AN ASPIRING postdoctoral scholar could be forgiven for feeling some anxiety about the next few years of their career. Open any science magazine and you'll be told that life as a postdoc can be fraught with perils such as low pay, few benefits and, worst of all, a lack of career prospects.

It doesn't have to be like that. If you know how to navigate the system, you can emerge with the skills needed to progress to the next stage.

In the good old days, a postdoctoral position served as a one or two-year career builder between graduate school and a tenure-track position. Today, the postdoctoral population in the US has grown to over 50,000, thanks to a funding boom in the 1990s that swelled the number of science PhDs, while the number of tenure-track faculty positions has remained stable, so competition for these posts is fierce. The National Science Foundation says that only around 20 per cent of postdocs ever move into one of these coveted positions. Yet three-quarters want to apply for them, according to a survey conducted by the scientific research society Sigma Xi. A postdoctoral stint can all too easily turn into a holding pattern while waiting for a faculty position to open up. Biologists, for example, typically spend about five years as a postdoc.

Don't let the odds discourage you. Somebody has to win those positions, and if it's not you, there are always other options. For example, postdoc training in industry can help you stand out. Follow our tips, and you will be on track to get the most out of the postdoc experience.

Make the most of your interview

The interview for your position should be a two-way street, as it is the main opportunity to discover whether the position is for you. Your goal as a postdoc is to build your publication record, so ask the principal investigator (PI) what experiments you'll be asked to perform and who will be first author on the papers. You'll need to travel to scientific meetings to build your skills and network, so check there is a budget for this. Also ask about any extra training opportunities, such as new techniques that you want to learn.

Make the effort to talk to the other postdocs, grad students and technicians, preferably over a beer. Find out what previous postdocs are doing: have they gone on to faculty positions? This is also an ideal opportunity to find out what the adviser is like as a boss.

Choose your adviser wisely

You are probably already familiar with the names of the leading researchers in your field and you'll no doubt want to work with them. But equally important are the mentoring skills of your adviser. A postdoctoral position is first and foremost a training experience, and you want a mentor who views you as a future colleague, not just another pair of skilled lab hands. "Choosing your mentor is far and away the most important decision a postdoc can make," says Crystal Icenhour, a postdoc at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. The good news is that some universities have improved the quality of mentoring by including it in the PI's evaluation for tenure and promotion.

Check for postdoc-friendly policies

Some universities have no postdoc policies whatsoever, and the worst offenders don't even know how many postdocs work for them. "The postdocs have been shoehorned into the system in strange ways," says Geoff Davis, who conducted the Sigma Xi survey. "They are not employees but they are not students either." Thankfully, more campuses are now opening up postdoctoral offices that provide career counselling, grievance procedures and workshops. There may also be a postdoctoral association for support if you need it.

Set out your goals in writing

Once you've settled on a postdoctoral position, sit down with the PI to discuss mutual expectations. A written plan can ensure that lines of communication stay open, and prevent misunderstandings. Postdocs who write research or career plans at the outset are 23 per cent more productive (as measured by papers written) than those who do not, according to the Sigma Xi survey.

Besides research goals, the plan should include details about how often you'll meet with your adviser, what scientific meetings you'll attend and your career aims. "Think to yourself, 'If I want to be a PI in five years, what do I need to do to get there?'" says Andrea Stith at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Maryland, who has developed an advisory handbook for postdocs moving into faculty positions.

Assemble a team of mentors

Rather than relying solely on your adviser as a mentor, join professional associations, attend meetings, collect business cards and stay in touch with people, says Melanie Sinche, director of the Office of Postdoctoral Services at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. "You may find your primary mentor is a fabulous scientist but is not that good at networking or has few contacts in industry," she says. "Learn how to approach other people in your department for advice."

Consider an industry postdoc

If you plan to go into industrial research, a postdoc in the private sector could be a better option. Whereas academic postdoc salaries range from $30,000 to $40,000, industrial postdoc salaries are around $60,000. Health and retirement benefits are included, and a successful spell as a postdoc may turn into a permanent job offer.

Before you apply, make sure you really want to work in industry; if you change your mind later it may be hard to move back into a top-notch academic institution. Also, make sure your project is not proprietary and that you can publish papers on your findings, says Ron Webb, manager of doctoral recruiting and university relations at Proctor & Gamble in Cincinnati. "Otherwise your two years in industry will be a black hole."

Take advantage of extra training

Many postdocs go on to careers in science policy, government, law, technology transfer, teaching, journal editing, journalism and industry. Some universities support this by offering additional qualifications. For example, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, encourages postdocs to take concurrent classes to enhance their teaching or business skills. "They can mix and match, and put their career track together with help from their mentor and other co-mentors," says Ann Richmond, professor of cancer biology at Vanderbilt and assistant dean for biomedical research, education and training.

Practise grant-writing skills

Increasingly, university hiring committees want people who will bring in grant money or who have funding already in hand. "It is possible to get a faculty position without having money in your pocket, but it certainly makes you more competitive," says Icenhour.

Now many postdocs will have this extra bargaining chip to take to their desired institution. In January 2006, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a $400 million grant programme to ease the transition from postdoc to investigator. Called the Pathway to Independence award, it provides an individual with two years of funding as a postdoc and another two to three years of portable funding as a new faculty member. "Our goal is to shorten that period of time from mentorship to researcher status so that the individual hits the ground running with independent research," says Walter Goldschmidts of the Office of Extramural Programs at NIH.

While the gap between the number of postdocs and the number of tenure-track faculty positions is likely to stay, new ideas like this should give an aspiring postdoc some cause for optimism. Funding agencies and institutions have stepped up their efforts to ensure that postdocs end up in satisfying careers, says Alyson Reed, executive director of the National Postdoctoral Association. "Postdocs who take control of their experience and take advantage of all the resources available to them will go on to very satisfying careers in science."