So... let's say you have studied a particular topic during your PhD. Are you then "stuck" with that particular topic (or a particular field) for the rest of your life, or "how far away" from that field can you go if you apply for a post-doc?

Hope you get what I am asking about:-)

Hey Kiori! Well I think there is usually a bit of room for manoeuvre, or at least there is in my field (clinical psychology)! In your PhD you should be learning some fairly transferable skills that would enable you to shift topic a little, but I don't mean actually changing field entirely or anything like that. Certainly in psych, it's quite possible to work with one clinical population (people with Alzheimer's in my case) and then switch to a different population afterwards (e.g. kids with autism, people with depression, whatever!) so long as you have the skills required to do research with a clinical population (so you're familiar with study design, stats, procedures for clinical research such as ethics blah blah). Loads of people in my department have done just this, or stuck with the same population but studied a different phenomenon. I would imagine that most fields would allow for a bit of flexibility, but of course the main thing you would come up against in applying for a post-doc would be others whose PhDs were more closely related to the post-doc topic, and who would then have a better chance. So good to choose a PhD on something you think you might want to carry on in I think, but certainly not the end of the world if you want to do something a little different. I imagine this might vary across fields though, I'm sure some of the others will fill you in on other topics! Best, KB

I'd agree with Keenbean, but then I'm coming from the same field (clinical Psychology) Most people I know who have post doc jobs are doing something similar to PhD but not the same project.

Hi Kiori,
I switched fields a couple of times (PhD in structural biology, then did postdocs in biochemistry, then back to structural biology but in different fields and different topics). i think it's a big asset to bring slightly outside knowledge to a field and a fresh new look. It made my research time very enjoyable (I like being on a steepish learning curve). But I am not sure it benefited my chances of an academic career- that might have benefited rather from more focus and depth! But I know lots of people who have steered away from their PhD topic (or focused in on what was originally slightly off centre maybe) and have gone on to become very successful academics. In fact, almost the ideal situation is if you stumble across something completely new in your doctorate and persue that, as you'll be the leader in that particular new field.

Good luck!