If you're in graduate school or even if you're just thinking about applying, you have probably heard the dire warning: the job market is tough and getting tougher. Postdocs, the short-term appointment of recent Ph.D.'s to research and teaching positions, provide one solution. Postdoc appointments not only give universities a plentiful and enthusiastic source of cheap, skilled labor, but also, under optimal conditions, give appointees the opportunity to participate in important research projects, work with top names in their field, gain teaching experience, and generally hone their skills before applying for tenure-track jobs. However, as the number of postdocs continues to grow, and as people serve in them for longer periods of time, attention is finally turning to the exploitative potential of postdoc appointments.

Many people insist that postdocs contribute to the job problem rather than solving it, and that appointees run the risk of spending years as a postdoc and still not finding a tenure-track job. Consequently, people serving in postdoc positions are banding together and forming coalitions. Postdocs are demanding that universities develop explicit procedural guidelines to ensure tolerable working terms, such as a livable wage, health benefits, and limits on the amount of time that people can work in postdoc positions before gaining the rights of full-time faculty. Organizations have been developed at several major research universities to act as a resource for postdocs and to facilitate communication between postdocs and the school administration. While most of the agitation is occurring in the sciences, it is sure to spread to other academic areas, in which postdocs face similar issues and working conditions.

A recent issue of Science (September 3, 1999) with a special focus on postdocs includes a list of suggestions for ways to turn the experience into a beneficial opportunity rather than an experience of drudgery that inspires resentment. These tips include "get[ting] ahead of the curve" by focusing on a new or expanding research area; "follow[ing] your heart" rather than trying to second-guess the market; figuring out how your area of research fits into "the big picture"; working with prominent scholars; establishing yourself as a professional rather than a student; creating your own postdoc position instead of only answering ads for predetermined ones; and proving that you are a "team player" and consequently a desirable person to hire.

When fulfilled under supportive and structured circumstances, postdoc appointments can be a great opportunity for recent grads to gain experience and make contacts that will further their chances of getting a desirable academic job. An alternative and often overlooked possibility is for postdoc appointments to serve as a conduit to nonacademic jobs, and in this regard, the humanities are leading the way. The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, for instance, has established "career postdocs," internships that train recent grads in skills for jobs outside academia. As tenure-track jobs become increasingly difficult to come by in all fields, such career postdocs suggest new career paths as a viable outcome of graduate training and ease the transition into work outside the academy. If you are considering a postdoc appointment, keep in mind the broadening array of opportunities now available.