Postdoc Salaries
The postdoc phase is sometimes likened to the academic version of the earlier wandering years of journeymen. Primarily because it serves to gain professional experience away from familiar surroundings. However, postdoc researchers frequently discover firsthand that while they may be learning, their pay may not be anything to write home about.
For example, postdocs employed as a research assistant at a university will initially be assigned to the TV-L E13 pay grade – as are doctoral students – and thus will earn around 60,000 euros gross per year. This means that large salary jumps directly after completing a doctorate are hardly possible. In the later phase of the postdoc, however, higher pay grades are possible, and salaries increase along with experience levels. Alternatively, the postdoc phase can also be financed by a research grant.
Detailed information on this topic can be found in the article "Postdoc salaries”.
Phases of the postdoc
Due to the diversity of activities and areas of work, there is no typical job description for postdocs. What does exist, however, is an ideal sequence for this career stage. A basic distinction is made between two phases of the postdoc:
- The early phase of the postdoc (R2, Recognized Researcher), which should last no longer than three years, serves to reposition oneself after the doctorate. In this phase, scientific knowledge is deepened, and the publication list is expanded – but other important skills for the future career are also acquired. These may include, for example, experience in project management or interdisciplinary skills.
- In the late phase (R3, Established Researcher), postdocs have already achieved a high degree of academic independence and ideally take on a junior research group leadership position or a junior professorship.
The postdoc phase usually begins with a position as a research assistant at a university or non-university research institution. Postdoc positions are also available in the private sector for certain subject areas. However, in the private sector, it is difficult to maintain intensive contact with the academic world over the long term.
You can find open postdoc positions in the academics job market.
It is beneficial for your career to spend part of the postdoc phase abroad gaining international research experience. In excellence programs for junior research group leaders, international networking and visibility are even a prerequisite.
Perspectives for postdocs
The long-term goal for many postdocs is a professorship, either through the process of habilitation, a junior research group leadership position or a junior professorship. The path to this goal, however, is rocky and, above all, anything but certain. Due to the sometimes very short time limits, the postdoc phase is almost impossible to plan. Many early career researchers scramble from contract to contract. This requires a degree of enthusiasm, idealism and discipline that should not be underestimated.
While there is a relatively large number of funding programs for postdocs, professorships at German universities are still in short supply. An alternative plan therefore makes sense for postdocs. This could, for example, be a switch from active research to administration, moving to the public sector, by becoming a teacher, for example, or moving to the private sector.