During the first one to three years after the completion of a doctorate, researchers are in the early postdoctoral phase. This phase serves as a period of orientation: What are my career goals? What opportunities are available to me within and outside academia? Those who have made a conscious decision to pursue a career in academia enter the advanced postdoctoral phase. This phase is characterised by the aim of obtaining a postdoctoral qualification or equivalent achievements. The decisive factor is to develop an independent, distinctive academic profile that meets the requirements for a professorship. This is followed by the appointment phase, in which postdocs apply for professorships and at the same time further distinguish themselves in their field of research.
The early postdoctoral phase serves to clarify career goals and opportunities, to make a conscious decision about the future career path and to set the course for the next steps. Typical for this phase is the completion of ongoing projects and publications from the doctorate, the establishment of new research priorities, and often a change of location or a stay abroad – in order to broaden one's academic horizons and expand one's network.
What are your plans and goals for your first years as a postdoc? Here are a few typical buzzwords:
Every postdoc employed on budget funding at Friedrich Schiller University is required to participate in a mandatory career review (career planning conversation) with their supervisor and another university staff member after the first two years of employment at the latest in order to examine their individual career prospects (see guideline "Richtlinie für die Ausgestaltung von befristeten Besch?ftigungsverh?ltnissen 2015"pdf,?474?kb?·?de).?A guidelinepdf,?175?kb?helps with conducting the career discussion. It is intended to help both postdocs and their supervisors to raise the topic of career perspectives in mutual responsibility.
As their professional future is yet to be determined, postdocs should be provided with guidance on the options available to them, based on the perspectives of experienced researchers, and the support they can expect to receive. Another valuable element of the talk should be to look at previous achievements and to agree on realistic and sensible goals for the nearer future.
At the end of the conversation, there should be an agreement made on the qualification goals and on the running time of a follow-up contract appropriate to reach those goals, as has been specified in the German academic employment law ("Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz"). All contents of the conversation remain confidential, however, the final agreement will be passed on to the university staff department, as it is the basis for the next employment contract of the postdoctoral researcher.
Additionally, it may be helpful to seek counselling with an outside expert to reflect on your professional options and goals, and to plan further steps of your career. For this, the Graduate Academy offers you?Career Counselling for Postdocs.
Are you not sure whether to embark on a career in academia? You want to talk about requirements and possible next steps in your career?
Or would you rather move on to the job market outside of academia and get advice on opportunities and a good application strategy?
The Graduate Academy's Postdoc Career Counseling Service can help you with these questions. Email or call to make an appointment!
In the advanced postdoc phase, postdocs should either complete a habilitation or achieve an equivalent goal. This includes the development of an independent research profile, as well as taking on tasks that prepare for an academic leadership position, such as teaching and supervising students, acquisition of third-party funding, reviewing and editing publications, committee work, project management and participation in the supervision of doctoral candidates. With publications, lectures, networking, cooperation with other institutions as well as research and teaching stays at other research institutes, postdocs should aim at increasing their national and international visibility.?
Both a position as a junior research group leader or, as alternative to the postdoc phase, a junior professorship with tenure track may be particularly suitable to gain experiences and academic leadership skills.
If you want to become a professor, on the one hand you must fulfil certain formal appointment requirements (see below). On the other hand, it is your individual qualification in research, teaching and third-party funding that make you an attractive candidate for your field. On the pages on the academic profile, you can find out what a good profile for a professorship entails and what points appointment committees look for. In addition, leadership skills are also important, because professors not only bear academic responsibility – they also lead working groups, manage staff and help shape institutional processes.
As soon as you meet the appointment requirements for a professorship, you can apply for matching calls for applications. If a call fits your research profile particularly well, but you do not yet meet the hiring requirements completely, an application could still be successful!
During the appointment phase, you will simultaneously qualify as an advanced postdoctoral researcher while expanding your academic profile.
There are different types of professorships with different appointment requirements: The junior professorship or qualification professorship (W1), for which you can apply soon after completing your doctorate; the university professorship (W2 or W3), for which you need to show further academic accomplishments in addition to your doctorate (habilitation or comparable qualification); and the professorship at a university of applied sciences, for which you need professional experience outside the university in addition to your doctorate.
The legal requirements for getting a professorship are regulated by each federal states' laws of higher education (Hochschulgesetze der L?nder). You can find these laws hereExternal link.
More detailed requirements are listed in each job posting for a professorship. HereExternal link you can get an overview of current job postings.
General information about the qualifications for different types of professorship is available through Research in GermanyExternal link (in English), AcademicsExternal link (in German), and the German Association of University Professors and LecturersExternal link (in German).
Even within the first couple of years after completing your doctoral degree, you can apply successfully for junior professorships ("Juniorprofessur" or "Qualifikationsprofessur", both also labelled W1). The German junior professor is a bit similar to an assistant professor in other countries. You need a very good doctoral degree and teaching competence, but no further qualification like a habilitation or equivalent research qualification. Prior experience with academic teaching and/or grant application might also be required in job postings.
A junior professorship is always limited in time (the term is usually six years in total, including a probationary period and an interim evaluation). However, if the job posting mentions Tenure Track, there is the possibility of getting a subsequent permanent full professorship (W2 or W3) after successfully completing the junior professorship. The success will be measured by two evaluations, one after three or four years and the other towards the end of the junior professorship.
Please find further information on the Tenure Track here.
In order to become a full university professor, "additional academic achievements" (in addition to a PhD) must be demonstrated. In Germany, this is traditionally shown via a habilitation. Due to internationalisation, as an alternative to a habilitation, "academic qualifications equivalent to a habilitation" are usually also accepted. Another possibility to demonstrate "additional academic achievements" may be the so called junior professorship (see above) or leading a junior research group.
Qualifications equivalent to a habilitation include additional academic publications written after finishing the PhD (and on another research topic). Strictly speaking, this means publications that could meet the regulations for habilitation. However, criteria regarding the equivalence to a habilitation are often somewhat flexible. Each hiring committee is responsible for deciding whether your own work can be viewed as acceptable or equal to a habilitation.
When deciding for or against a habilitation, you need to do more than decide whether you fulfil the formal prerequisites for a job, but also how you can lead the pack of applicants and whether a habilitation will help you to do that. The same applies if you are considering applying for a junior professorship or head of a junior research group.
Depending on the culture in different subject areas, there are different expectations regarding habilitation (and also other requirements for future professors). You can find out about these expectations by asking experienced researchers in your subject. In addition, due to the states' laws of higher education (Hochschulgesetze der L?nder) and at the local level, there are regional and local customs. If you are a member of the German Association of University Professors and LecturersExternal link (Deutscher Hochschulverband), you can receive additional consultation there.
Professorships at universities of applied sciences are an opportunity to work permanently in teaching and research in technical, economic or social science subjects. There can be professorships at universities of applied sciences for all scientific subjects that are taught in more application-oriented degree programmes.
Professorships at universities of applied sciences are oriented towards applied research and teaching (usually 18 hours per week).?If you like teaching, enjoy combining research and teaching, and see an application connection in your research, this career path could be attractive to you. The number of applicants for these professorships is usually not as high as for university professorships.
To meet the requirements for a professorship at a University of Applied Sciences, you must hold a doctoral degree and have five years of work experience after completing your master's studies. Part of these five years can be an employment as a doctoral candidate, but a minimum of three years must be some work outside university. The work experience should be in the "use or development of academic knowledge and methods" ("Anwendung oder Entwicklung wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse und Methoden") (see HRG §44.1.4c and the Hochschulgesetze der L?nderExternal link).
Further information and current job offers can be found hereExternal link.
Information on changing from academia to other professional areas
The academic employment law ("Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz") regulates the employment opportunities in the postdoc phase on budgetary and third-party funded positions.
