Stuck in the middle: A postdoctoral scholar's perspective on proactively seeking mentors and mentees

Transitioning from graduate student to postdoc was a disorienting adjustment. I moved from a structured, supportive PhD program into an unstructured, autonomous role—with little guidance on how to navigate it gracefully. This in-between stage is designed to help develop key soft skills like grant writing, project management, publishing, mentoring, and independent research. But the roadmap felt less clear than during my PhD, and this time, I was doing it without a cohort or clear mentors by my side. Now, after four years and experiences across three institutions, I’ve found ways to not just survive, but thrive. I’ve participated in programs that connect me with elementary, high school, and undergraduate students to mentor, discovered professors willing to share their wisdom, and tapped into institutional resources specifically designed to support postdocs. Each of these opportunities has given me space to ask, “Where can I improve?”—and the platform to grow. I’m deeply grateful for the path I’ve taken, and I hope sharing these resources with others will help make the postdoc life more enjoyable.