07.06.2023 / 13:00 - 14:00 / Zeuthen, Video Colloquium

Physics colloquium

What do we learn when we compete? A qualitative study of post doc careers

Prof. Kathia Serrano Velarde (Heidelberg University)

Being the first to come up with a result and publish it, writing a grant proposal, finding a new job, submitting an abstract to a conference or a paper to a journal, applying for a prize or a prestigious scholarship, looking for opportunities abroad while maintaining contacts in the country, claiming reference letters, and accumulating honorary positions in the research community – being a postdoc is a life of continuous competition. Starting from the assumption that competitions have socializing effects on those who take part in it, we attempt to uncover what early career researchers actually learn when they compete for specific goods such as research funding, jobs or publications. We then turn our attention to the way these types of competitions relate to one another. Given the fact that postdocs are engaged in one or more competitive activities at any moment of time, we ask how they cope with the multiplicity of expectations, role ascriptions and time frames encapsulated in various competitions. Doing this, we are able to develop a fine-grained understanding of how different competitions affect postdocs on a day to day basis and propose a structural account of how the multiplicity of values, expectations, and requirements impact their careers. We therefore marshal evidence from a qualitative interview study with 60 postdocs in modern history and particle physics employed at German universities and research labs.

More Information: https://indico.desy.de/category/320/