postdoctoral appointee

postdoctoral researcher

researcher

postdoctoral fellow

software engineer

Argonne National Laboratory

An internship is an invaluable experience for students. It helps to facilitate the student’s ability to apply the theoretical concepts learned in the classroom to the professional environment. The laboratory becomes the teaching environment in which academic knowledge is transformed to a practical, applied state. One can compare this experience to moving a plant or a tree from a greenhouse and transplanting it into a forest. In the process, students gain a sense of self-confidence that comes from engaging in a project, following through in its development, and enjoying the fruits of their success. In sharing my experience, I hope to inspire students to pursue an internship at Argonne National Laboratory. The people there are very helpful. I strongly believe that an internship will help students feel that they are making a valuable contribution to society; moreover, they will establish many contacts in the scientific community, which will prove very helpful for their future.

I am currently a student at Daley College, accepted to the internship program at Argonne National Laboratory in May 2001. When I applied for the internship, I expressed a desire to become involved in a project related to my interests in computer science: computer programming, application, and Web design. The main project I work on at Argonne National Laboratory is the environmental assessment of the Lake Pleasant, Pennsylvania watershed. Many different types of data are collected and environmental analyses are performed as part of this study. Mapping and data base

management techniques are used to create and manage analytical products that are posted on a project Web site.

When the project began, I did not know how to apply the concepts I had learned in school to a laboratory setting. I felt as if there was a dense fog in front of me.

My supervisor understood very well how I felt. He spent a great deal of time showing me how to use mapping techniques and providing me with different examples related to the project in order to help me understand. When he was out of town, he would ask others to offer assistance when needed.

My grandmother used to say that if you truly want to know the taste of a pear you must taste it yourself. Following her advice, I looked forward to taking the initiative in starting the project. Using some of the fundamental concepts taught in my college management classes: planning, organizing, influencing and controlling. My management studies taught me how to make a plan, to organize information, how to influence the project and how to manage the project for the future.

I wanted the project to be of high quality and I spent a lot of time learning about new software in order to manage this project for future use. My supervisor provided the necessary tools for developing the project. For example, I was introduced to the new software programs currently in use: Cold Fusion, Sigma Plot and ArcView. There were some problems when I first used these software programs; however, I always asked questions when I didn’t understand. The people at Argonne National Laboratory took the time to help me. They showed me the parallel relationship between the program’s content and what I had learned in my courses at school. At that time, I not only acquired new skills and understood more, but also reviewed what I had learned at school. With

their help, I understood how to apply the theoretical concepts learned in the classroom to the professional environment, and the project was successful. The internship made me feel that I am making an important contribution to society.

The Web site uses Geographic Information Systems’ technology to help people understand both why the lake is home to many rare species and how to protect the lake from future degradation. I have concentrated on producing a dynamic Web site to describe the lake, including different sections of the lake for different plants and fish. It includes links to twenty-four rare plants and four rare animals with data, pictures, and detailed information on the Web site.

I have also concentrated on selecting technologies for the Web site that are useful and efficient. This will enable people to understand why the condition of the lake is so important to our ecosystem. Changes in the lake over the years have made it essential that we study and compare all the data in order to prevent any further destruction. Those who go to the Web site will receive an education which hopefully will encourage them to protect the environment and inspire them to communicate to others what they have learned.

After the Web site was published, I found I had learned an unbelievable number of new skills. These skills will prove all the more valuable in the future studies. Often students wonder if what they learn in school will actually apply to the real world of experience. My experience at Argonne National Laboratory not only utilized my academic knowledge, but also made me eager to learn even more.

Besides feeling that I have made an important contribution to society, the internship has helped me to establish good communication skills for the future and

helped to make me feel like part of the team. Moreover, among the many valuable experiences I have had at Argonne National Laboratory is meeting the wonderful dedicated people from all over the world and from various cultures. The experience at Argonne National Laboratory has proved to be enlightening and enabled me to share my knowledge about the field I love. I look forward to continuing my work with my colleagues in the future.

In conclusion, although I am just a small plant from the greenhouse at Daley College, I have been transplanted into the big forest at Argonne National Laboratory. The people at Argonne National Laboratory have helped to nurture me as I continue to develop new skills and learn more theoretical concepts to apply to the professional environment. There are so many plants that need to be moved from the greenhouse to a spacious natural environment, where they can grow and thrive on their own

Argonne has one of the largest postdoc programs among the national labs.  For whichever reason, they use this as an excuse to really phone in the experience. It's been a few years since I have worked there, so maybe things have improved, but I doubt it from things I hear. As a Mechanical Engineering postdoc, the pay is poor compared to what you can be making in the industry, or even as an assistant professor in many universities. It's only better than a postdoc position at a university (which is what they are using to justify their low pay).

At the time, you could only be a postdoc for up to three years, with a contract that had to be renewed annually. Aside from healthcare, the benefits were poor. Annual performance assessment was a joke. It was a piece of paper that was put into a pile, never to be looked at again. Their postdoc program, while it had some good ideas, was clearly not taken seriously by anyone running it or the permanent staff. It was made abundantly clear from day one that you are a transient nuisance to the organization. They make you feel like they are doing you a favor by employing you. 

Your experience will be almost exclusively shaped by your supervisor, many of whom are brilliant scientists but are completely unqualified to supervisor and mentor junior staff. This makes for a very inconsistent experience for postdocs. If your supervisor is a well-adjusted individual, sociable, has good relationships with their peers and leadership, and they clearly care about their staff, they will be able to help you grow and possibly advance within Argonne or help you find work elsewhere. However, if your supervisor is socially inept, is budding heads with their peers and leadership, they won't be able to help you at all. 

The culture at Argonne can vary significantly by division. My experience is based on working in ES. There were a lot of toxic personalities, people talking behind each other's backs and undermining each other, people who would not acknowledge or greet you walking through the hallways, a lot of silos, and tough competition among PIs within the same group. During my interview, multiple people complained about their peers and the organization (should have been a red flag to me). This only got worse after I started working.

Argonne does not fire permanent staff, even when they are technically incompetent, have put themselves or staff in dangerous situations, struggle to bring in new funding, and are talked badly about by their peers. This also means that getting a permanent position at Argonne is very difficult.

Working at Argonne was an eye-opening experience that really made me struggle with mental health for years after I left. It's only now (roughly 5 years after I left) that I am able to write this review. It took years of therapy, antidepressants, and working somewhere where I am supported and respected, to finally regain my self-esteem. Working at Argonne made me realize that I must advocate for myself and my team, because you can't always rely on people above you to care or treat you with respect.

My advice to anyone considering a postdoc position at Argonne is that unless you know your supervisor really well and are confident that they are going to be able to help you grow and advance, go somewhere else, anyplace else. 

At ANL, I enjoy my co-workers and most of the researchers I help support as an HP tech. There are good benefits, job secuirty at least for me is great (Unionized), and my direct supervisor is wonderful. My largest issues stem from my group management. There is an overall feeling from many of the techs that our opinions are not heard and our feelings dismissed. While this might not be entirely the case this seems to be a common feeling among both the good workers and the bad workers. This could stem from lack of communication from our upper management about how our issues are actually addressed instead of just being told no. There is also a lack of training and continuing education at the tech level. While many don't care about having this there are a few of us that do and would like to be given that opportunity. Others issues stem from the way techs are treated by researchers we support on a day to day basis. Many of us end up being buffers between the researcher and our supervisors. This is emotionally exhausting. Many attempt to do things behind their area HP's back and are upset when a tech goes to their boss to ensure that whatever the researcher is wanting to do is safe, covered by appropriate work control docs and RWPs. Many have no care or no understanding of contamination control and argue with techs if they are told they are doing something unsafely. While we don't have Ph.Ds we are experts in our right in our field. Over the last 2 years many researchers have gotten better, but I still find there is a general lack of respect for safety personnel in general. As an hourly worker, work life balance is hard especially since alternative schedules were taken away from us by upper management. Argonne as a whole (not just looking at my little world) seems to be an excellent place to work. Every group has their issues. I have no opinion of upper upper laboratory management.

My typical day at work was analyzing the programming outcome using Visual C++ to monitor system,linking and running Visual C++ and Matlab using Simulink to analyze the outcome of the fuel alternative vehicle, debugging computer programs using Visual C++, Simulink, and Matlab to find run-time errors, helping develop fuel alternative vehicles using Visual C++, Simulink and MatLab. I have learned about using various programming languages and how to problem solve while debugging various computer programs. My advisor was very helpful in challenging my learning skills. She had me learn on how to use different computer programs to see which one will work in debugging the fuel alternative vehicle program. The hardest part of my job was getting the program to work where there were few bugs in it and making sure that the program is displaying the correct formulas and information. I enjoy working on learning how Argonne is developing fuel alternative vehicles and how Visual C++, Matlab, and Simulink work;

Worked as an assistant scientist for 7 years. Lateral movement is almost impossible, and promotion is highly political. Management is inconsistent and often absent. They say "we fund programs, not people," and that's the truth: they don't understand that people are needed to do research. I had full funding for 5 years and no group leader - something that is not supposed to be allowed and yet happened - and I asked (loudly) for help with this situation the entire time I was there, and was told that no one could do anything. I was also told, in more or less stark terms, that Argonne didn't see a use for me and would prefer to recruit externally rather than promote me. That this institution didn't see me as someone they could turn into an asset with 5 years of full funding is infuriating - what a waste of my time.  Not to mention the toll on my mental health. I can't believe I almost quit research because of my experience there. They couldn't pay me enough to work there again.

Must be scientific minded, not an easy place to adapt to. Once you are use to working there and its environment, it becomes difficult to work any other place. In all levels of administration that I worked in was stressful. The typical day is filled with a lot of work demands and meeting deadlines. The average person would need to know that staying longer to complete these deadlines are typical. There is no such thing as excuses for not fulfilling your work load.

The best part of working there is the vacation time. They give you a lot of vacation time to accrual, plus they are closed between Christmas and New Years. This is the perfect time to go away somewhere that is hot. Sun, sand and tropical drinks!

Work and life balance isn't easy for a non-exempt position. However, if you are exempt its a piece of cake.

I enjoyed working at Argonne. I liked the people, had a good mix of assignments and achieved things I had never even tried at previous jobs. Developing the Selenium based automated test environment for the e-Foci / e-Fcl web sites was most rewarding. But, developing / enhancing the HelpTool (web-based) for our Help Desk staff and general web-based applications were also new and interesting challenges.

Originally, I was hired to clean up a project that triangulated on a radiation source to pin-point the location of the source. I succeeded at this very well, I think, eliminating more than half the source code through refactoring and 'dead-code' detection. I also eliminated a massive number of memory leaks, so the application would run continuously, rather than for only an hour or two.

Argonne performs cutting edge science.   My position was to implement personnel safety interlocks at the Advanced Photon Source on five particle accelerators the largest being 1/2 in circumference which interfaced to 70 beam lines which had their own safety systems.

Other than typical tasks such as, system, documentation, and system validations each day was different, especially when machine trips would occur.   I was effectively "On Call" with another co worker for 23 years, from the time the APS first accelerator came on line.

I also was an external reviewer of safety systems at other national laboratories for their designs, readiness, and sometimes off normal events.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The people, the management and opportunities are excellent.  Beautiful grounds, newer buildings, and many amenities such as on site hotel, fitness center, restaurant, cafeteria, and deli.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Depends on job.  Most positions are very secure but some may depend on government financed projects.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Very good, very accepting, multitudes of cultures/races meshing well together.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Some groups start with a morning Plan of the Day (POD) meeting to set goals, review safety concerns and review projects.  A lot of latitude and freedom to work at own pace.

If you care about doing things the right way, then don't work here. You'd be hard pressed to find any real professionals at this place. I never realized how dysfunctional the government was until experiencing it first hand. All of the rumors you hear about wasteful gov't spending going on...it is all true. They love creating policies for other policies. Way too many managers having meetings about future meetings. Little opportunity for advancement unless you are a "yes man." If you are able to put all of that aside and not let it eat away at you when you go to bed at night, then you will be just fine. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Postdoctoral appointee 166 salaries reported	$95,261 per year
Postdoctoral researcher 37 salaries reported	$91,259 per year
Researcher 5 salaries reported	$31.40 per hour
Postdoctoral fellow 1 salary reported	$111,043 per year
Software engineer 9 salaries reported	$117,530 per year

Working at Argonne National Laboratory: Company Overview and Reviews

Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne National Laboratory Ratings

Popular jobs at Argonne National Laboratory

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected