December 20, 2008

Nature's Paul Smaglik: Green Card Vs Blue Card for Graduates & PostDocs?

Paul Smaglik's writes at the Nature's News and Comment about the future of Visa's for students in US/UK. Interesting to note the appointment of Janet Napolitano, gov of Arizona for the homeland security which overseas visa granting to students, researchers and other categories.
It seems Napolitano is an advocate for changing the current H1-B requirement to the Foriegn graduate students who are studying in US Universities. If the graduate student's pass through all the security checks by the immigration or home land security during their studies, then there was no need to have an H1-B. Students need not go through a H1-B period inorder to apply for a green card, rather a green card be granted to them? sounds pretty good. 

But, will it be feasible or go through the scrutiny and approval of both parties in the senate? which is already struggling to come to a realization in this battered economic conditions with huge job loss, unemployment and outsourcing. The arguments is that this kind of initiative will move job opportunities away from Americans into the hands of foriegn born graduates?. 
The current H1-B volume is about 65K, the new home land security secretary wants to increase this number, in addition she wants to make reorganizational changes that permit graduates to get green card without H1B, it is the current thinking, will it be practical is a question?. 
UK seems to be following up on the US paths to promote similar initiatives in giving "Blue Cards"?.
Though America and UK brags about the number of foriegn born graduates and students are attracted to US and UK for further studies, in reality it is Canada and Australia are the top two destinations in the world for graduates and students, a statistical figures can be found in Paul's news piece with reference.
Prospects 

Published in Nature 456, 1005 (17 December 2008) | 10.1038/nj7224-1005a

Visa quotas could soon be relaxed in the United States and Europe. But will the economic downturn mitigate the potentially positive effects?

Paul Smaglik1

The battle for the US presidency has ended, but a visa storm may be brewing — and scientists could, in principle, be among the beneficiaries. Early this month, US president-elect Barack Obama nominated Arizona governor Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees citizenship and visas. Napolitano has been a staunch supporter of increasing the number of H1-B visas, which are used to hire foreign information-technology specialists, researchers and other highly skilled workers.

Read the full story: Click this Link.

Obama's Chief of Science Advisor?

Obama Expected To Appoint Harvard Prof. as Chief Science Adviser
Harvard professor John P. Holdren speaks at the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy presentations in Pittsburgh last year.
Published On Friday, December 19, 2008  6:18 PM 

Ph.D.s Ditch the Lab??

Last December, an article was published in "", the author of this article made a provactive but truthful topic to his news piece, "PhDs Ditch the Lab?". Almost a year passed since the following figures published,
are there any changes in PostDocs plight or PhDs plight in terms of their jobs. Are there more PhDs graduating?.One of the worst funding for science/research/medical or clinical research was spent by the outgoing anti-science Bush govt, will the new Obama's govt take note of this American Science Tragedy and do the neccessary resucitation efforts to fund the research work?.
Science grad students face grim job market—‘It’s a pyramid scheme’
Published On Thursday, December 13, 2007  2:29 AM 
As Harvard expands its Ph.D. programs in the sciences, graduates seeking jobs in academia face the bleakest employment prospects in decades. Alumni like Donald M. Prather, who left Harvard in 2005 with a Ph.D. in genetics, have been forced to seek jobs with higher pay and better prospects outside the ivory tower. 
“Ten to twenty years ago, I...would have ended up in academics,” says Prather, who instead took a job at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “But with a family—I already had one kid and another on the way—I couldn’t. Not in the current job market.” 

December 06, 2008

ITALIAN POSTDOCS Fight for their Rights & a Place in the Academic Structure?

PostDocs around the globe are stirred into a new type of consciousness about their plight, reacting to their slavery conditions in university and academic institutions they are up and ready to fight for recognition and better treatment. The first evidence for this growing level of new found consciouness started at the University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC) , Farmington, CT USA  through their unionization few years ago. It took a while for the impact of their unionization to make an impact and to be visible elsewhere, especially when it happens at the UC-California campus...,
... it was not so hard to feel the impact. Then came the news from one of the Canadian university where postdocs are increasingly agitated by the poor status of the postdocs and they are one step close to unionization. But, this time, the news is from Italy. The Italian Postdocs are in the street protesting and fighting to change the "death" of postdocs role in the universities?.
Reform plan enrages Italian researchers; postdocs protest attempt to make university system more flexible.
Trooping through streets alongside empty hearses, Italian postdoctoral researchers mark what they consider the death of their role in the country's universities. Others cover themselves under sheets as a symbol of their ghostly presence in the country's higher education world. They are joined by associate and ordinary professors who display unmistakable protest signs: "Good-bye, Moratti." 

Issues & Perspectives (From Sciencemag.org)  

Luca Leuzzi Young Italian Scientists Take to the Streets

Luca LeuzziThere are no guarantees even for scientists who were in the process of being brought into permanent positions.

In most countries, Luca Leuzzi would be well on his way to tenure. After obtaining a Ph.D. in theoretical physics cum laude from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Leuzzi came back to his native Italy in 2002 for a 2-year postdoc at Statistical Mechanics and Complexity, a National Research Council center at the University of Rome, "La Sapienza." Leuzzi, who is 36 years old, obtained a 5-year position there (akin to a tenure-track position elsewhere) in January 2005. He was confident that, in time, he would obtain tenure.

But Leuzzi's career aspirations, along with those of many other researchers on short-term contracts in Italy, have collided with a series of new laws that will severely reduce national resources for universities and research centers, part of a larger plan to boost the country's economy.
Today, Leuzzi's prospects are "quite unclear," as he puts it. "The only thing I know is that either I'm in, or I have to leave.

November 16, 2008

PostDocs in some labs can be so horrible?

PostDocs in research labs face pierce competition because a colleague or a graduate student is working along the same problem or area in which the laboratory chief wants to get pappers published as soon as possible, if he can't publish a paper, he is not going to get a funding or a renewal fo NIH funding. Competition is via two routes, the boss creates an atmosphere so that someone can get him/her the best results or a data that can quickly generate a paper for him and the postdoc, sometime to all the members of the lab. Though ethically wrong to put names of the member of lab or outside who did not adequately contributed to a publication, it does happen and it is quite widespread, just to please a colleague, a friend or a possible grant reviewing senior member of scientific community, scientists do put their name. It all happens in a smooth and sweet manner, not a big deal ah?. No, things go wrong and such publication conspiracy's come out in the limelight, we have seen them time and again in many labs.

But, other route of competition is between a postdoc to postdoc, because they wanted to get some good papers to get a faculty job, at times, there is this unexplainable and bizare competition that graduate students pose to the postdocs, some graduate students who get so close to the boss (lab chief) just think that they are almost the boss of the lab, their activity can go farther as far as to sabotage and chase the postdoc out of labs, because lab chief's are morons in those cases, especially if there is some favoritism goes on due to gender or other factors, it can get so nasty.

Those two routes of competition add fuels to the other pathetic conditions in the research labs like long hours of working, difficulties in getting good results, insufficient data to get a paper published and inadequate pay, no or poor benefits package and blind job prospects?. These factors plus others lead them to pierce competition making some of the postdocs and graduates go mindless in sabotaging experiments, stealing, simply backstabing by telling the bosses lie about colleagues so and so forth, there is so much nasty behaviors goes on within the research labs.
Postdoc's competition is one thing to deal within the lab, the other bizzare competition is the graduate studnet who is aspiring to finish a PhD competes with PostDocs (which is actually a none-sense) but it is true, graduates students get too close to the PIs, they will stoop to any levels to do anything to manipulate laboraroty activities, I have seen this in many labs. The lab chiefs are morons, mindless in listening to such craps will screw up one or the other postdocs life or in some cases graudate students life because their favorite lab member spoken to the boss?.
Oh...it is a nasty place, while funding and competition to get NIH support to run the lab can make the lab chief's go nuts, in the middle of his/her own survival drama, the lab members drama can heat up so much that it will literally melt relations, links, credentials, jobs and careers........but I never heard it will even take lives (we must have heard some suicidal cases or attempted to end life in some extreme lab conditions, but the following is not only weired, it is absurd and behavior, it is just barbaric to the core, what kind of scientist is this person puts poison in drinking water of a collegue?
November 12, 2008

Serious Postdoc Weirdness

There's no denying that life as a postdoc can be stressful. The pay is relatively low, the hours are long, the long-term prospects often aren't great, and sometimes bosses--and colleagues--can be real jerks.

But the events described in this story, from a staff writer at the San Francisco Chronicle (Hat tip: The Chronicle of Higher Education News Blog) are just too weird.

A postdoctoral researcher in the UCSF urology department has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly admitting that he twice tried to poison a colleague by putting laboratory chemicals in her drinking water, authorities said Tuesday.

The chemicals used by Benchun Liu, 38--a "buffering solution used to control acid"--discolored the water. The disoloration was noticed by the alleged victim, Mei Cao, who drank the water anyway. The accused then confessed to the victim that he had tried to kill her, and was arrested Monday. He is being held in the county jail without bail. Liu told police that he had been "stressed out."

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October 13, 2008

Job Posting: PhD Cell or Molecular Biologist

Ben Garvey from Candidate Seeker, Inc. is looking for a PhD level Cell or Molecular Biologist. Hope someone in this field will make use of this Opportunity available in New York area. Seems to be lucrative offer with good salary.

Here is the e-mail I recieved:

Your professional profile, which candidateseeker.com has on file, indicates you may have experience or know someone with experience relevant to the following position. I was hoping you might be interested or be willing to forward this email to an associate who could benefit from this opportunity.
I am looking for a PhD Cell or Molecular Biologist to join research group that is developing mammalian cell lines for the expression of recombinant antibodies. The ideal candidate should have at least 2 years of post doctoral experience along with a strong publication record. The qualified scientist should also be proficient in general molecular biology, cell culture, DNA cloning and flow cytometry. Practical knowledge of various mammalian protein expression systems is a plus.
This is your chance to join a top biopharm company growing at a rapid rate. Incredible career growth opportunities because we promote from within and groom for executive management. Benefits include bonuses, stock options, 401(k), Major Med, Prescription, and more. We are prepared to relocate individuals from your location.


For complete details contact Ben Garvey at
(732) 316-1911 ext 215

Or submit resume online at:
http://dmc9.com/bdg/app.asp

Or email to:
1000001977_10006839@candseek6.com

Education Requirements:  Bachelor Degree
Job State Location: NY
Job Country Location: USA
Salary Range: $70,000 to $95,000

If you are interested in this position or if you know anyone that might be interested, please forward this to them or contact:

Contact Name: Ben Garvey
Email to: 1000001977_10006839@candseek6.com
Apply Online at: http://dmc9.com/bdg/app.asp
Call: 732.316.1911x235

Company Name: NeuroSearch

Contact address (may not be location of job):
USA

Respondents should include the latest copy of their resume.

Privacy Policy: Candidate Seeker does not mail to any address unless it is submitted on a resume through one of our websites or a partner source that clearly indicates that job notifications may be sent via email upon submission of a resume. We guarantee that any email address receiving a job opportunity notification from the Candidate Seeker system is associated with a specific contact's resume in our possession. Candidate Seeker does not use or purchase "mailing lists" from any source. NO profile submitted to candidateseeker.com is ever posted online. Candidateseeker.com NEVER provides your resume, record or profile, NOR access to your resume, record or profile, NOR your email address to any customer, advertiser, website, or other entity outside of the candidateseeker.com organization. Employers submit their job notice copy and match criteria to candidateseeker.com and only the servers at candidateseeker.com decide whether to send you a job opportunity notification. Only you the recipient, based on your interest and consequential response, can provide information to potential employers.

To permanently discontinue receiving employment opportunity notices from any and all help wanted advertisers using the Candidate Seeker system, click your "Reply" button and type the word "remove" without spaces between the letters into the SUBJECT field then click the "Send" button. Your email address will be permanently filtered from ALL future job opportunity notifications sent via the Candidate Seeker system.

To temporarily filter employment opportunity notices sent via the Candidate Seeker system, type the acronym "JOBOP" into your subject filter. All employment opportunity notices sent via the Candidate Seeker system contain the acronym "JOBOP" in the subject so they may be easily filtered or blocked if so desired.

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Please feel free to contact the Candidate Seeker, Inc. feedback line at 609-584-5499. Do not use this number for job related questions. All job related questions should be directed to the employer by replying to contact addresses or phone numbers indicated at the end of the job description message.

Mailed By:

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510 Horizon Center
Robbinsville, NJ 08691



October 12, 2008

S.T.E.M. Talent 2008: A Symposium and Career Fair for Postdocs in the Capital Region

About S.T.E.M. Talent 2008: A Symposium and Career Fair for Postdocs in the Capital Region

S.T.E.M. Talent 2008: A Symposium and Career Fair for Postdocs in the Capital Region

October 16, 2008 
08:00 am – 04:00 pm 
Natcher Center at NIH, 45 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892

A conference and career fair for current postdoctoral fellows working in Washington, D.C.-area federal labs and universities, and for companies recruiting high-level STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) professionals.

This event exposes area postdoctoral fellows in the STEM fields to the many career options (e.g., government, private sector, entrepreneurship) that are available to them.

The career fair portion connects local job-seeking postdocs with companies that are looking for that level of talent.

Cost: Free for postdocs; fee for recruiting companies. Registration is required.

Event hosted by Rockville Economic Development, Inc.

REDI

Event logistics provided by Tech Council of Maryland

Sponsorships and Exhibitorships available now!
For information about how to be a Sponsor or Exhibitor for S.T.E.M. Talent 2008, please 
click here

Postdoc Registration now open!

Registration Contact
Sheree Wysocki swysocki@techcouncilmd.com

Event Contact
Rayna Glucksman glucksman@rockvilleredi.org

Silver Sponsors

  • National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
  • SRA International
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Bronze Sponsors

  • CNA Corporation
  • Federal Lab Consortium
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • Battelle National Biodefense Institute, LLC
  • Illumina
  • Ventana Medical Systems

Support Sponsors

  • Henry Jackson Foundation
  • Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
  • Discovery Logic
  • Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences
  • SAIC -- Frederick
  • Nature Publishing Group
  • Schafer Corporation

Platinum Sponsors

 

 

Gold Sponsors

 

PostDoc CEOs?? What?

washingtonpost.com
Small Business
The Washington Post

October 11, 2008

POSTDOC UNION: University of Western Ontario Postdocs Unionize

The Uconn Postdoc Unionization is reaching far beyond the US soil, last month the biggest PostDoc campus, University of California system faced the challenges of postdocs unionizing, the local labor board recognized postdocs can unionize, what a great success to PostDocs at the UC campuses. Here is another news from far away land, Canada, the western Ontario University postdocs unionized this week.

News:
Post-doc fellows at UWO unionize
Sat, October 4, 2008
By VIVIEN FELLEGI, SPECIAL TO SUN MEDIA

Fed up with what they say are poor working conditions, post-doctoral fellows at the University of Western Ontario have unionized.

About 250 post-doctoral fellows joined the Public Service Alliance of Canada when the Ontario Labour Relations Board certified their application on Sept. 30.

PostDoc Union in Canada? News!



National union to represent Western postdoctoral associates


By Communications Staff
Friday, October 3, 2008
One of Canada's largest unions, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), will soon be certified by the Ontario Labour Relations Board to represent the group of postdoctoral fellows employed as postdoctoral associates at The University of Western Ontario
.

Last February when PSAC filed its application with the Ontario Labour Relations Board to represent the union, there were 236 postdoctoral fellows, 30 of whom were classified as postdoctoral associates and employees of Western and therefore eligible to join a union. The remaining fellows are considered to be independent contractors.

 
Western and PSAC have also agreed to develop objective criteria to determine in future which postdoctoral fellows are employed as postdoctoral associates and which postdoctoral fellows are independent contractors.

“As employees of Western, the postdoctoral associates have exercised their right to join a union,” says Helen Connell, Associate Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs at Western. “Western's administration looks forward to having a positive working relationship with PSAC as we do with the other unions on campus.”

 
"PSAC has developed a solid expertise in representing workers from the academic field," said Gerry Halabecki, the PSAC Regional Executive Vice President for Ontario. "By being part of the large PSAC family, postdoctoral fellows and postdoctoral associates at Western will be in a better position to improve their working conditions."

PSAC's campaign was supported by the Postdoctoral Association at Western, which is an uncertified association that has advocated for better working conditions for postdoctoral associates and postdoctoral fellows.

Featured Post

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

Subscribe to Neuromonitoring Companies in USA by Email

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.

PostDoc Message Group

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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.