A postdoc is someone in a postdoctoral program, which is a program that PhD holders often take part in immediately after they graduate with their degrees. It is essentially a step between studying and teaching. Postdocs spend their time researching, increasing their publications, and generally making themselves more appealing for academic jobs in the future.

Postdoc Definition

A postdoc is enhancing his professional skills and academic profile. It can be thought of as an apprenticeship program; the postdoc works under an established academic, carrying out research in a supervised setting. The postdoc gets to earn some money while making himself a better candidate for academic jobs while the academic gets a relatively cheap, willing assistant.