > Louisiana State University > p 225.578.1123 f 225.578.6423 > [email protected] > > Lab Website: > http://www.ocean.lsu.edu/whitelab/index.html > > MER Website: > http://www.ocean.lsu.edu/mer/ >
