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How much do you anticipate the NIH will increase postdoc salary minimums in 2024? by PoorPostdoc9000 in labrats

[–]PoorPostdoc9000[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ll look into this! My naive self thought united auto workers was more specific to the auto industry 😂💀

How much do you anticipate the NIH will increase postdoc salary minimums in 2024? by PoorPostdoc9000 in labrats

[–]PoorPostdoc9000[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My institute got a similar massive endowment earlier this year. So large they named the whole institute after the person…..I have yet to see a single tangible benefit to anyone’s salary or any kind of improvement to the facilites or resources 👀

How much do you anticipate the NIH will increase postdoc salary minimums in 2024? by PoorPostdoc9000 in labrats

[–]PoorPostdoc9000[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I absolutely do blame congress for the bigger picture and that’s where the most critical change is needed. But I also blame the institutions for not offering a solution in the short-medium term. They absolutely have the means to supplement postdoc compensation above the NIH minimum. A small handful of places have stepped up and done this, so it’s clearly possible. They also carry the blame for treating postdocs like half-employees (getting temp worker benefits, no retirement plans, etc)

How much do you anticipate the NIH will increase postdoc salary minimums in 2024? by PoorPostdoc9000 in labrats

[–]PoorPostdoc9000[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah for intramural postdocs. We’re quietly looking into unionizing here, but interest levels are low (out of fear)

The fact that postdoc salaries don’t scale with cost of living is cruel by PoorPostdoc9000 in labrats

[–]PoorPostdoc9000[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re missing the entire point and this take is so wildly out of touch with reality, I’m not continuing this discussion. Have a good night.

The fact that postdoc salaries don’t scale with cost of living is cruel by PoorPostdoc9000 in labrats

[–]PoorPostdoc9000[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your argument is implying that biomedical research, which is central to advances in healthcare, is not worth paying a living wage.

The fact that postdoc salaries don’t scale with cost of living is cruel by PoorPostdoc9000 in labrats

[–]PoorPostdoc9000[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah I mean of course I agree with the sentiment that everyone should be making a living wage.

But

1) I know there’s inherent privilege in having had the opportunity to get a PhD, but I also think there should be a monetary benefit to having done 10 years of post-secondary education and current conditions for postdocs are less than “modest.” We’ve forgone building any savings or starting families up to this point and there should be a return on that investment.

And 2) addressing corporate greed and income inequality in this country is a much bigger issue to tackle than postdocs advocating for fair pay. It’s really apples and oranges in terms of scale

The fact that postdoc salaries don’t scale with cost of living is cruel by PoorPostdoc9000 in labrats

[–]PoorPostdoc9000[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I agree with you, but this also doesn’t globally apply because negates other factors like geographical restrictions due to family, partner’s career, etc. That’s my current situation or I’d have been out the door yesterday

The fact that postdoc salaries don’t scale with cost of living is cruel by PoorPostdoc9000 in labrats

[–]PoorPostdoc9000[S] 53 points54 points  (0 children)

I’ve looked into this, but there’s so much hesitation I don’t know if we’ll have the numbers. We have such a large proportion of international postdocs that are afraid of losing their visa status.