August 02, 2006

The NEED for OVERHAUL!!!

Slaves to science
For post-docs, finding a supernova is easier than finding a job.
- - - - -By William Speed Weed Feb. 28, 2000
[If you never read this article, it is worth spending some time in reading, an insightful article about postdocs, I admire William Speed Weed for his courage to tell the truth about postdocs are treated like slaves in the academia!?. Here is the link for the article. http://archive.salon.com/books/it/2000/02/28/postdoc/
index.html

This Blog:-

THIS POSTDOC BLOG IS AN EFFORT TO WRITE A-Z ABOUT POSTDOCS. PROVIDE AN INFORMATION CHANNEL TO POSTDOCS, UNITE THEM SO THAT IT CAN BE A VOICE FOR THE POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWS/ POSTDOCS HERE IN USA AND OFCOURSE FOR ALL THE POSTDOCS AROUND THE WORLD. IF YOU ARE CONCERNED OR KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT POSTDOCS PROBLEMS, YOU ARE MOST WELLCOME TO PUBLISH NEWS, COLUMNS, ARTICLES, COMMENTS, REVIEWS ETC., SO, BRING HERE YOUR MESSAGES & SHARE THE IDEAS TO HELP EACH OTHER. GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE POSTDOCS OF THIS WORLD!.

Who are these Little Masters?
These little masters are often given titles such as "postdocs", "postdoctoral fellows", "postdoctoral researcher", "postdoctoral associate", "and postdoctoral scholar". In truth, they toil their life to get this PhD (more than half of life, the most young and prime part of life) goes to earning PhD, the remaining most energetic and efficient part goes to doing post PhD POSTDOC [their academic life and family life is one of the toughest times during postdoc due to low salary, benefits, child care issues, leave/vacation issues, lack of mentoring, lack of independency, among the most difficult issue is to find out a job after postdocs, as there are not many faculty jobs opportunities for the postdocs. Though there are some alternative areas of job opportunities, the postdocs are in most cases academically prepared and thier preference is to be oriented to academy].

What is the Current Postdoc Scenario:-

Doing a postdoc is no longer a luxury or at will training as it was used to be in 1876 or early 1900s. In the initial few decades of the origin of this "POSTDOC", taking up a postdoc was considered to be a voluntary move of an individual to broaden one's background. It was not a mandatory/important requirement to do a postdoc in order to get into a permanent academic position (Asst Professor, or other faculty jobs). However, the scenario is quite different now. There is a significant growth in the academia, the top stakeholders of the academic layer benefited from the changes that took place in the last four or five decades, while postdoc and their fate remained unattended or seen only minimal changes in salary hike occurred instead of looking into this issue with sincere plan.

So we now know that to do a POSTDOC is a must or unavoidable part of one's academic career to move onto a faculty currently. Considering too many highly qualified young scientists chasing around to find out their own project or independent roles in academy, it is not only tough to achieve but it is impractical.

Considering the fact that there are about 100 applicants for 1 Asst Prof Position vacant at a given university or institutions in USA. If this is the case, there is a NEED for a change in improving the current postdoctoral system. Too many Postdocs but too little faculty opportunity, the academic system, PIs and funding agents did not care much to make changes to improve the postdoc's career or job status. So, postdoc of the present days became a type of intellectual slaves, highly educated and poorly paid with inadequate benefits and insecurity throughout their role as a postdoc.

Some call "postdoc" as a kind of training or apprentice to further one's job opportunities. Others call it as an employment!?. Most others say that postdocs are used as "extra pair’s of hands in most of labs. Despite the fact that postdocs are well trained, highly intelligent and extremely hard working, there is hardly any freedom or ability to run their own science project............this is the gray area where improvements can be made by the institutions/universities and the funding bodies like NIH and NSF so that the postdocs move on in the academic ladder, instead they will be wasting lot of time in just thinking about what are they going to do next about their academic future or job prospectives?.


What is the Most authoritative Organization (NAS) think about Postdoc issues:
The frustration of the postdoc issues and their problems was and is constantly debated at the most prestigious "National Academic Borards.

The National Academies Press: Home The National Academies: Home
Read more than 3,600 books online FREE! More than 1000 PDFs now available for sale
The board members represnted from all the scientific areas came out with a recommendation, which can be found in the following publication. Every postdoc, PI, and postdoc related administrators must read this book. For your convenience, I am putting the cover page of the book, I also copied from the book a portion of the "Executive Summary". Just this alone clearly summarises postdocs issues, it is good to know that postdocs got the attention of the highest governing body in science and research, and they are talking about postdocs. This is a good book to read.
Recomended by Muni, 08/10/2006
The book & details of the book, if you are not able to buy, watch out on the website for a free downloadable PDF format of the book, you can read it right on the website or perhaps, I am not sure if you can copy it to your computer, just check out.

Read this book online, free! Click here to proceed to linked table of contents

Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers:

A Guide for Postdoctoral Scholars, Advisers, Institutions, Funding Organizations, and Disciplinary Societies

Book Cover

Status: Available Now

Size: 212 pages, 6 x 9

Publication Year:2000


Below is the executive summary:
Executive Summary

The concept of a postdoctoral scholar in science and engineering arose about a century ago when a handful of PhD researchers were awarded small stipends for the purpose of augmenting their skills and experience. The postdoctoral population in the United States, after decades of gradual growth, leapt ahead quickly in the 1980s and now outnumbers the graduate student population at some US institutions. The total number of postdoctoral scholars, or postdocs, has grown to an estimated 52,000. [this is a old estimate, it is crossed 60,000 and more by now!).

The primary purpose of the postdoctoral experience is to broaden and deepen the research and other skills that are required for a significant contribution to society and satisfying, professional employment. Ideally, this is accomplished through the guidance of an adviser in whose laboratory or department the postdoc works; the administrative and infrastructural support of the host institution; the financial support of a funding organization; and the professional development support of a disciplinary society.

The postdoctoral experience does not always succeed in its educational purpose. In some cases, the postdoc is poorly matched with the research setting; in others, there is little opportunity for growth toward independence, guidance is poor, or a mentoring relationship fails to develop. Sometimes mentors, institutions, and funding organizations have been slow to assign postdocs the status, recognition, and compensation that are commensurate with their skills and contributions to research.

For their part, many postdocs express frustration at their low professional status and inability to fulfill their own expectations to mature as professional researchers, collaborate productively with colleagues (and advisers), and advance in their careers toward rewarding professional positions. While some of this frustration results from a job market that, in some fields, has fewer positions than it does good candidates, it also reflects inadequate administrative attention to mechanisms of the experience that can and should be rectified. In considering needed improvements, it is essential to recognize that the situations of postdocs vary markedly from discipline to discipline and between academic and non-academic settings. Postdocs vary in proficiency; some are quite experienced with little need for guidance, while others are apprentices who require substantial coaching. They also vary in their rate of growth; some learn quickly while others require more time to develop sufficient knowledge and skills to move to the next stage of their career. Moreover, slightly more than half of US postdocs are non-US citizens, many of whom face additional challenges of acculturation and language.

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Univerisity of Washington PostDocs Forming Union- Latest University PostDocs to Unionize!

University of Washington, yet another top notch higher education/research institute known for an impressive history and record setting, rig...

UC System & the Number of PostDocs?

How many PostDocs work at the UC system, this is one of the largest PostDoc group in US and probably in the world, what happens here can be a great event!. When things said and done on the PostDoc unionization, they will join the only Unionized PostDocs, the Uconn Health center Postdocs. Here is the latest numbers from the UC postdoc society website?

Postdocs in Numbers
UC Berkeley 1150
UC Davis 800
UC Irvine 344
UC Los Angeles 1110
UC Merced 20
UC Riverside 200
UC Santa Barbara 300
UC Santa Cruz 148
UC San Diego 907
UC San Francisco 1100
Total 6059

The above numbers are approximate and were correct to within 10 in
March 2008.


NeuroMonitoring- My Professional Blog

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Academic Productivity, a Blog about Academia???

Academics salaries lower than automobile industry worker salary?

Though, a comparision between an academician and a autoworker is not the right choice to do a salary or work related benefits, it certainly brings an issue of importance. What exactly academic people get as a benefits is a daunting task?. Read further about the disparity of salary for academicians and the following thoughtful comments by readers of the blog.


From Mark J. Perry’s blog, I just learned that the average UAW worker with a high school degree earns 57.6% more compensation than the average university professor with a Ph.D. Considering that there are plenty of academic positions that do not enjoy the average salary mentioned in the blog post, this is something to worry about. Average Postdoc salaries according to the NSF are nowhere closer to this figure, and you have to add the uncertainty of these positions (they are always short-term) and mobility demands (expect to move to a different university sooner or later). And of course, academic work longer hours and suffer a lot more psychological stress than car factory workers.

PostDocs Out There!

What PostDocs Favor?

Postdocs favor top biomedical research institutes
Several of the world's top biomedical research institutes--including a couple run by biopharma giants--have made this year's list of the best places for postdocs to work. The annual ranking by The Scientist for the U.S. includes the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (4); U.T.'s M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (5); Genentech (6); the Fox Chase Cancer Center (7) and the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research (15). Among the top international institutions ranked, the University of Cambridge in the UK jumped from 9th to first place, largely because of their focus on professional training.
The survey found that institutions which consistently rank at the top of the heap are noted for their ability to listen to postdocs' concerns "about uncertain career opportunities, work/life balance, and the need for first-rate professional development."

Some Science this Week?

cow pic LATEST HIGHLIGHT
Population genetics: Rich pastures for cattle genomics
Nature Reviews Genetics
1 April 2008
Two recent papers show how genomics approaches that are applied widely in humans can be put to use in an important livestock species. This Research Highlight discusses these advances — a new method for identifying large numbers of SNPs in cattle, and the use of SNP-based mapping to study inherited disorders in this species.

Interesting Little Piece on Diversity &

From Nature.com, Postdoc Journal

I'm an alien

Jon Yearsley is a senior postdoc in evolutionary genetics at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

Finding refuge in my science.

"Naturalisations en masse, STOP," is one of the more startling political posters that I pass as I cycle into work. The poster shows that the rights of foreigners are once more up for debate. This reminds me that I, as a Brit, am an alien in this European society.

When it comes to my research, the environment is as familiar as a decent pint of English ale and BBC Radio 4. The culture of science is truly international, and interesting research is exciting in any language. At the last count, my department was home to 18 nationalities, making it almost as diverse as the flowers in a Swiss alpine meadow. And rather than this turning into a Tower of Babel, science is done, null hypotheses are refuted, papers are published and impact factors are recorded.

My research gives a welcome dose of the familiar in what can sometimes be an unfamiliar culture. I wasn't brought up with alpine cows, wrapping my lips around french vowels or trying the odd yodel. The unfamiliar is fun, but I'm glad that my habitual pursuit, science, is an important one. Arguably, scientific method crosses national boundaries. I like to think that even a bug-eyed alien postdoc from a distant planet would find some common currency with earthling academics.

PostDocs Union: New Minimum Ssalary: $37, 740!!

SALARY AND STIPEND LEVELS

UCSF Graduate Division

Current University of California Office of the President, UCSF Graduate Division, and UCSF Graduate Council policies require that postdoctoral scholars receive a minimum compensation equal to $37,400 (effective October 1, 2009). This salary level was established by the UC Office of the President and was consistent with the NIH salary scale at time of announcement. [IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AGREEMENT REACHED WITH PRO/UAW, THE NEW MINIMUM SALARY FOR POSTDOCS WILL BE $37,740 AS OF 9/1/10. SEE THE UCOP WEBSITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. PLEASE CONTACT THE UCSF POSTDOC OFFICE IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS. (jeannine.cuevas@ucsf.edu or christine.desjarlais@ucsf.edu; ph 514-4852)]

UC PostDoc Union Proposal, now Public Document, Read it at the Link?

The union has been working to put together proposal to bring to the University. There was an election for the initial proposal ratification that passed in December. The union and the University have now exchanged proposals which are now public documents: 

(http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies_employee_labor_relations/ne
ws_events/0901-heera_notice_px.html). 

There will be opportunity for public comment on these proposals (on both sides) Jan 20th at the UC administration building in Oakland, and also Feb 3rd. Laura encouraged PD to attend and comment. The first bargaining meeting between the union and the University will be held Feb 5th and 6th. The union will be conducting bargaining surveys over the next couple of months to get PD input, however PD must sign a card to give input. They are also conducting campus working conditions surveys to collect information on good and bad practices. The union will also be seeking authorization to go on strike if necessary during the bargaining process. This will be done through an election, no date has been set. PD who would like more information or have questions can contact Laura. Chair’s note: Laura confirmed that signing a card to give input does NOT enroll a person

PostDocs in Canada Unionize, win Union Battle?

Western’s Postdocs Win Union Battle
Postdoctoral associates at the University of Western Ontario will soon be bargaining a collective agreement as the latest in a growing number of postdocs that are unionizing at universities across North America.Western’s administration oppos­ed the union move, arguing that postdocs at the London campus were independent contractors who didn’t meet the legal definition of em­plo­­yees. The issue went before the On­­tario Labour Relations Board that ruled in favour of the more than 200 workers, certifying the Pu­blic Service Alliance of Ca­nada as their bargaining agent on Sept. 30.

PostDocs in India

How often you hear about PostDocs in general, and how often you hear news about PostDocs in India or China?. Which brings a question?, are there PostDoc jobs in India and China?. PostDocs in these countries is relatively a new development, remember the first time PostDoc was introduced in USA during 1870's, it was such a luxury, it was used to gain some special expertise to expand once background and it was not necessary to have a PostDoc in order to get a Job in Academia or in other arena's?. This is not the case today, it became so important to have PostDoc experience to get a decent job, and may be more than a couple of PostDoctoral position and even after such a prolonged procrastination in Academia, there are huge number of PostDocs life is a treacherous one?.... If this is the case in USA, just imagine in India and China?. PhD holders from India and China used to migrate in huge numbers to US, the conditions of PostDocs got gradually worsened in terms of salary, benefits, child care and future career opportunities, it became like a Slavery in Academia?.
PostDoc Salary is the most debated issue of all of a postdoc's life. So much happened in the past 10 years to PostDoc activities in US. The most profound activity was the postdoc unionization of the Uconn Health Center, followed by the unionization by the largest Postdoc campus in US or perhaps in the world the University of California campuses.
No one knows how terrible could be the postdoc conditions in developing poor nations like India and China, but there is certainly no information about many European, African, Asian and South American nations. Most of the postdoc data available thus far are from US, Canada, UK and the rest of the world's postdoc data is simply redundant?.
Two of the most important countries to watch for postdocs concern or PostDoc plights are India and China, these two nations alone bulk produce two- thirds of the PostDoc pool of this world, while most of them used to move out to either west, Europe or Australia, the trend is changing, more Indians look for the green pastures right there in India, I believe the same applies to Chinese youngsters.
But, is the Indian govt or higher education bodies do their jobs to keep postdocs career equitable and respectable?.
The answer is no, there is not even a body to monitor the welfare of postdocs, at least in US, there is NIH standard and there is the National Science Foundation and various other bodies that influence policy making for postdocs. On top of All the above the new found awareness of PostDocs in US catapulted by UCONN PostDocs after they Unionized? Their unionization is greatly helping a sea change in postdocs plight. Hope the postdocs in India and China watch and learn some lessons and start tightening the policy making to benefit the postdocs....!
So, what is happening to PostDocs in India, I could not find much news, but the Nature forum has a little bit of discussion going on......

This is a public forum

Postdoc Salary in India

Saturday, 21 Feb 2009 18:36 UTC

Hello All
I am Arun, pursuing postdoc in India. I am personally not satisfied with the postdoc stipend offered in India and I believe that the handful of students doing postdoc in India might concur with my view.

The low salaries offered to Postdocs in India is one of the major factor which is impelling Indian students to either pursue postdoc abroad or to join private R&D establishments. This is slowly devolving the scientific future of India.

Read Further:

The Plight of Japan's PostDocs?

The Fate of Japan's Postdocs and their obscure future?

Japan's postdocs open to alternative work

Toshiyuki Misu1 & Akira Horoiwa1

The government and universities must highlight non-academic careers and nurture a diverse skill set, say Toshiyuki Misu and Akira Horoiwa.

Postdocs in Japan have had a tough time finding permanent positions, either in academia or in the private sector. In a 2005 survey by the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP) to identify postdocs' career intentions, we investigated people's awareness of and desire for non-traditional science jobs (NISTEP Report 161). We asked about 10% of the postdocs in Japan to participate, 66% of whom responded.


Rutgers PostDocs are on their way to Unionize successefully, FAQ!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I get involved with a postdoc union when I don’t plan on being around in a year?

If not you, then who? The postdocs who are currently employed at Rutgers have a vote over whether they and future generations of postdocs get to have a meaningful voice in determining their pay and working conditions. Also, any improvements we can make here can serve to raise standards for postdocs at other institutions across the country.

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UCLA PostDoc Union Negotiations with University?

Subject: Update on Postdoctoral Scholar Negotiations
UCLA Graduate Division

Dear Deans, Directors, Chairs, and Faculty:

As of November 3, 2008, the University of California recognized the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) as the exclusive representative for addressing wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment for the following Postdoctoral Scholar title codes:
• Postdoctoral Scholar – Employee (Title Code 3252)
• Postdoctoral Scholar – Fellow (Title Code 3253)
• Postdoctoral Scholar – Paid Direct (Title Code 3254)
• Postgraduate Researcher – FY (Title Code 3240)
• Postgraduate Researcher – AY State Funds (Title Code 3243)
• Postgraduate Researcher – AY Extramural Funds (Title Code 3245
• Visiting _________ - Postdoc (Title Code 3370)

The University and the UAW have commenced negotiations on an initial collective bargaining agreement for the postdoctoral scholars unit. Below is a short summary of negotiations currently in progress.

UPDATE ABOUT POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR NEGOTIATIONS – APRIL 3, 2009

SUMMARY INFORMATION

Today's PostDoc & their Plight?

A man of his stature with the title “the NIH director”, supposed to be the highest and most respectable government authority and policy maker on issues in science/medicine writes “we should not eat our seed corn but protect it”?.

his writings underlies the fact that even this high and mighty NIH director knows the problem of the young scientists of today?, especially the postdoctoral fellows. But yet, neither he nor the scientific committee's at the NIH has taken necessary measures to help improve the current NIH funding system. This area is grossly/largely ignored or deliberately let loose without much restructuring.

The whole academia or higher education system in USA needs a careful reorganization, otherwise what you see will continue, a single faculty of 65 or 70 years old will have all the funding available and sit on it for years until his/her demented brain kills all the funding with as many as 32 grants (MOST OUTRAGEOUS DISPARITY) and

our most valuable and efficient young scientists will be struggling to meet the ends between the academia, lab and their family commitments.

What our current academic policies and atmosphere does to our young scientists is to chase the potential scientists out of labs and academia. Why blame these youngsters if they seek green Pasteur elsewhere like a “biotech job or an industry job”, they have no choice than to look elsewhere for their future.


STEM EDUCATION

Plight of the Postdoc

Is Modern American Science Strangling Its Young Talents In the Cradle?

In some cases, one can even single out

an apparent hoarding of research funds.
In 2007, two hundred scientists received six or more NIH grants, and a single investigator won 32 grants, while many others got close to ten.
An NIH advisory panel has recommended that grant awardees devote at least 20 percent of their time to each, but these numbers show a clear disconnect between intentions and reality. These multiple awards are going to established investigators—who are certainly not spending one fifth of their time per study—while younger scientists would probably devote more energies to the work. Thus, laboratories around the country are fostering a “survival of the oldest” dynamic.