SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowship 2021-2022

[DevsChick]

7 hours ago, milara said:

Hey, there are male figure skaters! I don’t think it’s gendered at all! (And yeah, any sport with an artistic component and therefore judges would be a good metaphor). What it is is very Canadian. ?

Yup, I was a skater. Senior ladies before I retired in 1996 (I never made it to Canadians, and yeah, I am 40 now). I didn’t stick with it as a hobby, though. Taught off and on through my 20s as an extra source of income. But now? I haven’t been on the ice in over a decade.

That's amazing! And you got much farther than I did, but I remember figure skating fondly. 

[DevsChick]

13 minutes ago, bestwishesforgrads said:

Does anyone else find it odd that NSERC post doc results have been out since last week but SSHRC results are not? Or is this typical??

I'm just responding to all of your posts this morning. This is typical. They always post different result dates during the application process. Again, last year people started getting their results in the mail around March 3rd (but according to one poster in this thread they're supposedly posting them online this year). 

[bestwishesforgrads]

1 hour ago, DevsChick said:

I'm just responding to all of your posts this morning. This is typical. They always post different result dates during the application process. Again, last year people started getting their results in the mail around March 3rd (but according to one poster in this thread they're supposedly posting them online this year). 

I touched base with SSHRC today and they confirmed results will be sent out electronically via extranet at the end of February and that we will receive an email with more instructions in the coming weeks. 
 

 

 

Edited February 10, 2021 by bestwishesforgrads

[milara]

While we wait... 

What are your thoughts on the disparity between funding for the Banting and normal fellowships?

It kind of bothers me that it is such a HUGE difference ($45,000 vs. $70,000).

If they dropped that to about $57,000 for the 23 Banting recipients, they could raise SSHRC postdoc funding (about 160 per year) to about $47,000. In a big city, even an additional $2000 per year could make a noticeable difference. And I think people would still apply for Banting because an additional $10,000 per year in income is also totally worth it.

But, maybe I'm not understanding what they are trying to accomplish.

[Mrazy]

How many applicants, if successful, will hold their SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellowships outside of Canada? My host institution for the application is in Maine (I'm based in Halifax, Nova Scotia). I've been thinking about COVID and how it will continue to affect international studies in the coming years. 

[Peterino]

Personally, I'm in favour of a single tier of doctoral/postdoctoral awards, and a greater number of recipients. 

[milara]

1 hour ago, Peterino said:

Personally, I'm in favour of a single tier of doctoral/postdoctoral awards, and a greater number of recipients. 

I would be down with that but I believe their goal with the Banting is to attract top research talent that would expect a higher salary elsewhere, and so I doubt that the Bantings will go BBC away any time soon.
 

To put the current postdoc value in perspective... In my current postdoc, I think I am getting 47k euros or thereabouts, and when I was hired they apologized a fair amount because they knew that isn’t competitive with what is available in other countries. 45K is in the ballpark, but it is on the low side.

For me, the cut in pay will be worth following my own research agenda and returning to Canada, but not everyone is able or willing to compromise like that.

[meowzers.]

@milara I would say 47k euros is very competitive on the canadian market. I left a PDF that paid approximately that much for a PDF that pays 45k CAD. The decision was not easy as it was a substantial pay cut, but the research is more aligned with my own agenda, so compromises had to be made. It is not easy and not everyone can afford that (frankly, I am not sure I can, but here we are). I agree with some of the other posts that SSHRC postdoc funding needs to increase.

[Peterino]

I should say: I would prefer a single tier with a greater number of recipients, or the same number of recipients but a higher dollar amount.

[milara]

12 hours ago, meowzers. said:

@milara I would say 47k euros is very competitive on the canadian market. I left a PDF that paid approximately that much for a PDF that pays 45k CAD. The decision was not easy as it was a substantial pay cut, but the research is more aligned with my own agenda, so compromises had to be made. It is not easy and not everyone can afford that (frankly, I am not sure I can, but here we are). I agree with some of the other posts that SSHRC postdoc funding needs to increase.

Competitive with the Canadian market, maybe. But not competitive with the global market. I am guessing that the point of the Banting is to attract top notch talent that is demanding similar prices elsewhere. I certainly did see postdocs in the US that were offering as much as 70 USD. That was a computer science postdoc though.

[crackers]

Did you all just get the email about next week's upload of information? Does it mean results....?

[DevsChick]

5 minutes ago, crackers said:

Did you all just get the email about next week's upload of information? Does it mean results....?

Yup and probably? 

[ybenb026@uottawa.ca]

Hello! Did you guys received an email about getting the results next week online?

[NoMoreABD]

10 minutes ago, crackers said:

Did you all just get the email about next week's upload of information? Does it mean results....?

 

2 minutes ago, ybenb026@uottawa.ca said:

Hello! Did you guys received an email about getting the results next week online?

Yep. Just received it too. Seems a bit odd, this advance 'warning'. Why not simply informing us when the results are available, and then include instructions on how to access them? Anyway, not complaining, it's good to know that next week we'll have results.

[milara]

50 minutes ago, NoMoreABD said:

 

Yep. Just received it too. Seems a bit odd, this advance 'warning'. Why not simply informing us when the results are available, and then include instructions on how to access them? Anyway, not complaining, it's good to know that next week we'll have results.

I know, I thought it was strange too! Not complaining, just find it strange.

[NoMoreABD]

1 minute ago, milara said:

I know, I thought it was strange too! Not complaining, just find it strange.

Well, in the absence of actual results to talk about...:
I think it's also a bit cruel to send us that email right before the weekend (right down in the middle of the weekend where I am, actually), giving us the 'gift' of anxiously waiting throughout the weekend  

[milara]

1 minute ago, NoMoreABD said:

Well, in the absence of actual results to talk about...:
I think it's also a bit cruel to send us that email right before the weekend (right down in the middle of the weekend where I am, actually), giving us the 'gift' of anxiously waiting throughout the weekend  

That’s a good point. To be honest, time has basically lost all meaning thanks to coronavirus. I didn’t even realize it was already Friday. 

[milara]

22 minutes ago, NoMoreABD said:

Well, in the absence of actual results to talk about...:
I think it's also a bit cruel to send us that email right before the weekend (right down in the middle of the weekend where I am, actually), giving us the 'gift' of anxiously waiting throughout the weekend  

Ugh. My partner rightfully points out that the way this is phrased, they might not send results until Friday next week. In case we were looking for a whole week of anxiety to complement the bouquet of COVID worries.

 

[meowzers.]

My guess is Friday, too @milara. I also suspect they sent the email to ward off emails asking when the results are coming as we approach "the end of February".

Schrödinger's cat of academia.....good luck to all!

[Mrazy]

Good luck, everyone! The email this morning has definitely nudged me into panic-mode for work and finances this September. If you want to share, what is everyone's plan B if your application is not successful?? 

[Revfem]

I am going to be a farmer (seriously). I'll keep my eyes open for faculty jobs and I have a book contract to fulfill (and an interest in being a public intellectual) but I am not very mobile due to being in a blended family with four kids so my plan B is to not focus so much on academia. I won't apply for a postdoc again. 

[Peterino]

Plan B? a hodgepodge of short-term research contracts...

[milara]

Plan B is to keep applying to postdocs and faculty positions. If that is getting me nowhere, I will consider applying to jobs in industry.

[NoMoreABD]

My plan B is to keep applying for postdocs and faculty positions. I have a couple of publications that will come out this year/next so I'm giving myself one more year of trying, but my family situation limits me geographically so I know the odds are against me. Meanwhile - teaching.

If I am unsuccessful in getting a decent academic job in a year or so, I will have to consider if I am prepared to keep on with precarious teaching positions forever or make a career change.

[meowzers.]

Plan B is to do short-term contract work as a result of connections from current and past PDFs. I promised my graduate supervisor that I would keep trying for a tenure-track position for 4 years so I have a few more years of these types of applications ahead of me.

Once those 4 years are up (and I expect I won't have a tenure-track position at that point, because....current market), I will be looking into industry-type jobs. I want some stability as I am hitting my mid-30s, would like my mental health to not decline this rapidly, etc etc.