Just over a week ago, I finally submitted my PhD thesis, almost 11 years after my initial enrolment date. Now I'm wondering where I go from here.

I still have to wait at least 3 months to get my results, but I'm wondering if I should start looking into a Post Doc or even if I want/need to do one (assuming I actually pass and get my doctorate). While I enjoyed some aspects of the research, some aspects took a huge toll on my mental and physical health (my candidature was a dumpster fire; see my post history). So while I think I would enjoy doing some research in the future, I would prefer my career to be largely teaching focused (I have already been tutoring for more than 10 years and lecturing for the last 3).

If I plan to be mostly teaching-focused and concentrate on lecturing and unit/content development etc, will a Post Doc even be useful? I was briefly discussing it with my supervisor the other day (in a rushed meeting in the hall as each of us were on the way to other commitments, and she's now on leave due to illness) and she said she did not think I would enjoy doing a Post Doc as you are essentially dedicating 1-3 years of your life to someone else's project you may not be that interested in. So I'm leaning towards not doing it, but if even a teaching-focused academic career requires one, I will still need to consider it.

Has anyone else done a Post Doc and then gone into a teaching role? Did you find the Post Doc helped advance your career or would you choose not to do it if you had your time again?

(for context, I am in Australia in the Information Technology field)

Congrats on submitting your PhD! If teaching is your focus, a Post Doc might not be needed. It’s great that you’re already passionate about lecturing and content development—trust your instincts and focus on what makes you happiest!