Who actually is a Post-Doctoral fellow? Many of us often talk about Bachelor's and Master's students, PhD students, researchers, professors, and postdocs.

But, do we know what we actually intend when we say "Post-Doc"?

We all know that a Post-Doc is a person who, after finishing his/her PhD, works for one or two years as a scientist in a scientific research group. Beyond this simple definition, I would like to know what you think about Post-Doc roles inside a laboratory and a group.

What is actually a Postdoc fellow?

Is he a debutant researcher? Or is he just a ultra-super-student? Or is he half a super-student, and half a researcher?

What is a Postdoctoral fellow supposed to do? 

What do you expect from a Postdoctoral fellow?
There are many formal roles that generally fall under the category of "post-doc": 


The simplest is as a post-Ph.D researcher working with a faculty mentor and doing their own research
Some postdocs have a role as "lab manager": they help with advising students.
In addition, if given an appropriate title, a postdoc (as "visiting/research faculty") can write their own grants or collaborate on grants that might support them.
The limit of the above is a pure soft-money position that is not "supervised" by a faculty member. Such faculty are also often called 'research faculty', and may be many years away from a Ph.D
In wetlabs, a postdoc role might also be as a lab technician or lab manager, handling supplies, tech work (making knockout mice for example).