Hi all, I am a 3rd year PhD student.

Our lab recently finished a manuscript and is preparing it for journal submission. Initially, my PI said I would be the first author, a postdoc would be the second, and the PI would be the corresponding author. However, my PI just informed me of a change: the postdoc will now be the first author, I'll be the corresponding author, and my PI will be the last author. The rationale is that this would help the postdoc secure a tenure-track job while being the corresponding author will benefit my CV and give me experience dealing with journals.

To be fair, our contributions were split 50-50, so I'm partially okay with the change. However, I'm a bit disappointed that this wasn't discussed earlier.

Does being a corresponding author matter as much as my PI suggests? For context, I already have another manuscript under review where I’m the first author. What are your thoughts on this?