u/Unlucky-Seat9517

I just started my postdoc (currently in my third week!) and would really appreciate advice from people who have gone through the process.

During my PhD, I only realised the importance of publications towards the final semesters, and I kind of regret not pushing my supervisors enough to get my manuscripts reviewed/submitted earlier. So, for my postdoc, I want to be more intentional from the beginning and have a clear idea of what I should be working towards.

Beyond simply publishing papers (also… how many publications is considered good enough?), what would you consider the most valuable things to achieve during a postdoc if the goal is to become a strong candidate for an academic/faculty position?

Basically, if you could go back to the first day of your postdoc, what would you tell yourself to prioritise over the next 2–3 years?

Thanks!

Hi all, as the title, I run on the mandatory windows update few days ago when I was shutting down the laptop, I clicked “update and shut down”and thought that it was a usual update regime. However, I realised my laptop used way longer time to start up after the update (I put in my pin and it went into a black screen with my mouse cursor before coming into the windows start page). Today when I try to start my laptop, it seems like i can’t get it started. I’ve waited 10 mins and it’s still black screen with the mouse cursor.

Has anyone experienced this before? How do I fix this? I just bought my acer last year🥲 thanks!

Hi everyone, I’ve received an offer for a 2-year postdoctoral contract at a university. The proposed salary is based on their Level A entry point (the position was advertised as Level B, and the salary they offered me is lower than the expected range of Level B ).

I have already passed my viva, but I have still yet to receive my PhD certificate. The university is currently verifying my qualifications using my viva passing notice. My official PhD completion letter/certificate is expected to be issued soon (possibly within the next 2 months, although my university has stated October 2026 at the latest).

I emailed and asked the HR whether the salary could be reviewed once my PhD documentation is issued. Their response was:

“This salary is based on the Level A entry point, pending completion of your PhD, and will remain as per your contract terms. Any review after the two-year contract period will be subject to discussion with your supervisor/School and university policy.”

May I know what do they mean here? They also asked me to send them the official completion letter once I receive it. My interpretation is that if I start now, the salary will remain unchanged for the entire 2-year contract, even if I obtain the official PhD documentation shortly afterward.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Would it be reasonable to ask whether the appointment can be delayed until my PhD completion letter is issued, so that I can be appointed at the PhD level from the start? Or is it unlikely that universities would adjust the salary scale even if the documentation arrives before the start date?

I’d appreciate any experiences or advice from anyone who have dealt with similar situations. Thank you!

Before i tell my story, for context I am a dietitian myself and just finished my PhD program. I recently joined a gym near my place and subscribed to personal coaching service. Before I joined the personal training sessions, i was aware that the PT is going to discuss about my diet and stuff, in which I wasn't thinking of a big issue because I know my diet and my body weight is normal (My bmi is 19 fyi), I am just there to build more muscles and reduce my body fat percentage further.

So the session was all good until... she started to ask me questions about nutrition (she knows that I am a dietitian). She kept coming up with questions about taking products in boosting protein intake and being defensive that natural foods nowadays aren't providing nutrients that can be readily absorbed into the body, or the meat/crops we eat today is not as nutritious as decades ago. And all of these questions are leading up to the conclusion that nutritionist/dietitians are not keeping up with the "latest" practice because we are only asking people to eat healthily or eat less. And one time she even asked me, "do you even know that there are 20 types of carbohydrates?" *what the heck...

I was mad ofc, and tried to tell her that we practice by evidence to look at patients medical conditions, and we are giving "treatments" to improve or correct their eating habits since thats the gist reason that will affect our health in the long run. We provide knowledge first, not products. But it seems like nothing is going through her head, so i give up in defending since she is ignorant. Fast forward to sometime later, I found out through her personal socials that she is selling MLM products to her clients and everything make sense. She claimed that she is a nutritionist but she did not finish nutrition degree in any of the accredited institutions in my country.

What sickens me is that, she is now making me to sit through her "nutrition counselling" session tomorrow. I can already foresee that she will try to sell me her MLM products in her "educational" slides because I saw her doing it to her clients on her socials. There is such a strong urge to snark at her. Or should I just keep calm and let her conduct her foolery? P/S: I still have 5 more sessions with her before I can cut her off.