Physics Apply for a post doc with different topics from my PhD projects?

[DannyLouis888]

Hi everyone!

How can I apply for a post-doc that is in a different field from my current PhD topic?
I.e. I would like to make a transition. However, I need to learn how to say and justify that I am competent
in the fields I have rarely touched. In addition, I have yet to publish at the moment (my final PhD year).
These make me anxious about my Post-doc application.

Currently, I am doing research in theoretical particle physics. My project is the higher-order
calculation of 3-loop amplitudes. I have developed some computational skills by doing this project, but
I do not feel like continuing in the future. The main reasons are the difficulty in publication and interaction with
other scientists. In detail, the complicated calculation makes it hard to verify whether my computation is correct, so the publication is
delayed. Moreover, the lack of interactions with other physicists made me miss many talks and conferences in the last several years.

Therefore, I would like to do something less theoretical for my post-doc than in my PhD years. I plan to do some projects
in computational physics, as I have frequently been using computers and feeling more confident in doing computational work.
My proposed topics include nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, astrophysics, etc. Those fields, in my opinion, have
more chances to collaborate with others and easier to check for mistakes.

Thanks!

 

[Vanadium 50]

How can I apply for a post-doc that is in a different field from my current PhD topic?

Send in an application. That's it.

The thing is, you will be competing against people who are already somewhat established in that area. Why should the PI hire you and not them? You should probably think this through for each position and use it to craft your cover letter and application.

 

[Choppy]

I don't think it's that uncommon to jump to a different field for post-doctoral work. Fields change. People develop different interests. Employment, even in academics, is an optimization problem constrained by what's available at the time, where people are willing to move, personal skill sets, competition, etc.

The core controllable factor is your skill set. If you're thinking now that you may want to do something different, the more you can pin down what you want that "different" to look like, the better. Then you figure out what skills you'll need to work in that new area. As you've said, you're building your computational skills. If this is what you see yourself doing more of, look at what post docs in your new areas of interest are doing. What tools are they using? Monte Carlo simulations? Finite element methods? Machine learning algorithms? Deformable image mapping?

Once you figure that out, build those skills through side projects.