“The price of doing a postdoc” (Science Magazine, January 10, 2017) confirms the Chinese expression “poor as a professor; dumb as a Ph.D.”:
For the overwhelming majority of Ph.D. holders who do not become tenured professors, spending time as a postdoc comes at a hefty price. Compared with peers who started working outside academia immediately after earning their degrees, ex-postdocs make lower wages well into their careers, according to a study published today in Nature Biotechnology. On average, they give up about one-fifth of their earning potential in the first 15 years after finishing their doctorates—which, for those who end up in industry, amounts to $239,970.
The financial sacrifice begins during the postdoc. As detailed in the new report, which uses National Science Foundation data to track the careers of thousands of people who earned Ph.D.s between 1980 and 2010, a typical postdoc in biomedicine lasts 4.5 years with an annual salary of about $45,000—as compared with the $75,000 or so paid as a median starting salary to Ph.D.s in industry. Biomedical postdocs who later enter the nonacademic workforce then face a pay gap that closes only after another 8 or 9 years.
[The Chinese expression is from a friend who was a professor in Hong Kong. His grasp of Mandarin and Cantonese was tenuous, so it is unclear if this is truly a standard term.]
Related:
- “Women in Science”
- “Child Support Litigation without a Marriage” (ways to make more than $45,000 per year without going to college or grad school)
- Book Review: The Redistribution Recession (economic growth in an era where it is straightforward to get more than $45,000 per year in welfare benefits)
Ouch, pouring salt in my wounds.
Scientist, 40 years old and now playing catch up, while married with two little kids (wife not working!) and renting a small 95m2 apartment. I’ve been socking away money in 4.5 years of industry work. So far I’ve got 100k in cash savings (admittedly, not sure whether to use this for a down-payment on a home or put more into investments), another 50k in various invesments/savings, a paid off car, and no debt. Imagine if I had started earlier like my colleagues, I would’ve been able to FIRE (Financial Independence and Retiring Early).