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After finishing my PhD, I'm struggling with my post-doc search and, more generally, approaching and learning physics in a way that is compatible with academic work.

What would be a good place to discuss these things, whether it is under the Stack Exchange umbrella, or on another website entirely (preferably with a community of people currently in physics academia or versed in scientific pedagogy, which is always hard to gauge on the Internet)?

I've thought about academia.stackexchange.com, but I feel the problems I'm facing are fairly specific to physics or at least "hard sciences" (though I hate that terminology), and would get too broad of a reply on there.

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    $\begingroup$ "Discussion" generally implies more than the simple "I ask 1 question and get 1 response" design of the Stack Exchange network, but instead a back-and-forth conversation so in general, I'd say the SE network probably isn't right. Maybe Academia could handle an appropriately framed question (i.e., looking for tips, not discussion), but surely the Physics site is not the appropriate venue. Physics Chat could also be a place, but have you considered reaching out to previous faculty (grad, undergrad; advisor(s) or not)? $\endgroup$
    – Kyle Kanos
    Commented Feb 24 at 16:59
  • $\begingroup$ Your comment on the format of the SE network is totally correct, it probably wouldn't lend itself well to the back-and-forth I feel would be needed. I will try my luck in chat, but leave this question open for a while in case anybody has another suggestion. As for reaching out to previous faculty, I have discussed some of my issues at length with my former advisors (albeit too late into my PhD). Despite them being really understanding people, this wasn't really fruitful. I have also left my lab more than a year ago, so I feel I'm starting to abuse of their patience. $\endgroup$
    – Banjo
    Commented Feb 24 at 20:00
  • $\begingroup$ I’m unclear about your concerns of learning physics in a ‘way that is compatible with academic work’ - you got a PhD involving learning physics, and that PhD is clearly academic work. What is your concern? $\endgroup$
    – Jon Custer
    Commented Feb 25 at 2:50
  • $\begingroup$ "I have also left my lab more than a year ago, so I feel I'm starting to abuse of their patience" ... not really, or at least it shouldn't be this way. It's only one year, not 5. I do not hesitate to answer questions of students who have left for a few years. There ought to be a point where my advice becomes moot, and this is a good thing as it shows the student has progressed on their own, but I see no reason why this should be taxing my patience. $\endgroup$
    – ZeroTheHero
    Commented Feb 25 at 19:36
  • $\begingroup$ @JonCuster : I phrased my question this way on purpose, as the details didn't fall under the scope of physics.meta, but I will elaborate a bit. The problem is multi-faceted, but I'll try to fit a very condensed version of the key points in three comments, though it lacks important details. 1°) PhD didn't go as well as it should have. I feel I left it without the theoretical foundations and work habits necessary to a successful post-doc, esp. one where I would be in charge of PhD students, and that this is not impostor syndrom, but an objective fact. (1/3) $\endgroup$
    – Banjo
    Commented Mar 1 at 17:31
  • $\begingroup$ 2°) I have so far been unable to learn physics at a pace that seems compatible with research. I feel it mainly stems from two things that are entwined : - Equations never give me an intuitive understanding of phenomena, and are mostly opaque to me (by themselves). - To use the results of an article or a textbook, I feel the need to do all the calculations from the start and nitpick every little detail, otherwise I don't feel like I understood properly. This bars me from efficiently using the one or two results/equations that would be of interest for my work in any given article. (2/3) $\endgroup$
    – Banjo
    Commented Mar 1 at 17:32
  • $\begingroup$ 3°) In the continuation of my previous point, I feel I have memory issues when it comes to physics : whereas colleagues (and not just seasoned ones, some were fellow PhD students) seem to be able to recall details of articles they've read rapidly, old lectures, or experiments they've conducted in the past few weeks, I can't. I've tried to counter that with clean and extensive note taking in the past, but this adds another layer of slowness and rigidity to my work, and doesn't help when things should be at the forefront of my mind, e.g. when needing to be creative. (3/3) $\endgroup$
    – Banjo
    Commented Mar 1 at 17:32
  • $\begingroup$ @ZeroTheHero : Thanks, I'll try to keep that in mind and not censor myself when I feel the need to reach out to my previous advisor. $\endgroup$
    – Banjo
    Commented Mar 1 at 17:35

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What would be a good place to discuss my troubles with learning and practicing physics in an academic context?

Probably the Academia Stack Exchange would be a better option than the Physics Stack Exchange (PSE).

Regarding the PSE, if you look in the Help Section, one of the links you will see is titled "What types of questions should I avoid asking?" Clicking on this link, the first consideration reads: "First, make sure that your question is on-topic for this site."

The "on-topic" help page lists the following bullet points for the topic you should "stick to:"

  1. Explanations of observed physical or astronomical phenomena
  2. Experimental designs and results
  3. Experimental technology used in physics or astronomy
  4. Accepted and/or actively researched theories
  5. Mathematics in the context of physics

Your question does not seem to fall into any of the above-listed topics. Therefore, it seems to me that the Academia stack exchange would probably be a better place to ask these types of questions. In particular, the Academia Stack Exchange seems to encourage questions about education in the context of academia.

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  • $\begingroup$ Unfortunately, as I touched on in my question, and unless I'm mistaken, I feel that Academia Stack Exchange is not the right place to ask for questions related to difficulties specific to research in physics (see my replies to Jon Custer in the comments below my question for more details), but rather caters to broader questions about research as an institution and, when it comes to job search or education, questions that could be adressed by any academic regardless of their respective field of expertise. I might be wrong, this impression stems from what I've read so far on StackEx Academia. $\endgroup$
    – Banjo
    Commented Mar 1 at 17:48
  • $\begingroup$ @Banjo OK... Have you tried asking your question on the Academia SE? Why don't you just try and see what happens? You could also try asking on PSE and see what happens. The worst that could happen is that question is closed as off-topic and maybe gets some downvotes, but I think that is worth the risk if you could potentially get some help with your question. At the very least it seems you will get some feedback... $\endgroup$
    – hft
    Commented Mar 1 at 18:25

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