We heard from postdocs who are poorly matched with their research setting, some who find little opportunity to grow toward independence, and some who do not benefit from adequate guidance by a mentor. And the numbers are growing. From 1981 to 1998, the number of academic postdocs in science and engineering more than doubled, to 39,000 from 18,000, the report notes. Many postdocs are paying the price. Given this dependence, a reluctance to be perceived as a complainer is understandable.
Life is even bleaker in the benefits arena.
Many postdocs receive no health benefits at all for their families, the report notes, and some even have to pony up for their own coverage. As for status and security, the report says, academic postdocs are at the bottom of the heap. Graduate students, professors, staff members, and even postdocs in industry and government are all doing better than most academic postdocs, the report says. Academic postdocs should be able to expect the same treatment, she added. According to the report, advisers should provide new postdocs with written outlines of their policies on authorship, ownership of ideas and data, and removing projects from the laboratory when a postdoctoral term has ended.