During Your First Month at UCSF
Upon Arrival
- International postdocs: Review the arrival instructions on the website of the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO).
- Plan your commute. Visit the UCSF Campus Life Services website for information about public and shared transportation, parking, campus shuttles, biking, maps, and more.
First Week
- Get a UCSF ID card.
- Make plans to attend an HR Postdoc Benefits Overview.
- Attend the HR onboarding session.
- Enroll in the Postdoctoral Scholar Benefits Plan, which includes health insurance. You must do this within your 31-day eligibility period! Your PI is required to cover the majority of the cost of your benefits; you pay just a small percentage of the health insurance premium. Read more about your pay and benefits.
- Meet with your faculty mentor to begin developing your postdoctoral research and training plan.
- Review the following tips on how to get the most from your mentor.
♦ Understand your mentor's expectations and your own responsibilities
♦ Find out how your PI will measure your success and set some short-and long-term goals
♦ Discuss how you and your mentor will communicate, including preferences, patterns, frequency
♦ Ask questions about the lab group and department
♦ Start thinking about your Individual Development Plan
- Meet with your lab manager or administrator for practical tips, like ordering supplies.
- You have a UCSF email address, and as a postdoc you've been added to the postdoc listserv, through which you will receive a lot of information that will be helpful or even necessary to you during your time at UCSF.
- Familiarize yourself with best practices in case of an earthquake or other emergency.
- Sign up for UCSF’s WarnMe alert system.
Weeks 2 – 4
- Read the onboarding follow-up email and follow any instructions contained in it.
- International postdocs, obtain a Social Security number.
- Make sure you understand your tax situation.
- If you haven't already done it, be sure to enroll in the Postdoctoral Scholar Benefits Plan.
- Start working on your IDP (Individual Development Plan) and review it with your PI.
- On the 8th of each month, a Postdoc Entrance Survey will be sent to all those hired the previous month. Each postdoc will receive a personalized link to complete the survey, which asks some career-related questions that will help the Office for Postdoctoral Scholars develop appropriate workshops. Please complete the short survey, which takes about five minutes.
- Familiarize yourself with the bargaining agreement, sometimes called "union contract," between UC postdocs and the union representing them.
- Okay, you've been through a lot of changes in the last month. How are you feeling? Throughout your postdoc, don't forget to pay attention to your physical and emotional health too!
Have you really been here a month already??? Time flies! Take the next steps to be successful. >>