phd salary after postdoc

Postdoctoral Salary and Health Insurance Rates

The Vice President for Research periodically updates the community on standards related to postdocs. Below please find summary information related to salary/stipend thresholds and health benefits for postdoctoral fellows. We have an outstanding population of over 1500 postdocs at MIT, and we are committed to providing  mentoring  and  career development  that supports each postdoc’s advancement on the path to professional independence.

Mandatory Minimum Salary Level for Postdoctoral Scholars (Associates and Fellows)

Effective January 1, 2024, the minimum salary/stipend for all postdoctoral scholars (Postdoctoral Associates and Postdoctoral Fellows) is $66,950.

The minimum salary/stipend for postdoctoral scholars is reviewed each fall, and adjustments take effect annually on January 1. The annual reappointment of a postdoc does not trigger an increase as a matter of policy; however, PIs retain discretion to provide a salary or stipend above the Institute-wide minimum and are encouraged to consider the competitive landscape when doing so. For more information, see the  letter from the Vice President for Research . 

Maximum Salary Level

The maximum postdoctoral salary is $85,000. DLCIs should direct requests for exceptions to this maximum to  [email protected] . The Office of the Vice President for Research will work with the relevant dean’s office to review all requests.

Health Benefits for Postdoctoral Scholars

We are committed to equalizing the cost of health insurance between postdoc fellows and associates, so that the premiums paid by fellows for the  SHIP/Affiliate health plan  are not greater than what they would be paying if they were postdoctoral associates on the  employee health plan .

At the time of a fellow's initial appointment,  MIT administrative contacts  conduct an evaluation, factoring in any health insurance coverage included in the fellowship. When the remaining cost to the fellow would exceed that of a postdoctoral associate, they arrange in advance for the faculty host to provide the difference between the cost to the individual for fellows versus associates. For each category of coverage, the current annual premium cost difference is indicated below.

2024 Annual Rates

• Faculty Postdoctoral Advisory Committee (FPAC)
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• Winter Closure

Stanford is committed to supporting its postdoctoral scholars who comprise a vital part of the Stanford community. Each year, the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Postdoctoral Affairs convenes to recommend the postdoctoral minimum salary for the following academic year. Postdocs are represented on this committee by the SURPAS co-chairs, who are non-voting members. The increase in salary has met or exceeded the December 12-month Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the bay area each year since 2016.

FY25 Minimum Annual Funding Rates

By months of research experience (at Stanford or other institution) at 09/01/24 increase

How to Determine the FY25 Minimum Funding Amount for Incoming Postdocs

(For illustration purposes only:  FY26, FY27, FY28 minimums will differ from the FY25 amounts used in the examples below)

How to Determine the FY25 Minimum Funding Amount for Current Postdocs

• See Job Aid: Change Form for details

Important Funding Guidelines

• Minimum funding levels are published annually in Spring quarter.
• Departments may establish their own guidelines as long as funding rates meet or exceed those established by the University.
• Departments must review postdoc salaries/stipends on an annual basis to ensure that postdocs are funded at the minimum rate (or higher) on September 1st of each year.
• For budgeting purposes, estimate a 4.5% annual increase from the current minimum funding level, but remember that increases to the minimum are never guaranteed.
• Funding paid in foreign currency must meet or exceed the minimum in USD, regardless of currency exchange rate, or be supplemented by funds from the appointing department.
• Funding levels are auto-calculated on the Recommendation web form.
• Clinical fellows at the SoM must be funded at the PGY level established by GME at Stanford Hospitals & Clinics. For more information on pay levels contact GME .

Historical Minimum Annual Funding Rates by Year

• NRSA support is limited to three years for postdocs. NIH provides eight levels of postdoc stipend for those with other forms of health-related training prior to accepting a Kirschstein-NRSA supported position. (The presence of eight discrete levels of experience, however, does not constitute an endorsement of extended periods of postdoc research training.) Stanford sets a five year cap on the postdoc training period (including time at Stanford and at other institutions).
• For information on pay levels for Stanford Hospital house staff, contact the Stanford Hospital GME Office .
• When determining funding levels for MDs, the years of concentrated research listed on the CV may be used; internships and residencies do not count as research years.
• New Administrators
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Salary Guidelines

Postdoctoral fellows.

(updated 03/18/2024)

In 2009, the School formally adopted the NIH/NRSA stipend guidelines as the minimum salary for Harvard Chan School postdoctoral research fellows. These guidelines are based on years of postdoctoral experience, and were used as a baseline for setting salaries for other annual appointees.

The Harvard Chan School voted to raise the minimum annual postdoctoral fellow salary to $55k in November 2019, which officially went into effect for FY2021. Following this decision, all future postdoctoral salaries at the Harvard Chan School will be adjusted to coincide with the annual salary increase guidelines. Departments have the discretion to set the minimum at or above this threshold. In order to offer competitive salaries, departments and PIs are encouraged to pay postdocs and other researchers as generously as they are able, while being mindful of equity within their groups and more broadly.

HARVARD CHAN SCHOOL POSTDOCTORAL SALARY/STIPEND LEVELS FOR FY2025 (effective July 1, 2024)

NOTE: Postdoctoral Fellows that have reached 5 or more years can no longer be considered trainees and must moved to Research Associate or another appropriate appointment.

For more information and the current (FY24) NIH guidelines, please visit the NIH/NRSA website .

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• Career Feature
• Published: 15 February 2023

Career feature

Retaining postdocs by recognizing their worth

• Esra Yalcin   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-1064-7989 1 , 2 , 3   na1 ,
• Rosa Martinez-Corral 2 , 4   na1 &
• Mayank Chugh   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5167-6890 2 , 4  

Nature Biotechnology volume  41 ,  pages 296–298 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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• Medical research

Data from a postdoc salary and benefits survey may assist in retaining PhD holders interested in academia but considering alternate options owing to financial considerations.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to Gary McDowell for providing valuable resources, personally communicating data, discussions and feedback on this manuscript. The authors also thank D. Khong, E. McKay, T. Sainburg, G. Romero, A. Cha and S. Nandagopal. They are grateful to J. Gould and M. Tally at the Office of Postdoctoral Fellows of the HMS for their unwavering support, funding and resources.

Author information

These authors contributed equally: Esra Yalcin, Rosa Martinez-Corral.

Authors and Affiliations

Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Esra Yalcin

Harvard Medical Postdoc Association, Boston, MA, USA

Esra Yalcin, Rosa Martinez-Corral & Mayank Chugh

Boston Postdoctoral Association, Boston, MA, USA

Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Rosa Martinez-Corral & Mayank Chugh

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Contributions

R.M.C., E.Y. and M.C. conceived and designed the manuscript, and curated and interpreted the data. E.Y. acquired the data and R.M.C. analyzed it. M.C. wrote and supervised the manuscript. All authors read the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mayank Chugh .

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Yalcin, E., Martinez-Corral, R. & Chugh, M. Retaining postdocs by recognizing their worth. Nat Biotechnol 41 , 296–298 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-023-01656-4

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Cornell University --> Graduate School

Office of postdoctoral studies, postdoc salary and benefits.

• The level for federal fiscal year 2024 is $61,008.
• The minimum rate is not applicable to postdoctoral fellows, unless otherwise provided by the fellowship award.

Salary for postdoctoral associates and fellows on NIH awards must follow the minimum salary requirements based on years of experience.

For NIH details, see  https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-24-104.html .

Postdocs who are funded by the university (funding coming from a faculty advisor or a prestigious fellowship) and are appointed as postdoctoral associates receive full Cornell benefits including health care and retirement.

To find information about benefit rates for postdocs, visit the  Employee Benefits page.

• Postdocs: The Definitive Guide
• After a PhD

As soon as you step outside the world of academia, the number of people who know what a postdoctorate is, what they involve and how to secure one quickly plummets. Given that a postdoctorate can be a popular option, especially for Science and Technology-related PhD graduates, it’s essential to address this current gap in knowledge.

What Is a Postdoc?

A postdoc is only one of many paths you can take after having completed your PhD. A postdoc (also referred to as a postdoc or postdoctoral) can be best thought as a temporary position designed to refine your research and teaching skills while undertaking practical research work. Because of this, most regard a postdoc position as a temporary stepping stone for developing a career in a more permanent position.

There’s a common misconception that a postdoctorate is an advanced doctoral degree that is undertaken after having completed a PhD. This misconception arises from individuals associating the word “post” in “postdoctorate” with the word “after”. While you will learn a lot during your time in a postdoc position, it is nothing like a degree. There are no fees, coursework, exams or vivas to deliver (thankfully!). A postdoc is, in fact, a job, and as someone in a postdoc position, you will be considered an ‘employee’. And just like any other job, the position will come with its own salary, responsibilities, training and employers.

Most postdocs are awarded by universities or research institutes as temporary contracts. However, they can also be undertaken in private companies, non-profit charities or government bodies.

What Is The Purpose Of A Postdoc?

As mentioned above, the primary purpose of a postdoc is to help bridge the gap between your current skills and your current level of experience. Due to this, postdoctoral positions are popular amongst those who have recently obtained their PhD. This is especially true for individuals who which to pursue a career in academia or research but don’t yet have adequate experience in teaching or publishing.

For the ‘learning’ nature of this role, postdocs provide an excellent option for those to continue their self-development while pursuing research in a field they’re interested in.

What Does a Postdoc Do?

A postdoc works under the supervision of an experienced researcher known as a postdoctoral advisor. What you will do on a day-to-day basis will, therefore, depend on what they require support on at any given time.

While your responsibilities will depend on your postdoctoral advisor, you can expect the following duties as part of your role:

• Contribute to the supervision of PhD students who are undertaking research projects in a closely related field.
• Supporting the research team in managerial tasks related to planning, organisation and administration.
• Undertake research, including but not limited to: qualitative data collection, data analysis and data and lab management.
• Contribute to the production, review and dissemination of academic and non-academic writing, including publications.

Your responsibilities will also depend on who your postdoc position is with. Positions offered by universities will often place a high emphasis on the academic aspects of the role. This involves aspects such as working more independently, developing your supervisory and teaching capabilities, and improving your communication skills through participation in seminars and conferences. In doing so, they’re helping you to become an individual capable of both conducting research and transferring knowledge – in other words, a university lecturer!

The opposite is true for postdoc positions held in industry, such as a private organisation or government body. As you can expect, these roles will place almost all of its emphasis on conducting research and advancing projects forward, with little focus on anything that falls outside of this.

How Long Should I Be A Postdoc For?

There is no set rule for how long you should remain in a postdoc position. Regardless of this, most individuals stay within a postdoc position for between 2 to 4 years. During this period, it’s not uncommon to move between one or two postdoc positions, with one position being abroad for a more rounded experience.

The time you may choose to spend in a given postdoctoral position will depend on several factors. The most influential of these will be:

• The size of the research project’s scope,
• The support needs of the principal investigator/postdoc advisor,
• The amount of funding available.

Although you could undertake a postdoctorate for a year or less, most will advise against this. This is simply because you will likely not have enough time to gain valuable experience associated with producing publications, writing research grant proposals and speaking at conferences. Although it may be possible to complete these within a single year, most researchers will opt for a minimum of two years for a single position. This will provide them with ample opportunity to contribute a significant amount to a project, publish a handful of papers and attend several conferences. On top of this, it will allow you to develop a deeper relationship with the students you help teach or supervise. This will prove invaluable experience should you plan on becoming a university lecturer .

How Are Postdoc Positions Funded?

Postdocs are usually funded in one of three ways:

• The postdoc secures the funding themselves . This can be achieved in several ways, with the most common being applying to opportunities put out by government, research or charity bodies. Examples of these opportunities include the  NWO Talent Programme Veni  and the  Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship . Securing funding under any of these schemes will provide you with a ‘stipend’ (which acts as your salary), and ‘’research funds’ for enabling the project. It’s worth noting that if you secure funding in this way, you won’t typically be restricted to any one university. Although when applying to these opportunities you’ll be required to indicate where you intended to undertake your research, if successful, you can take your funding and associated research project to any university or research institution of your choice.
• A Principal Investigator (PI) secures a research grant  for a project, part of which will go towards hiring one or more postdoctoral assistants. In these scenarios, the university will employ you to work on the project they gained funding for.
• A research body hires postdoctoral assistants irrespective of any new funding . In these scenarios, the researching body, who could be anyone from universities to research centres, charities and private organisations, may put aside their own funds to secure a postdoc assistant as a regular salaried employee.

What is the Average Postdoc Salary?

It goes without saying that the average salary for a postdoc will vary from role to role, with factors such as your country, your employer and your level of experience being influential factors.

If working as a university employee, your salary as a postdoc will be determined via a set pay scale known as the “ HE single pay spine “. Under this pay spine, a postdoc can expect to earn an average of £31,000 per year, though, in reality, a postdoc’s salary can range between £29,000 to £34,800.

On the other hand, the stipend (which will act as your postdoc salary) associated with the funding you have secured yourself will directly depend on the opportunity you acquire. Because of the wide range of possibilities, your potential stipend can vary considerably. As well as having a high variance, they also tend to have a higher ceiling compared to the salaries associated with a PI’s research grant or a research body’s employment. For example, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship can be worth over £50,000 per year. However, these types of fellowships are not only highly competitive but are also not an entirely fair comparison to postdoc assistant roles. This is due to the fact that a research fellow will be expected to have a greater amount of experience and to assume a higher level of responsibility than a regular postdoctoral researcher.

In case you’re thinking of working abroad, it would be useful to know that the median salary of a postdoctoral researcher in the United States is approximately $42,000 (£33,000 at the time of writing) per year.

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News releases.

News Release

Tuesday, April 23, 2024

NIH to increase pay levels for pre- and postdoctoral scholars at grantee institutions

Increase applies to more than 17,000 research trainees and includes additional funds for childcare and training-related expenses.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will increase annual pay levels for predoctoral and postdoctoral scholars at NIH-funded external institutions who are recipients of the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) . Predoctoral scholars will receive an approximate 4% increase in their pay level bringing it to $28,224, and postdoctoral scholars will receive an approximate increase of 8%, with pay levels beginning at $61,008 and upwardly adjusted based on years of experience. NIH aims to increase these pay levels over the next five years. Eligible recipients also will receive a $500 increase in subsidies for childcare and an additional $200 for training-related expenses. The updated fiscal year 2024 pay levels are informed by recommendations from the NIH Advisory Committee to the Director to better attract and retain postdoctoral scholars. The new NRSA pay levels incorporate the largest year-over-year update since 2017.

“I have accepted the recommendations of the report on this important issue that was provided by my advisory group. NIH and our grantee institutions must invest in pre- and postdoctoral scholars to ensure the future of the biomedical research workforce and enterprise remains strong and globally competitive,” said NIH Director Monica M. Bertagnolli, M.D. “This revision of pay levels for NRSA recipients is just a first step toward reaffirming their value and ensuring they are appropriately compensated, and I am hopeful these continued efforts help us attract and retain our nation’s brightest scientific minds.”

While the amended pay levels do not reach the full funding increase recommended by the advisory group, NIH selected the current plan to allow for an immediate pay increase without drastic cuts to the number of available NRSA awards, though a small reduction in the number of positions is expected. The increase is based on current NIH funding levels, which remained flat in the constrained budget environment. Pending the availability of funds through future appropriations, NIH plans to further increase stipend funding levels over the next three to five years to reach the advisory group’s recommended starting pay level of $70,000 annually for postdoctoral NRSAs. Additionally, NIH-funded institutions may supplement NRSA recipients’ new pay levels with additional, non-NIH funds and/or benefits.

“NIH is committed to improving the experience of postdoctoral scholars and helping them thrive in a competitive biomedical research environment,” said Mike Lauer, M.D., NIH deputy director of extramural research. “I believe implementation of these recommendations will go far in giving these scholars the sense of job security and career prospects that will lead to long careers in biomedical research.”

The pay-level increase was informed by recommendations of NIH’s Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD). Those recommendations were based on significant feedback from the research community and a report from a special working group the ACD convened. The working group was charged with undertaking several evaluations to determine how best to build on current NIH efforts to improve the biomedical workforce. The NIH ACD provides input on a variety of matters pertinent to NIH’s responsibilities to conduct and support of biomedical research, medical science and biomedical communications.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov .

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NIH panel calls for fewer, better-paid postdocs in bid to halt loss of scientists to industry

By Jonathan Wosen Dec. 15, 2023

A National Institutes of Health working group on Friday recommended a sizable increase in salaries of postdoctoral researchers and a cap on the length of the position in an effort to secure the future of academia’s research workforce amid an unprecedented exodus of young life scientists to industry.

The group called for raising minimum postdoc salaries to $70,000 beginning next year — an increase of more than 20% — and adjusting wages for annual inflation, as well as limiting postdoctoral work to no more than five years in most cases.

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Other ideas included increasing NIH support for international postdocs, ensuring that postdocs spend at least a tenth of their time on professional development and preparing for future careers, and creating new funding opportunities for young life scientists from backgrounds that are underrepresented in science and for researchers who want to stay in academia but don’t want to become faculty.

“We acknowledge upfront that some of our recommended changes may lead to fewer postdocs, not more, but we believe will lead to a healthier system and thus bolster the academic biomedical research enterprise,” said Shelley Berger, an epigenetics researcher at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the group’s co-chairs.

Related: Life scientists’ flight to biotech labs stalls important academic research

The working group’s recommendations were accepted by an advisory committee to NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli, who must now decide whether to endorse the recommendations and determine how best to implement them. During the Friday presentation, she praised the group’s goals but added that these changes could impact academia in ways that are difficult to forecast.

“I think we’re all committed to supporting our postdocs, and that’s really clear. I think that unintended consequences are going to happen,” she said. “There’s going to be hurt somewhere that we don’t want and can’t fully anticipate.”

Members of the advisory committee raised similar concerns, noting that while some universities may be able fund increases to postdoc salaries and benefits, other institutions, such as historically Black colleges and universities, may not. And while the group’s leaders acknowledged their recommendations would likely decrease the number of postdocs, they added that they didn’t know by how much.

The working group, which launched last year, had been tasked with reenvisioning a system that is under increasing strain . Life science Ph.D. graduates, who have for years complained about low wages and long hours in labs, are skipping postdocs, a temporary period of research and professional development, and going into lucrative industry jobs at historic levels.

Among newly minted life science Ph.D.s who had firm next steps, roughly 53% planned to pursue a postdoc in 2022 compared to 64% in 1995, according to survey data from the National Science Foundation. During this same period, the share of graduates with an academic job lined up fell from 51% to 27%, while the fraction of those starting an industry job rose from 25% to 54%.

This trend has led to a drop in the total number of postdocs, which had mostly held steady since 2010 but fell from about 21,900 in 2020 to 20,245 in 2021. Some young scientists are more likely to leave the ivory tower than others. A STAT analysis of data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics shows that Ph.D. graduates who have children or have student debt, or who are Black or female, are less likely to pursue a postdoc than their peers.

There are already signs that this seismic shift is impacting science , leading to untested hypotheses, unused grant dollars, and uncompleted projects in limbo for months to years because faculty are struggling to retain and recruit researchers.

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The working group held a series of listening sessions in March on topics ranging from the concerns of international postdocs to salaries and quality of life. There was no shortage of feedback; the group received nearly 3,300 responses, nearly 70% of which come from graduate students and postdocs.

Almost 90% of respondents cited pay as a major issue, which informed the group’s top recommendation: increasing the amount of a postdoc fellowship paid by the NIH called the National Research Service Award. While the award for first-year postdocs grew from nearly $27,000 to roughly $56,500 between 2000 and 2023, it has mostly just kept pace with inflation, making the recommended $70,000 a sizable jump.

If implemented, the raise would still mean many academic postdocs would earn less than their biotech counterparts; a first-year Genentech postdoc makes about $86,000.

The raise fell short of what some observers had hoped to see. Mayank Chugh, former president of the Harvard Medical Postdoc Association, co-published a piece in February arguing that postdoctoral salaries should be adjusted not just for inflation but for local cost of living. By his calculations, that would mean a $75,000 minimum for postdocs in the Boston area.

“It seemed rather bittersweet,” said Chugh. “It just seems like we’re still putting a Band-Aid or patch on this long-recurring problem.”

The panel also endorsed a recommendation that all NIH-supported postdocs receive the same benefits, including a retirement plan and health, dental, and vision insurance. Currently, postdocs working in the same lab may get different benefits depending on whether they’re funded through a research grant or a fellowship.

Postdoctoral training is practically a requirement for faculty jobs, but those positions have become increasingly rare. About 60% of life scientists who earned a Ph.D. in 1963-64 secured tenure within 10 years. But by 2021, only 3.5% of biology Ph.D.s working at universities had been tenured within a decade of graduating, according to a NSF survey.

This same survey showed that nearly a quarter of postdocs had worked for at least six years. The group’s recommendation that NIH funds support postdocs for no more than five years is intended to prevent that from happening. The group’s other co-chair, NIH’s Tara Schwetz, added that the recommendation would include an exception for major life events such as starting a family.

“One of my big concerns was that they were not going to be sort of game-changing recommendations. It’s always hard to know,” said Sofie Kleppner, associate dean of postdoctoral affairs at Stanford University. “They had some really amazing and new ideas that I was really excited by, and I’m thinking about how we as an institution can support and contribute.”

One of the recommendations she’s most excited about is a new NIH award that would fund Ph.D. students during the last couple years of their graduate training and continue supporting them during a three-year postdoc followed by their first two years as an independent researcher. Chugh agreed, though he also wondered whether this new funding opportunity would be open to international researchers (the panel called on NIH to make funding available to international researchers whenever possible).

It’s unclear exactly how some of these recommendations would be implemented. Kleppner notes that while the panel calls for academic institutions and faculty to be held accountable for ensuring that postdocs receive adequate mentorship, simply writing a mentorship plan into a grant likely wouldn’t be enough to enforce this provision.

Schwetz, who presented the recommendations and is the NIH’s deputy director for program coordination, emphasized that the agency’s budget is limited and that whether these changes become reality will depend in part on support from academic institutes.

“It’s really important that we realize that the changes that are being recommended are going to require significant resources and a commitment not just from NIH, but from the broader biomedical community,” Schwetz said.

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Postdoctoral Researchers—Facts, Trends, and Gaps

30 comments.

As the data show, postdocs are more prevalent in most of the top fields receiving NIH funding (genetics, biochemistry, developmental biology, and neuroscience) than in those fields that receive less NIH funding (nursing, public health, and pharmaceutical science). In light of this, the experiences and future paths of postdocs obviously are an essential part of any study of the biomedical research workforce. 

As we started delving more deeply into the data, however, it became clear that we lack reliable information about the postdoc population in the US. There are many reasons for this. First and foremost, we do not collect much information about foreign-trained PhDs who come to the US to do a postdoc, and we have no idea how long they stay or how many leave after their training. These foreign-trained postdocs comprise about 2/3 of the total postdoc population. In addition, postdocs have many titles, and some institutions require they change their titles after a certain number of years. That is why the PhD snapshot I presented last week includes a range of numbers, and they are colored red, meaning that we have little confidence in their accuracy. 

Again, we had heard anecdotal information suggesting that the postdoc training period has lengthened over time. However, data from the NSF Survey of Doctorate Recipients suggest that most US-trained biomedical PhDs spend fewer than 5 years in postdoctoral positions. Some do remain in postdoc training a lot longer, though. There is some indication those who do the longest postdocs are the ones who go on to tenure-track academic research careers. For example, in the figure below, the age at first non-postdoctoral job (many of which are in industry) has been consistently a year or two lower than the age of obtaining the first tenure-track job. Note that the latest data in this graph (2002-2003) may be underreported due to delays in reporting that result in a lag time bias.

With all that said, what can we glean from the data we have? 

First, data in the figure below from the NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates (which includes all sources of support, not just NIH and surveys US degree-granting institutions about their US- and foreign-trained PhDs) show that the vast majority of basic biomedical postdocs are supported on federal research grants, and this number has grown considerably over the past decade. This is perhaps not surprising, as it parallels the growth of basic biomedical graduate students supported on research grants that I showed in the previous post . Similar to the data for graduate students, the numbers of postdocs supported on federal fellowships and traineeships have remained remarkably stable over the same time period. Once again, these data are supported by the NIH-specific data posted on the RePORT website.

As shown below, the other source of postdoc support that has been growing over the last five years is nonfederal support, defined as support from state and local government, institutions, foreign sources, foundations, industry and other private sources. 

Combining the average ~6.5 years of PhD training and 4-5 years of postdoctoral research means that it takes approximately 10 years before a person with a biomedical PhD is ready to begin his or her first or post-training job, and even longer if he or she chooses the academic tenure-track research path. 

So what does this postdoc have to look forward to? 

We looked at earnings potential as one (but by no means the only) attribute of the career path of biomedical PhDs and compared it to other scientific fields and professions. As can be seen in the table below, starting salaries of biomedical PhDs (pooled SDR data in 2008 dollars) are lower than in other fields. However, later in the career stage, 30 years after the PhD, this is no longer the case.   

Table 1. Salary Across Broad Fields by Years of Experience

Source: NSF Survey of Doctoral Recipients

A more comprehensive timeline of earnings is shown in the report and on the website , and Paula Stephan, who was on the modeling subcommittee of our working group, has a very interesting discussion of this in her recent book How Economics Shapes Science . 

The data I’ve presented in this and my earlier posts, and the information included in the working group report should be of interest to anyone considering a career in the biomedical sciences and those of us responsible for ensuring the availability of a well-trained biomedical research workforce in the future. They are important for making informed decisions about graduate training, sources of federal support, and institutional policies that will attract and retain the best and brightest in biomedical science careers.

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The graphs show an amazing growth in temporary training positions over the past 30 years. I wonder whether biomedical academic positions and industry positions have paralleled that growth. I was disappointed that the data on foreign post-docs was incomplete, but it has appeared elsewhere (FASEB 19,1938). Here is a ‘free’ NEJM article (below) describing why high-paying health care jobs growth is not necessarily good for an economy/society. The same arguement applies to any future growth at the NIH, especially in research & training, and expansion at medical centers. Basically, health care (clinical/research) jobs, grant costs and salaries expansion without commensurate returns to the average citizen are not sustainable especially in difficult economic times. I suppose we could always argue that we are developing second and third world economies and health care by providing international training. There will need to be more evidence of societal returns on training and grants costs.

“The Health Care Jobs Fallacy” Katherine Baicker, Ph.D., and Amitabh Chandra, Ph.D. N Engl J Med 2012; 366:2433-2435 June 28, 2012

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1204891

@ “Citizen-scientist” I am in awe of your knowledge of the literature — you cite two different publications! In one argument! You should totally be the one to decide who gets federal dollars! Please refer to any of the following articles highlighting the expert quality of the publication you cite in your prodigious diatribe:

CORRESPONDENCE Retraction: A Genomic Strategy to Refine Prognosis in Early-Stage Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer. N Engl J Med 2006;355:570-80. March 24, 2011N Engl J Med 2011; 364:1176 Free Full Text

CORRESPONDENCE Retraction: Barlogie et al. Duration of Survival in Patients with Myeloma Treated with Thalidomide. N Engl J Med 2008;359:210-2. September 25, 2008N Engl J Med 2008; 359:1410 Free Full Text

CORRESPONDENCE Retraction: Gong Z et al. Injuries after a Typhoon in China. N Engl J Med 2007;356:196-7. August 7, 2008N Engl J Med 2008; 359:657 Free Full Text

CORRESPONDENCE Retraction: Hussain HM, Hotopf M, Oyebode F. Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs and Alzheimer’s Disease. N Engl J Med 2007;356:416. April 5, 2007N Engl J Med 2007; 356:1481 Free Full Text

CORRESPONDENCE Retraction: Guo H. Complication of Central Venous Catheterization. N Engl J Med 2007;356:e2 March 8, 2007N Engl J Med 2007; 356:1075 Free Full Text

EDITORIAL Retraction: Sudbø J et al. DNA Content as a Prognostic Marker in Patients with Oral Leukoplakia. N Engl J Med 2001;344:1270-8 and Sudbø J et al. The Influence of Resection and Aneuploidy on Mortality in Oral Leukoplakia. N Engl J Med 2004;350:1405-13 November 2, 2006Curfman G.D., Morrissey S., Drazen J.M.N Engl J Med 2006; 355:1927 Free Full Text

CORRESPONDENCE Retraction: Shamim et al. Nonsurgical Reduction of the Interventricular Septum in Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. N Engl J Med 2002;347:1326-33. March 6, 2003N Engl J Med 2003; 348:951 Free Full Text

RETRACTION Retraction: Barbaro et Al. Incidence of Dilated Cardiomyopathy and Detection of HIV in Myocardial Cells of HIV-Positive Patients. N Engl J Med 1998;339:1093-9. July 11, 2002Drazen J.M. and Curfman G.D.N Engl J Med 2002; 347:140 Free Full Text

CORRESPONDENCE Retraction: Reconstitution of Hematopoiesis after High-Dose Chemotherapy by Autologous Progenitor Cells Generated ex Vivo July 5, 2001N Engl J Med 2001; 345:64 Free Full Text

CORRESPONDENCE Retraction: Absence of Human T-Cell Lymphotropic Virus Type I in Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma June 10, 1999N Engl J Med 1999; 340:1837 Free Full Text

CORRESPONDENCE Retraction: Suicide after Natural Disasters January 14, 1999N Engl J Med 1999; 340:148-149 Free Full Text

CORRESPONDENCE Retraction: Stricker RB, Abrams DI, Corash L, Shuman MA. Target platelet antigen in homosexual men with immune thrombocytopenia. N Engl J Med 1985; 313:1375-80. November 21, 1991N Engl J Med 1991; 325:1487

EDITORIAL Retraction: Darsee JR, Heymsfield SB, Nutter DO. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and human leukocyte antigen linkage: differentiation of two forms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. N Engl J Med 1979; 300:877-82. June 9, 1983Nutter D.O., Heymsfield S.B., Glenn J.F.N Engl J Med 1983; 308:1400

EDITORIAL Retraction: Darsee JR, Heymsfield SB. Decreased myocardial taurine levels and hypertaurinuria in a kindred with mitral-valve prolapse and congestive cardiomyopathy. N Engl J Med 1981; 304:129-35. June 9, 1983Heymsfield S.B. and Glenn J.F.N Engl J Med 1983; 308:1400

CORRESPONDENCE Data on Insulin Binding in Growth Hormone Deficiency Are Questionable November 6, 1980N Engl J Med 1980; 303:1120

CORRESPONDENCE Radioactivity in Organs of Patients Receiving Radioisotopes: A Retraction May 12, 1977N Engl J Med 1977; 296:1122 Free Full Text No extract is available for articles shorter than 400 words. PDFSave

CORRESPONDENCE Proportion of E Rosettes Normal in Graves’s and Hashimoto’s Diseases: A Retraction July 3, 1975N Engl J Med 1975; 293:44

I think we have to be careful when talking about “salaries expansion” especially when talking about those researchers in biomedical sciences who also have professional degrees. When postdoctoral and Faculty salaries in research are far lower than comparable clinical positions (as they currently are), it is very difficult to convince extremely bright and hard working junior professionals with any interest in remaining in research to do so, especially as demands of family and looming retirement become greater with increasing age at first Faculty position – one might argue that the above figure suggests that age at first Faculty position is NOT increasing, but there is a big difference between median and mean.

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I really wish this information wasn’t ten years old. Some very important changes to our economy happened in that period. Now many state schools aren’t hiring for tenure-track positions at all due to budget cuts and many private companies are in a huge pinch as well. In reality this information probably tells us very little about the job-prospects young scientists are currently facing and therefore very little about what to do.

Exactly. I don’t quite understand how you can draw solid conclusions from this data.

But I think that’s beside the point as well. The real problem here is that it seems to be perfectly acceptable to the NIH to have someone spend a decade of their life working towards a position in academia when there are no job openings in academia anymore and, even if there were, there’s not enough grant money to go around anyway.

Graduate programs need to be instructed to keep track of their former students and tabulate themselves just how many end up in positions paying $80k+ ten years after their PhD and, more importantly, just how many of them are earning that much doing biomedical science. Also each program should be required to make this information publicly available to any future applicants. I have a feeling this would substantially decrease the number of students pursuing a Biomedical PhD.

I agree that it would be interesting to see what the mean age at first faculty position is, rather than just the median.

As far as the anecdotal evidence of the postdoc taking longer, looking at the chart in the working group report, it seems more like what is happening is that the distribution of 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8 years post-PhD is remaining fairly static, while the other side of the distribution is changing more steadily. If I’m reading it right, in 1993, about 1/3 of the postdocs surveyed had been in their postdoc for less than a year. But in 2008, new postdocs accounted for nearly 50% (!) of all postdocs surveyed. And the percentage of 1-2 years is decreasing. That says to me that while the percent of long PhDs might remain relatively static, the percent that leave within the first year or two is steadily increasing. I did some rough calculations, and there were about 4500 <1 year postdocs in 1993, then 2200 1-2 year postdocs in 1995. Meanwhile, in 2006, there were about 6800 <1 year postdocs, then about 2000 1-2 year postdocs in 2008. These are incredibly rough, but there's a big enough difference there to notice between a 50%-ish retention in the 90's and a 30%-ish retention in the late 2000's. It just looks like the 2 year postdoc is disappearing, and a "short postdoc" is just no longer possible. Maybe the average length of a completed postdoc is still less than 5 years, but it IS increasing slowly… and the perception of its increase gets bigger when the idea of finishing in under 3 years seems impossible.

ETA: The # of postdocs I estimated were just the US citizens/perm. residents.

Based on the discussion above, there is clearly a critical need for the pro-active and mandatory collection of information regarding postdocs. so that we can stop talk about anecdotal data. This is the only way that we will ever have a frank, candid and informed conversation about what is happening to the postdoc. population over time. Personally, I think that it is long overdue that this type of data acquisition occur. Regardless of the long-term earning potential, where the postdoc. goes after their training experience and/or their satisfaction with their career choice, we need to have data to correlate what is working, what is not working and the success of the training experience. This of course means that we also need to identify what success means. The only way to do that is to lay the cards on the table. It’s time the NIH and/or NSF take steps to make this data collection mandatory for all postdocs. [including ANYONE; domestic or foreign born, NIH-funded or not, and encompassing all ranges of postdoctoral training (ie. 1-10 years post-PhD)] that possesses the designation of postdoc. at an institution]. Ultimately, this will contribute to rational- and data-founded- decisions that ensure the sustainability and stewardship of the next generation of highly trained researchers, mentors and scientific community participants. Let me emphasize that I think your committee’s report was outstanding in their bullet-point recommendations for postdocs. I am firmly behind many of your proposed recommendations. However, and again, information is the overlord. We must prioritize the unbiased collection of data for all postdocs. as soon as possible.

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I was unable to understand why you mentioned postdoc starting salary (0 year experience after PhD) as 51,594 USD. To me its not true at all ! starting salary for postdocs is ~39000 USD as per NIH scale. The salary you have mentioned here is equivalent to at least 6 year postdoc experience.

Only 70% of PhD recipients go directly into a postdoc. The rest pursue other careers, many of which pay much higher salaries. Furthermore, year 0 postdocs in industry related fields pay significantly more than the $39k in academic institutions.

I think you should carefully consider the implications of Table 1. While the Biomedical PhD may earn slightly more 30-years post-PhD (around age 60 based on your prior statistics), the difference is insignificant relative to the income disparity between this and similar fields 0-10 years post-degree. In the first 0-10 years (or even 30 years) post-PhD, the Engineer has far outpaced the others in total income. And (s)he also has a much better opportunity to make contributions toward retirement.

I agree with IndustryPhD that each institution should make similar information abundantly clear to students enrolling in PhD programs.

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Move to Australia. I finished my PhD at 26 (only a little younger than average — I’d have been 24 if I’d finished in the minimum time), got a 3-year postdoc, then a 3-year research scientist position, and converted that to an indefinite research position (as close to tenure as we have) at 32. Twelve years since finishing my PhD, I’m now on a $126K salary package, which is pretty normal here (I’m average, not a high-flyer).

2/3 of all american postdocs are foreign? That’s quite a lot; it’s no wonder the payscale is so low: $39K, not $51K as the table indicates. Why should someone who is smarter than most go into science? To beg for pennies from the established NIH-funded PIs? We all know that these established PIs/reviewers do things under the table to keep their grants, and prevent new, young, competitors out of their field. You can’t even raise a family of three on this measly salary. Unless you are willing to struggle in science for 5-8 years as a postdoc for a worthless paycheck, to get to the level of assistant professor (which does not mean you will advance to full tenure because you cannot renew your grants), there is no reason to stay in science. Finding a new profession will be more rewarding, offer you more opportunities, and allow you to avoid the frustration of fighting the NIH system that caters towards biased reviewers. It’s easy to publish papers. It’s almost impossible to get grants and fellowships unless you are in the know. If we continue at this rate, expect 90% of all postdocs to be foreign; no one in america will care about science, and we will cease to be the innovation engine we once were. I tell my undergraduates and everyone I know to stay out of science. Spread the word!

This is true. I have worked alongside many PIs who would rather import all of their workers because they cost sub-$30K/year, and are willing to work at the PI’s whim. Some of these imports don’t even have a PhD or experience in research! The excuses these PIs tell me are that American PhDs just don’t work hard enough and want weekends off. Some of the most smart and imaginative PhDs have a hard time finding a postdoc right now. Bizarre.

I have to agree with your comments. The approach from NIH to pay their most valuable workforce resource at $39K/year, can be best described as slavery, and aims to discourage US born scientists from pursuing a career in the biomedical sciences. This article is misrepresenting the average salary of biomed postdocs at 51K and this is dishonest. Please state this accurately so as to make a fair comparison for those trying to decided how to continue their higher learning.

Every other funding body DOE, DOD, etc pay their postdocs considerably higher salaries and even then it barely provides the basic requirements in areas where cost of living is very high. In all circumstances it is unsustainable and is difficult to remain competitive when our most educated members (PhD’s) of our society are expected to struggle near the levels of poverty. Time to get a clue NIH!

$39K/year, can be best described as slavery,

You realize that you are utterly insane, right? This works out to something over $18 per hour. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour or about $15,000 per year. Have you ever held a minimum wage job? I’m pretty sure that most postdoc jobs are considerably more interesting and fun compared with “do you want the ginormous or supersized FunMeal”?

A couple of people have noted that the $51,594 salary number on the table seems high given the NRSA stipend level for postdocs. This is because it includes more than just NIH-funded postdocs. This figure was derived from the NSF survey of doctoral recipients, a pool of individuals that goes beyond NIH-funded researchers and includes people who may not do a postdoc.

Quote from today’s issue of science “None of NIH’s funding can be spent on “any economic research,” the bill states. Howard Silver, executive director of the Consortium of Social Science Associations in Washington, D.C.” (Science vol 337, page 399) does that mean if this bill is passed into law, The biomedical workforce related projects will be droped by NIH?

Good question. Unfortunately, we can’t comment on pending legislation. However, if the bill is passed into law, post your question again and we can discuss.

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Dear Blog Team,

I’ve been banging my head on the survey of earned doctorates all afternoon trying to find the data for the age at first tenure track job figure above, and haven’t had any luck finding it. Can you point me in the right direction?

The hard facts about Table 1 0-10 years the biomed PhD gets an average 5% pay raise per year (approximately) 10 -30 years the biomed PhD gets an average 2% pay raise per year Total 30 yr earning potential – 2.75 million before taxes (correct me if I am wrong)

Guess what in 30 yrs time you may need at least $2 million per person in savings to have a decent retirement. With 0% interest rate and negative stock returns … well you can make your own conclusions.

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I have a question that came up recently in our institution. Are NIH funded postdoctoral fellows allowed to participate in seminars? Does the “time” involved in attending seminars violate their % effort policies?

Great timing for this comment… today’s blog post is about that very question! Read more here: Clearing Up Confusion about Postdoc Salaries and Training Activities

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Stipends, relocation expenses, and specialty allowance

The process for how stipends are set for each trainee group. Note that the NCI (CRTA appointments) has different stipend tables from the tables used by all other NIH ICs (IRTA appointments), so be careful to consult the appropriate table.

In 2023 the NIH Scientific Directors together with leadership in the Office of Intramural Research and OITE, began a process of aligning stipends across all NIH ICs. Once this process is completed in 2024, we hope to re-issue unified stipend tables for each appointment mechanism. Until then, there are differences in stipend levels across the NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs); we encourage you to ask about your stipend during the interview process.

View the NIH stipend tables here.

Information for each trainee group

Postbac irta.

Follow this process to estimate your stipend during the application and onboarding process:

• Add up any full-time research experience, from the date you received your bachelor’s degree to the start date of your NIH position. This number determines your “years of experience”.
• if your experience falls exactly between stipend tiers, your AO should use the higher level in setting your stipend.
• If you completed a master’s degree in a discipline related to biomedical sciences, you qualify for the master’s stipend tier and there is no consideration for full-time research experience.
• Your stipend increases on the date of your renewal; you can determine your stipend by consulting the column labeled second year.

Predoc IRTAs and Visiting Fellows

• Add up any full-time research experience, including postbac education or training, from the date you received your bachelor’s degree to the start date of your NIH position. Also add time spent enrolled in any graduate, medical, and professional school.
• If your experience falls exactly between stipend tiers, your AO should use the higher level in setting your stipend.
• Your stipend increases to the next column on each annual renewal date.

Postdoc IRTA and Visiting Fellows; all ICs except NCI

Follow this process to estimate your stipend during the application and on-boarding process:

• Add up any full-time research experiences between the date you received your doctoral degree and the start date of your NIH Postdoc position.
• Start at the “Initial Stipend” column and go down the column accounting for the experience calculated in step #1.
• Your stipend increases to the next column on each annual renewal date

Student IRTA

• Student IRTA stipends are based on educational level completed.
• Start at the “Educational Level Completed” column. Find the row that matches your experiences and refer to the corresponding “Monthly Stipend Range”.
• Undergraduate levels include enrollment at least half-time in an accredited college (including community college and two-year tribal colleges) in the U.S.
• Graduate levels include enrollment in graduate (master’s and doctoral programs), medical and professional schools.

Important things to keep in mind

• Some ICs provide a moving allowance of up to $3,000 at the start of your fellowship. If you’re relocating, please check with your AO and PI to see if this applies to you.
• It is important to discuss your stipend and other applicable allowances when you accept an offer and before you start at NIH. We cannot provide relocation allowances after your arrival.
• If you were offered a position and your onboarding was substantially delayed, you should check back to see if the stipend tables were updated so that your stipend is appropriately changed when you arrive.
• If you disagree with the determination made by your AO, please talk with your IC training director . If you are not satisfied, please reach out to OITE for a discussion.

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The appointment may be on Harvard payroll (“paid”) or funded independently (“unpaid”).

According to section C2, “Salary,” of the FAS Appointments Handbook ,  

Paid appointments may be as employee postdoctoral fellows (when the postdoctoral fellow is supported by research grants and contracts under the direction of a Harvard Principal Investigator) or as stipendiary postdoctoral fellows (when a fellowship is awarded to a postdoctoral fellow and is managed by Harvard University, with the fellow paid through Harvard). For further guidance on stipendees, please see the “Research Appointments Matrix,” available on the "Appointment and Promotion” page of the FAS website for faculty and researchers. Effective August 1, 2024, the minimum salary for postdocs is $67,600.

The salary minimum continues to apply to both internal and externally funded postdoctoral fellows who are paid through Harvard. An external postdoctoral fellow is a postdoc who receives funding from a source outside of Harvard. If the funding flows through Harvard, it must meet the $67,600 minimum. However, if the funding goes directly to the postdoc, please refer to the section below describing positions not paid through Harvard.

Positions unpaid through Harvard include those on fellowships that are paid directly to the fellow. If the postdoctoral appointment is unpaid through Harvard, the candidate must have external funding that meets the minimum base salary requirement of $61,008 (for postdocs with no prior experience) or the appropriate step on the NIH scale . Personal funds may not be used (in full or in part) to meet this requirement.  

-----> Any postdoc who believes that they are paid less than the FAS salary minimum should contact Stephen Kargère , Director of the FAS Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. If you have any questions, you may also reach out to your Assistant Dean for Faculty Affairs or Zoe Fonseca-Kelly, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs.

Office for Postdoctoral Affairs

Postgraduate salary minimum.

Yale’s minimum compensation level for postgraduate trainees is $3,200 per month or $38,400 per year, effective July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024 and $3,660 per month or $43,920 per year, effective July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025 ( updated May 29. 2024 ) .  These minima also apply to Laboratory Associate and Visiting Fellow appointments.

Postgraduate trainees may not receive compensation at or above that of a first year postdoctoral trainee . 

Please note that Postgraduate Associates who are at Yale as visiting students, currently matriculated in a degree-granting program at another institution, who are paid by University funds and administered grants, compensation may be as high, but may not exceed the stipend amount provided to students enrolled in Yale’s BBS graduate student program. Please see here for more information. 

PhD, Postdoc, and Professor Salaries in the Netherlands

Salaries at Dutch universities are set at the national level and listed in the Collective Labour Agreement of Dutch Universities (CAO-NU). An academic’s place on the salary scale   is determined by their position, qualifications, and experience. The salaries listed in this article are pre-tax. Dutch salaries are supplemented by an 8% holiday allowance (paid in May or June) and an 8.3% end-of-year allowance (paid in December). Income tax is high—either 36.5% or 52%—however foreign academics are often eligible for the 30% scheme which allows them to receive the first 30% of their salary tax-free.

Promovendus

A PhD student in the Netherlands is called a promovendus . A Dutch PhD usually takes four years to complete. As PhD candidates are seen as employees rather than students and usually hold the position of Assistant-in-Opleiding (AiO) or Onderzoeker-in-Opleiding (OiO).

A PhD student earns €2,448 to €3,128 per month.

After earning their PhD, many researchers go on to a postdoc often at another university or in another country. A postdoc is a continuation of the researcher’s training that allows them to further specialize in a particular field and learn new skills and techniques. A Dutch postdoc lasts two years.

The salary range for a postdoc is €3,821 to €5,230 per month ( scale 11 ).

Universitair docent

This position is equivalent to the rank of assistant professor and is the first permanent academic position. The initial contract is often for four years at which point the academic is evaluated and their position may become permanent. If the position becomes permanent, it is not uncommon to stay in this position until retirement.

Tenure-track universitair docent positions were initially introduced due to many Dutch academic jobs being temporary and job security being perceived very low. A more experienced candidate with the potential to become a universitair hoofddocent can become a tenure-track universitair docent . After four to six years their performance is evaluated and those who have published and received major grants are promoted to universitair hoofddocent .

The salary scales for a universitair docent ranges from €3,821 to €5,943 per month ( scale 11 and 12 ) depending on qualifications and experience level.

Universitair hoofddocent

A universitair hoofddocent is equivalent in rank to an associate professor. Traditionally to become a universitair hoofddocen t, a universitair docent had to apply for a vacant position. However it is now possible to be promoted to this position based on performance. This is a permanent position and it is not uncommon to remain a universitair hoofddocent until retirement.

The salary scales for a universitair hoofddocent ranges from €5,294 to €7,097 per month ( scale 13 and 14 ) depending on qualifications and experience level.

A hoogleraar is equivalent to a full professor and is at the top of the Dutch professorial hierarchy. They have substantial research accomplishments that have established them as an international or national leader in their field. The position is similar to that of a department chair in that a hoogleraar supervises all the other professors in their department or group. They are also the only ones who can supervise PhD dissertations. Unlike the American tenure system, there is no automatic promotion to hoogleraar . To become one, a universitair hoofddocent has to apply for a vacant position.

The salary scales for a hoogleraar ranges from €5,864 to €10,309 per month ( scale H2 and H1 ) depending on qualifications and experience level.  

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