Being the science hub of the world, global researchers dream about establishing themselves in the US. In most of the cases this happens via a long route of PhD à Postdoc à Faculty. While this may look like a linear equation there are many human variables associated with it, making it a lot more complex.
Joining a PhD program in a foreign nation is a lot more challenging task that many are unable to accomplish. This leaves most with a choice of pursuing PhD in their native country. If I discuss India, PPP is much lower than other countries and so even if you have to fund yourself to pursue science as a student, the overall funds required are less. This also means that with some investment, you also get to learn the nitty gritty of different scientific domains and contribute to domestic science. But this may not necessarily be the case in academia, as there are government schemes supporting PhD and other research scholars.
Not digressing from my objective! This blog pertains to how a postdoc can help break even your investment in science, as a PhD from India or another LMIC. All it takes is to honestly pursue science and develop skills. Even if you are unable to publish papers/ patents during PhD, an in-preparation or a preprint publication may help fetch a postdoc in a foreign country. Cracking a postdoc job in itself is a different topic altogether, will share some other time.
While you might say that science is about attaining the higher-order cognition state and so one must not run after money while pursuing it, the recent global trend says otherwise. With inflation on the rise, there was more than ever the need to increase the research scholars’ salaries. In this direction, protests from many scholars across US colleges forced NIH to increase stipends. Even in India, after years of demonstration, DST agreed to increase the stipend for PhDs and Postdocs but only by a brief margin. The proposed stipend increase according to the current inflation and PPP was definitely higher. Even in Europe both positive and negative decisions were taken by the authorities in saving research scholars.
I can vouch for the fact that if you are looking to solve great scientific problems along with financial independence, you should do a postdoc from the US! I can say this with confidence looking at my own experience and the more recent salary structures for life science postdocs there. I joined Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), Nebraska in 2018 and stayed there for a period of 2 years. After having spent a year there, NIH revised the postdoc salaries nationally. At UNMC my annual offer increased from 42K to 49K. This was a big jump considering my postdoc experience was only 1 year. At that time, UNMC had a policy to promote every postdoc into an instructor after an experience of 3 – 4 years. A typical instructor's salary was 52 – 54K per year.
So, if you plan to join academia in the US and stay for a longer term, it’s better to do due diligence. This usually means reaching out to various social groups online or an HR or individuals in the postdoc association as they are familiar with the overall policies. Another advantage of being a US postdoc is the J1 visa, as it is valid for a maximum of 5 years and during this time your spouse can work part or full-time on a J2 visa. As far as my memory goes, your spouse can earn an indefinite amount through her job as it comes under “working for fun” as long as you can show financial support to yourself and your dependents in the US. But there is a catch, if your J1 visa terminates at or within 2 years, you are bound to serve or stay in your home country for a period of 2 years and only then you may get legal entry to the US again as a postdoc. However, should you choose to join a postdoc on an H1B visa, your spouse wouldn’t have the flexibility to work legally under this visa scheme.
At present, for life science postdocs, the revised starting salary for postdocs is ~ 54K per year. In some states, it reaches more than 70K per year. I recently came across an ad on Twitter where a university claimed a postdoc salary of 71K per year with bonuses ranging up to 20K annually. Anyone hired through a specific postdoc fellowship may earn up to a whopping 91K per year (And this is for freshers!). Otherwise, on average, postdocs with more than 5 years of experience get paid about 60 – 70K annually.
Needless to say, you can’t have double sources of income as a postdoc as you are there on contract. And also, tax brackets are high ranging from 20 – 30 % of your total salary. There are about 20 days of leave per year which can be reimbursed if not utilized. Additionally, scholars get huge amounts of paid sick leaves which accumulate as one serves time there.
Another country with one of the best postdoc salaries is Switzerland. However, I have also heard that it is way more expensive to live there. Also, heard that it’s multilingual. Novartis has its headquarters in Switzerland and there are many other biopharmaceuticals with huge opportunities, but one needs to find a way in.
A country which I would like to visit utterly is Japan. Being an anime fan, I have this urge to visit Japan. So definitely would suggest looking for postdoc options there, if your interests also align with mine. Might be worth your time!