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Are there remote postdocs?

In our newest "how can we help you?" thread, a reader asks:

Are there post-docs that do not require relocation? That is, "remote" post-docs, or at least predominantly remote, which may require occasional in-person visits?

Another reader submitted the following reply:

I know someone who has such a post doc in Europe. To be frank with you, it is not worth it. You are signaling that you are leaving the profession. It looks like you want to have someone pay you and you just do your own thing in your own place, not contributing at all to the intellectual culture of the institution supporting you.

I wonder whether other people agree. What do you all think?

Posted in ,

12 responses to “Are there remote postdocs?”

  1. Trevor Hedberg

    I held two postdocs and applied for dozens of others. I do not recall ever seeing one that did not carry the expectation of a consistent presence at the institution, whether it was to teach classes, participate in and organize workshops, or attend departmental events. Perhaps they exist more frequently outside North America — I applied almost exclusively for jobs in the U.S. and Canada.

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  2. Andy

    I don’t think it sends the signal that you are leaving the profession at all – and I have no idea why anyone would think that. I know one person who has had such an arrangement largely due to their personal circumstances. They were on campus every now and again, but primarily worked remotely. It worked fine. They are very serious about staying within philosophy, and I doubt anyone would see their CV and think “this person is on the way out”. I also know of many other permanently employed academic faculty in the UK (and elsewhere) who primarily work remotely (in some cases not even living in the UK), and only commute to campus every now and again. Such an arrangement makes even more sense for postdocs who often have e.g. kids and partners with serious careers. Sometimes relocating simply doesn’t make sense.

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  3. remote postdocs

    Definitely possible in Europe, especially if the postdoc is third-party funded (fellowships, grants etc.). While some funders have residence requirements, many postdocs are pure research positions so one isn’t expected to participate in teaching or admin.
    I was personally able to work mostly remotely for two different research-only postdoc positions, one of which was with my own grant. It mostly depends on whether the research group or project one is associated with has online or hybrid meetings and seminars, as one is typically expected to participate in research activities at least to an extent. But many things went hybrid since the pandemic.

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  4. Pass the Remote

    Seems like a bad idea if you’re doing the postdoc to advance your career, since it will affect your references/networking, and these seem to be at least as important as the publications you do in the postdoc.

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  5. remote

    I am currently a postdoc at an Ivy League school and everyone is hybrid (3 days a week in the office). But when this proved too much because I have a very long commute, I moved to half-time, as the hybrid requirement does not apply to half-time employees. So I’m now as remote as I want to be.
    I’m not sure if this is a university-wide policy or just my department. You might find a similar arrangement is less possible in philosophy departments proper than at interdisciplinary centers/institutes/departments, where there is greater need for flexibility in general. (I am based in such a unit).

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  6. J

    Post doc that is mostly remote is certainly possible in Europe at least. I did my postdoc while living in another country (it might require some extra work from you with taxes etc). I heard that officially we should have been at the office 3/5 days in a week but most people did not do that anyway and the PI of the project was living in another city several hours away from the office too and was at the campus only when something was happening there (seminars/workshops etc.). I was commuting between two countries (more than 50 flights annually) and I was happy to participate seminars etc at the campus, but I did my writing when travelling/when at real home with my partner. I never asked about whether I can work from another country (and officially I had an apartment in the country where my workplace was located) and I was never asked or told to be at the office. My colleagues and PI asked: “how often are you planning to be at the office during the next semester”? or “when is the next time you will be at the office?”. Luckily, others understood that workplaces are not kindergartens and that the best part of being in academia is the freedom (to work when and where you like).

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  7. European postdoc

    Arrangements where a postdoc comes on campus 1-2 days every two weeks are not uncommon in Europe. I don’t know if that’s remote enough for the author
    I’ve also heard of (rarer) arrangements where a postdoc comes maybe once a month.
    My understanding however is that this sort of arrangements is not exactly contractual (although some contracts/fellowship do not technically rule it out) and that many professors will categorically refuse it from their postdocs. So, the postdoc has to discuss this with their professor, either before or after the offer (there is no precise rule for these things…)

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  8. Tech Ethics Teacher

    There was some discussion about reasons postdocs should be allowed to work remotely during the early stages of the pandemic: https://www.chronicle.com/article/why-and-how-you-should-let-your-postdocs-work-remotely/
    In my experience, remote work was really helpful. Because of the COVID lockdown, I worked remotely for two thirds of my first postdoc. Being able to live with my partner in the city of our choice instead of having to be far apart was incredibly valuable to both of us. Frankly, if the position is primarily research-driven, I don’t see any reason not to let postdocs work remotely (notwithstanding immigration and taxation requirements to be physically in a place). Since much of philosophical research involves reading and writing individually, a research postdoc’s contributions to department life are usually limited anyway.
    Things are quite different for postdocs who have a teaching assignment or responsibilities to contribute to a special program or research group of some kind. Those positions should be hybrid or fully in-person, since there is a substantive expectation of regular collaboration, mentoring, and instruction, all of which work better with at least some in-person conversations.

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  9. Bookish

    Hello, everyone –
    I am the original questioner, and I appreciate all the responses so far. It sounds like there is some hope of remote (or mainly remote) post-docs then.
    Any suggestions on how and where to search for post-docs which allow remote (or mainly remote) work? Thank you in advance for any guidance.

    Reply
  10. Pass the Remote

    To add another reason to avoid remote working in general, especially if you are junior faculty: administrators, like all people, tend to prioritise what they can see. If you are in the office and are seen every day by administrators, then helping you will tend to be prioritised. This is most helpful during the beginning and end of postdocs, which can be admin heavy, so I recommend being in eyeshot as much as possible in these periods, even if you have a remote postdoc.
    I only recall postdocs specifying that remote work was NOT possible. So sending an email to the contact on an ad or bringing it up in interviews is worth doing in other cases.

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  11. Asst prof

    Baffled by some these comments. No one on the hiring committee of your next permanent job will know or care that your postdoc was remote. There may be contingent reasons to want to be in person but what matters most is doing good work and publishing it. If you can do that while you are remote then go for it.

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  12. CuriousGeorge

    I don’t think remote research = leaving the field. If anything, the issue of too much culture in institutions is giving it the same context of organized religions – maybe such contexts are needed for solving some problems (that steer the researcher towards centralized x, where x is resource/answer etc.). But that dogmatic nature of institutions is what is giving academia the reputation of it being the new religion, and adopting de-facto/de-jure laws around apostacy will make older religions seem more open. I believe even science and religion can work together, so remote research that goes against organized science’s institutional dogmas should be fine.

    Reply

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