I just recently stumbled on “New U.S. overtime rules will bump up postdoc pay, but could hurt research budgets” (Science Magazine):
Shock waves are rippling through the U.S. research community in reaction to a new labor law that will require that postdoctoral researchers be paid at least $47,476—thousands of dollars more than many earn now.
Apparently 10+ years of STEM education does not lead to a big Christmas shopping budget….
Related:
You can’t really view the stipends the same way that you view straight salary. In Freakonomics, one of the questions that they answer is why (low level) ghetto drug dealers live with their mothers if drug dealing is so lucrative. The answer is that drug dealing is a type of pyramid scheme, with those at the top of the heap making a lot of money while the foot soldiers get very little. But each drug dealer believes that he is someday going to be Mr. Big or at least get promoted. Likewise, postdocs are under the illusion that they are on an academic track and will someday (before they reach retirement age) get a tenure track position.
At the end of the article, they give the tired old professor mantra “When I did a postdoc, money was not my prime motivator”.. or “when I was a graduate student I worked 70 hours a week.” Yadda yadda yadda
For the professors it’s just a threat to their cheap labor ponzi scheme which has been heavily subsidized by public grants. There are far, far too many grad students and postdocs and the number needs to get culled. The irony is that these same professors, if asked where these post-docs and grad students should end up, will tell you that their disciples should try get into academia. But where are the jobs?
Where are the jobs? The professors have them already and they’re not giving them up. My brother-in-law is in his ’80s (his wife, my wife’s sister is much younger than he is) is a full professor in the sciences and he refuses to retire. He doesn’t really do anything useful anymore but they can’t get rid of him unless he voluntarily retires and he just says no every time they ask him. He likes getting his salary and having an office to go to. He did some good work in his prime but he is long past his sell-by date. Back in the old days he would have been retired for 20 years by now and his successor would have been nearing retirement as well, so he has now cheated almost 2 generations of a chair.