Postdoctoral jobs last from one to three years full-time, during which time the post-doc is supposed to have completed a specific research project more challenging than a Ph.D. project. To secure a postdoctoral job, which is often competitive, the applicant is usually required to submit a curricula vitae (CV), a list of publications, a statement of research interest and three letters of recommendation to the professor or university advertising the position. An oral interview usually precedes final selection of the most eligible candidate.
Most universities involved in research offer postdoctoral opportunities in many areas of physics. For example, condensed matter physics, formerly called "solid state physics," is concerned with the physics of matter in the solid form. One of the hot areas is the study of superconductivity -- materials that conduct electricity without any resistance at low temperatures. Scientists are trying to raise the transition temperature, the temperature at which a material becomes a superconductor.
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) is an example of a government research lab. Fermilab has instituted a postdoctoral fellowship named after Leon M. Lederman, a physics Nobel Laureate, who did his outstanding research at Fermilab. This fellowship, which lasts for three years is for young Ph.D. physicists interested in experimental particle physics, astrophysics and neutrino physics. The chosen candidate gets to work at the Tevatron and the Low Hydron Collider (LHC) facilities. This fellowship is reserved for "candidates who have demonstrated exceptional ability in research and who also wish to participate in physics outreach for a fraction of their time."
Another government lab accepting post-docs is the Advanced Light Source (ALS) postdoctoral fellowship program, run by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which provides scientific challenges that can be tackled with the use of advanced synchrotron radiation tools. The fellowship, a learning and earning experience for young Ph.D.s, provides access to the ALS research teams to share and exchange innovative scientific ideas and techniques. The ALS is the world's leading research center in the physics of photo emission, coherent imaging and scattering and ultra-fast science, magnetism and magnetization dynamics.