I'm a postdoctoral fellow working on computer science. I've been a postdoc for one year and three months so far, and I think my job will last for three years in total.
Thinking about the future, I suppose I'll apply for a second postdoc position after this, in another university or scientific research institute. But some days ago I met a colleague of mine who is in her third postdoc year, and she said that at the end of the year she will start to apply for some permanent position, such as research associate or principal investigator. I was quite surprised because I always thought that a second postdoc position was normal in our computer science field.
So my question is: after a first postdoc period of three years, should you apply for a second postdoc position or for a permanent position?
What is the best choice for you?
And how do you understand if you should apply for a second postdoc position or a permanent position?