What is a post doctoral degree? How long does it take to get one?

[De Angelis]

I was searching on google and I found out that one of my profs is a post doctoral student at a university in an other country, but he is in our country 9 months during the academic year and as much as I know he travels to that foreign country the whole summer. Is it possible to get a post doctoral degree by this way?

[mmorgan]

Hi,
A postdoctoral position is not a degree. It's essentially a temporary position (sometimes 3-5 years) after your PhD when you try build your career up to the point where you can try to establish your own lab (i.e. gain new skills, work independently, publish papers, try to get grants etc).

It's a little unusual that a postdoc is a Professor at your university (normally, postdocs work for a Prof and may teach classes on their behalf).

So in response to your original question, a postdoc isn't a degree, and it can last as long as you can find funding and a lab head who will let you work in their lab.