Useful information for Postdocs
Welcome to the MPS postdoc webpage. This page collects hopefully useful information both for new incoming and old resident postdocs. All infos come without any warranty, especially regarding the legally relevant things.
We are Anya Samadi, Charlotte Gehan and Vincent Böning, the current postdoc representatives. We are working towards a smooth and trouble-free work environment for all post-docs. If you have any issues, criticism, or suggestions to improve your work environment, please let us know! We are also happy about positive feedback! In case you are missing some important information that should be added, please contact one of us, and we will take action!
Before you arrive ...
There are a few things that we can already help you with before your arrive at MPS as a postdoc, for example before interviewing or contract negotiations. Feel free to contact us in case you have any questions for an informal discussion. We have compiled a few relevant topics here.
German postdoc pay scale: (Be aware that we are not providing legally binding information here but only tips to what you might want to look up!) Postdocs are paid according to an official tariff called "TVÖD", in our case "TVÖD-Bund". Postdocs are usually paid at least the scale (Entgeltgruppe) "E 13", sometimes "E 14" if negotiated well. Within each scale, there are sublevels called "Stufe". After being in a Stufe for a fixed amount of time, one is advanced to the next level, being paied a little more. If you come from abroad and you just finished your Ph.D., you should generally be assigned to E 13, Stufe 3, or short "E13-3". The amount of years you have to wait to be automatically advanced to the next Stufe is just the Stufe, so after 3 years in E13-3, you will go to E13-4, and after yet another 4 years in E13-4, you will go to E13-5, and so on. If you already have prior postdoctoral experience when joining MPS, you should in our eyes also have a higher Stufe according to the same criteria. We advice to discuss this during the job negotiations and/or after you came to MPS. You can look up the current amounts here (Brutto=gross income, "netto" = net income after deduction of taxes and social security).
Relocation costs: We would like to pass on the information that it is possible to negotiate a relocation allowance before signing the contract. Whether this is granted depends on negotiations but in our experience, it is in general possible to obtain an allowance that covers a great part or even all of your relocation costs. So give it a try and ask for it during interview.
New in Göttingen
Even though Göttingen is a small city, it comprises many institues of higher eduction and notable academic facilities. The website of the University of Göttingen provides extended information on:
- Medical Care and Emergency Numbers
- German Language Courses
- Mobility
- Sightseeing Tours
- Religion
- Public holidays
- Press in Germany
- Waste separation
English-speaking physicians
Although most physicians speak English, not all receptionists do. You can find a list of doctors that speak English and other languages here. With most health problems, you are strongly advised to go to a general practioner first. If you need special treatment, the doctor will give you a referral (Überweisung) for the appropriate specialist. Doctors‘ personalities and approaches to patients can vary. Note, that in Germany you are not required to stay with one doctor if you are dissatisfied.
Mental health support / dealing with conflicts
There are several contact points for seeking help or assistance regarding mental health or regarding work-related conflicts:
- There is a free telephone counseling service “EMAP” for all employees of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG). It is paid by MPG, but anonymous. EMAP can help in case of different issues, e.g. stress, mental health issues, personal issues at home that effect your working life, etc. Family members of employees are included in this service. Online scheduling of appointments is possible. For mental health, in case it is necessary, they also offer help in finding a therapy place. You can find more information in the Max-Planck-wide Intranet here.
- There is a list of possible contact points for conflicts in our institute-wide intranet here.
- Contact the MPS health officer (see intranet) or your postdoc representatives.
- There is a MPG-wide group dealing with mental health, the "Mental Health Collective". They also have a twitter page and a Chat room on RocketChat. They offer the regular Mental Health Collective TeaTime, where you can chat about such topics over zoom, with voice/video presence or in anonymous mode.
- The Studentenwerk from Göttingen provides psychological counseling service (PSB) for staff and students of the university and the MPS.
Mobile work
You can ask to do mobile work.
- You first need to seek your supervisor’s agreement in principle.
- You then need to fill the form Application for Mobile Work (available on the intranet) and make it signed by your supervisor.
- The form is then sent to the administration for validation (check with your supervisor that she/he sends it to the administration, so that the form does not get stuck in her/his office).
- The HR department will let you know when your contract amendment is ready for you to sign; only then your mobile work application is formally approved and you have the right to do mobile work.
Plan ahead, it takes time (1-2 months) for the administration to prepare the contract amendment. The mobile work agreement is valid for a maximum duration of 2 years, which means that if your contract runs for a longer time, you need to ask again for mobile work after 2 years. If you sign a new contract allowing you to continue working at MPS, you also need to ask a new mobile work agreement.
Travelling for work
When you need to travel for a conference, a summer school, a research stay, etc. several steps are to be followed.
- First, you need to ask the travel department to create you an account on the ORBS travel platform, which allows you to book trains, flights and hotels that are direcly paid by MPS.
- Before each travel, you need to fill the Application for approval of a business trip document and your supervisor has to sign it. Only the German version is binding and should be filled, which is Antrag auf Genehmigung einer Dienstreise. You can find the English and German versions on the intranet.
- You can then plan your trip on ORBS.
- When you are back and need a reimbursement (meals, local transportation, ...), you need to fill the reimbursement form (Reisekostenabrechnung) and send it to the accounting department (Buchhaltung) or the travel department (Reisestelle) together with a copy of your signed travel form and your proofs of payment (invoice, bank account screenshot useful for currency exchange taxes, transport tickets, …)
Everything needs to be printed and put in the Bucchaltung or Reisestelle mail box on the ground floor (besides the reception).
You do not need to provide your payment tickets for your meals because you will be reimbursed based on daily rate; one exception is when you are invited for a conference dinner and you have to pay for it yourself, in which case you can ask it to reimbursed and you need provide the payment ticket.
A mission reimbursement should be asked within 6 months after your return. The time to get the reimbursenent on your bank account can be very variable (1-6 months after you asked for it).
The daily reimbursement rate (meals, and hotel if booked outside of ORBS) depends on the coutry; the document should be available on the intranet.
International Office of the MPS
Useful information regarding re-locating to Göttingen; formalities, insurance, accomodation and everyday life can be found here!
Equal Opportunities at MPS
Information on equal opportunities, career and family, and career development can be found here.
Good scientific practice
The MPS has a ombudsperson for good scientific practice, Hardy Peter, whom you can contact in case of issues or questions related to good scientific practice. It is also worthwile to search for “good scientific practice” in the intranet max.mpg.de to get further information on the topic.
MPS has internal personal conflicts support
Here we will add the names of the people that you can contact in addition to the postdoc representatives, the works council, the gender equalitity officers, the scientific ombudsperson, and the section representative. Further information can be found in the intranet here.
Computational facilities
The computer center provides the it-infrastructure of the MPS. This link is only available through the intranet. More information on the Server/Cluster/Storage is provided.
Career Development / Max Planck Society courses for postdocs
As a postdoc at MPS, there are several opportunities to take part in workshops or counseling related to career development:
- MPG offers a variety of courses, workshops, and webinars for career development. Current available courses are regularly announced via institute's mailing lists or can be found in the learning portal of the MPG. To access and book courses, login here and click on “Learning Platform of the Planck Academy” around the middle of the page in the “Favorites” section. The courses are usually free for MPG employees but in general you should discuss participation with your supervisor. If you have to travel, you need to file a travel request.
- Uni Göttingen’s GAUSS Career center: they offer free webinars, free personal career coaching, and a newsletter, here.
- The central career service of the University of Göttingen also offers free coaching/guidance for MPS postdocs, as far as we know, here.
- Our library offers books on career development, healthy eating, physical workouts, and related topics.
- The Göttingen Campus postdoc network offers a newsletter and a regular meeting with other postdocs at Göttingen Campus. The newsletter often includes infos on workshops, funding schemes, and job opportunities (targeted to Göttingen). See here.
