Hi all,
I have a PhD in immunology, and study autoimmune diseases at one of the biggest hospital systems in the us. Got my degree at a top medical school here as well.
For those that don't know, science has this bullshit position called a postdoc, where you're still considered a trainee after you get your doctorate, but the pay is set at a federal minimum. So, we all get paid ~50k for the first few years after finishing a decade of college education. During that time you work to get funding, in my case a thing called a k award.
Well I did. Worked like mad for 3 years, applied, and I got the K. This funds me for 5 years, and then gets me a new position. After being notified about the award, we will have access to the funds connected to it in about 6 months.
But here's the kicker. I now cannot get a straight answer from my personal boss, the hospital, hr, or anyone else on when I will be moving up to that new position with matching pay. When I was working, I was told “just get the k.” Now it could be anywhere from 6-18 months after the lab already starts using the funds before I get any change in my pay. So I've gone thru a decade of education to make about 17 an hour with the time I spend during nights and weekends in lab.
I will be applying to new companies starting this weekend. Fuck science and fuck academia