In the past, young physicians could assume that mentors would carve out their paths to research independence for them. (sciencemag.org)
One participant, for example, wondered aloud why any researcher would want a staff scientist position, which does not permit full research independence. (sciencemag.org)
The National Academies define a postdoc as «An individual who has received a doctoral degree (or equivalent) and is engaged in a temporary and defined period of mentored advanced training to enhance the professional skills and research independence needed to pursue his or her chosen career path,» but individual institutions can have many different names for the positions commonly thought of as postdocs. (blog.addgene.org)