How postdocs regard mentorship at NIH
"Floundering is not the proper term. A more accurate description is
that postdocs at NIH are PISSED OFF. An essential problem with this notion of
mentorship is that it assumes that the postdocs don't know what is good for
them and that the "mentors" act in the best interest of the postdoc. This is
rarely the case. Quite often, mentors act in their own best interest. They need
the work done in the lab. In many cases, the people who should advise new
postdocs are the old, worn-out postdocs who have been through the wringer,
often many times. A way to improve the mentorship at NIH could be to have a
forum for post-docs not sanitized by the Office of Education. It would deal
with the realities of the postdoc experience, academic appointments, job
prospects, etc. I don't want to hear the experiences of the one in 100 who got
that tenured position -- I want to hear from the other 99." -- Kevin G.
Becker, NINDS