“Postdocs” may share a common colloquial (if not official) title, but their benefits and compensation actually vary widely from institution to institution.
This was a major finding of the National Postdoc Association (NPA)’s 2014 Institutional Policy Report . While we got a preview of the findings several months ago in Nature Careers, the full report was released just this month. The document contains data from 74 institutions; they are listed as respondents, but their individual policies are not disclosed. While I personally believe institutions should make this information readily available on an individual basis, the aggregate data provide some fascinating insights.
For example, the majority of institutions have minimum stipend policies for postdocs, and the majority of these are in line with the NIH’s NRSA stipend levels. But there are some true outliers here at both ends of the spectrum.
More troubling than even the <$30k category is the fact that 11% of institutions do not have a minimum stipend policy for postdocs at all. Of those that do, 7% do not require it to be met.
Also interesting is the section dealing with varying benefits for different categories of postdocs. I’ve heard lots of stories of postdocs refusing to apply for private or independent fellowships because it would cause them to lose their health insurance, and now we have some data to back up those anecdotes.
The best benefits are offered to “Institutionally Funded Employees,” i.e. those paid off of research grants like R01s, and those who are “Individually Funded,” on F32s or other fellowships that are paid to the institution. Intriguingly, “Institutionally Funded Trainees,” i.e. those paid from a training grant, are worse off, though not as bad as postdocs who are “Externally Funded.” This category includes postdocs paid directly, as by fellowships from a home country.
Some of this may be due to institutional policies, but funding agencies also play a role. For example, the NSF mandates that fringe costs are paid in proportion to salary. So if you’re a postdoc with, say, a private fellowship, your fringe costs can’t come out of those research grants.
Encouragingly, the authors preface the report by saying that it is “intended to be a longitudinal data collection from our postdoc offices. We will use this data to measure the progress and growth of postdoc services and benefits over time.” This report is the latest achievement in the NPA’s 12-year history of tireless advocacy for postdocs, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next.
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COMPASS Events at the ASCB Annual Meeting
December 6-10, 2014
COMPASS members are organizing a variety of scientific, career development, and social activities at the Annual Meeting. We’ll be highlighting these events in the blog in the weeks leading up to the meeting. Please join us!
COMPASS Open Forum: Following a brief introduction about COMPASS, we will have an interactive brainstorming session about challenges for young scientists. This session will guide the initiatives of COMPASS over the next year. (Monday, 10:00 am-11:00 am, Room 126B)
ePoster Sessions: COMPASS members will moderate these scientific sessions that highlight significant contributions in research in a dynamic, interactive forum. (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, 12:00 pm-4:00 pm, ASCB Learning Center).
Career Panels: Panel discussions featuring representatives from a variety of scientific careers. (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, 3:00 pm-3:50 pm, Room 119 A/B).
Career Chats: Informal, hour-long roundtables for students & postdocs to meet with reps from various nonacademic careers and talk about their career paths, job prospects, industry culture, etc. (Check the meeting app or the Career Center for dates and times.)
Networking Happy Hour: Cash bar happy hour to allow students & postdocs to mingle with industry reps and each other to discuss career options (Career Center on Monday from 5:00 pm-7:00 pm)
One-on-One CV review: 30-minute mentoring sessions for students & postdocs to meet one-on-one with either academics or industry reps and hone their CVs. (Sign-ups are available 9:30 am-5:00 pm, Sunday-Tuesday at the Career Center).
CellDance Premier & Elevator Speech Contest Winners, plus COMPASS Comic Contest Winners (Tuesday, 3:00 pm-4:00 pm, ASCB Learning Center, Theater 1).
CellSlam: The Public Information Committee’s stand-up science slam with a $1,000 prize for the winner (any meeting attendee can perform). For those who want to watch, it will offer a variety of wit, music, and outrageously amusing competition plus free popcorn and a cash bar. (Monday, 6:45 pm, Room 114).
About the Author:
Jessica Polka is director of ASAPbio, a biologist-driven nonprofit working to improve life sciences communication. She is also a visiting scholar at the Whitehead Institute and a member of ASCB's public policy committee.
