Looking to earn a PhD degree? PhDs.org's rankings can help narrow down your choices.

Choose from our menu to learn more.

Postdoc Working Conditions

Back to Postdoctoral Life

Resources

Slaves to Science Salon Magazine, Feb. 28, 2000. An outsider's take on the working conditions of postdocs in science.
The Postdoc's Plight by Joanne P. Cavanaugh, Johns Hopkins Magazine, February 1999. "Underpaid, overworked and often underappreciated, today's postdocs find themselves locked in a limbo that can stretch on for years." An excellent article describing the grim working conditions of postdocs in general and at Johns Hopkins in particular. [HTML version]
Thanks for the Great Postdoc Bargain Harvard labor economist Richard Freeman on the contributions of postdocs.
The Postdoc Trap by Steve Smith. "Welcome to the postdoc trap and life between the cracks of academia. Since you're neither student nor faculty member, your university likely won't know how to classify you. A non-person, you have few rights, no advocacy groups and no representation on governing bodies. You're alone." Contains some useful recommendations for remedying the situation.
Drivers of Discovery: A look at the life and issues of the nations postdoctoral researchers Paradigm Magazine, The Whitehead Institute, Nov 25, 2003.
Doctors Without Orders: Highlights of the Sigma Xi Postdoc Survey Results of Sigma Xi's survey of 7600 postdocs at 46 US institutions. Very interesting discussion of salaries, training, and administrative oversight.
Postdoc Trail: Long and Filled with Pitfalls by Jennifer Lee, New York Times, August 21, 2001. "As the annual number of doctorates awarded in science nationwide has greatly outpaced the growth in the number of faculty jobs over the last 20 years, scientists like Dr. Dugan are finding that their postdoctoral years are stretching out for a discouragingly long time."
US Postdocs: Young, gifted and broke. Nature 15 April 2004 At the turn of the millennium, the US National Academies put the spotlight on the miserable pay and conditions experienced by most US postdocs. In this free feature, Betsy Mason reports on how things are slowly beginning to change.
A Day in the Life of a Topflight Lab Science, September 3, 1999. "The work day lasts well into the night, but the rewards are considerable for postdocs in Robert Langer's chemical engineering laboratory at MIT."
Postdocs Make Progress Chronicle of Higher Education, July 20, 2002. "A Ph.D. scientist at a top research institution shouldn't have to ask Mom and Dad for help with rent money. But for postdoctoral researchers at Stanford University, financial independence is often out of the question. Until very recently, many Stanford postdocs earned less than $30,000 a year -- a pittance in Palo Alto, Calif., where a studio apartment can go for $1,000 a month. Throw in another $1,000 a month for child care (as many do), and there's not much left over for luxuries like food."
The Invisible University Harvard Magazine, May-June 2001. "They have been called the 'invisible university,' because 'postdocs'--postdoctoral fellows--are an elusive presence. They are neither faculty nor students. Nor do many of them qualify as employees. Postdocs are Ph.D.s engaged in a wide range of research, but their biggest presence is in the biological and medical laboratories. Without them, science would come to a screeching halt."
The Worst Jobs in Science Popular Science, October 2003. "The worst, most torturous, icky, painful, stinky, dangerous, and just plain horrible jobs in science." #10 = postdoc, right after carcass cleaner.
Seeking strength in numbers Postdocs are vital to scientific research, but often miss out on the benefits available to permanent staff.
ACS Graduate Education Newsletter, Special Issue on Postdocs Fall, 2003. 11 pages of articles on postdocs.
Not Your Father's Postdoc Science, April 28, 2005. "In today's scientific labor market, just doing good science is no longer enough. Postdocs need realistic expectations, good information, and an entrepreneurial attitude toward their careers."