In the fall of 2004, Rockefeller postdocs united in an unprecedented fashion and defended their rent subsidy. The total subsidy amounted to a mere 0.5% of the RU operating budget and was being removed due to budget and tax-liability constraints, while individual postdocs stood to lose as much as 27% of their net income. Through a series of meetings, the PDA negotiated an agreement with the university so that postdocs hired before September 2004, would continue to receive the rent subsidy whereas those hired after that date would not. Crucial to this arrangement was the university’s promise to raise salary scales adequately in the subsequent years, to compensate for the loss of subsidy for postdocs hired after September 2004. The PDA’s own analysis had shown that this latter group of postdocs would need a significant raise in salary at the start of their second year, i.e., Sep 2005¹. To assess if what was decided has actually happened, the PDA recently performed a survey of rent and salaries of postdocs hired in 2004.

Survey Results

Of the almost 400 postdocs in total at RU, of those that were hired after January 2004, 88 responded to our survey. Our results indicate that the average first year salary for postdocs hired between Sep 2004–Aug 2005 was $39,500, which is above the required minimum of $38,000. This trend continues as these postdocs transitioned into their second year. Postdocs hired in this period were paid on average $42,000 in their second year, which is $2,000 above the minimum. Interestingly, for postdocs hired after Sep 2005, the average first year salary is $38,700, which is lower than the average salary for the previous year. This decrease may be reflective of lab budget restraints. Overall, the results suggest that, on average, lab heads are compensating postdocs above the minimums and these actions are helping postdocs partially offset the increased rents.

Figure 1. Net yearly income (salary minus rent) change for 2nd year postdocs hired Jan. 2004-Aug 2005. Postdocs hired Jan-Aug 2004 maintained their rent subsidy while those hired after Sept. 2004 do not have subsized rent. Dashed line indicates standard inflation-based 4% cost of living increase.

To compensate for the loss of subsidy, the administration’s package includes a one time free month’s rent to first year postdocs. This offer basically amounts to a rent subsidy for first year postdocs. However, the PDA was concerned that the current payscales do not compensate postdocs adequately in the subsequent years. To assess if salaries for second year postdocs without the rent subsidy were adequate, we determined the amount of net income (salary minus rent) of postdocs that had progressed from their first to second year in September 2005. We compared two groups of postdocs in our survey: a control group of postdocs hired before Sep 2004 (with rent subsidy) and those postdocs hired after Sep 2004 (without rent subsidy). Postdocs receiving the subsidy (hired Jan-Aug 2004) had a net annual income increase of $1,975 in their second year (Figure 1). This amounts to a 5% increase over the average first year salary, which is just above the standard, yearly 4% cost of living increase. In stark contrast, second year postdocs without the subsidy had a paltry $318 increase in their net income for the year, or a 0.8% increase. These results indicate that the current payscales provide minimal to no increase in net income as postdocs progress from their first to second year.

Conclusion

The results of our survey suggest that the salary ranges for postdocs in their second year and beyond, without the subsidy, are currently not adequate to provide cost of living and experience based increases in compensation. Our analysis allows us to propose salary ranges that would provide adequate compensation for postdocs in subsequent years (Table 1). We calculated a 5% raise for each year based on the average first year salary for postdocs without the rent subsidy. Given the tight budget constraints that are likely in the next few years with stagnant NIH funding, raising and enforcing the minimums is crucial for guaranteeing fair postdoc compensation.

New York City has one of the highest cost of living indices in the United States². Incomes that would otherwise place families in the middle to upper-middle class bracket in other parts of the country, only allow for frugal living in NYC. Postdoc salaries lag consistently behind that of many blue collar professions³, and living in Manhattan for postdocs is possible only through a combination of benefits like subsidized day care, rent subsidy, and yes, free gyms. But the gradual decline or complete removal of these benefits, without appropriate raises in salaries, would make frugal living conditions even grimmer. Top research institutions like RU should consider reallocating part of their generous endowment towards improving compensation for postdocs. Alternatively, these universities should consider major structural changes that would allow top-quality research as well as fair postdoc compensation to coexist in the long run.

References:

¹ Collective Action Helped Postdocs Work Toward Change, V. Horsley, Natural Selections, Nov 2004.

² ACCRA Cost of Living Index, www.coli.org.

³ Towards a Fair Compensation for Postdocs, T.K. Das, Natural Selections, Nov 2004.