Perhaps a better question ... how long is your situation going to last? Academia offers stability to an extent .. say post tenure. Industry does not imho.
Statistically, most PhDs will work in industry because academia is a pyramid. Do PhDs get higher paid jobs in industry than academia? Unsure.
Entry postdoc salaries in the UK are on par with industry outside London (£30-40k). Over time industry will probably pay more, but professors earn £60k minimum so they're hardly underpaid.
Being a postdoc is something of a sweet spot. You get paid enough (finally) to enjoy life a bit, you have immense working flexiblity and you aren't lumbered (yet) with the bureaucracy of the university system. The only way to advance is usually to take on teaching loads and more admin.
But.. postdocs are almost always contractual, lasting 1-3 years. This has benefits: most people do a couple of postdocs before getting tenure and it allows you to move around the world if you like. Academia is only permanent if you get tenure, and even then it's still dependent on your research output and teaching performance. If you got a job in a grad scheme, you'd have a more stable job after finishing your PhD.
Getting tenure is hard. This is absolutely not the normal route for PhDs, as much as they think it is. There are far fewer permanent positions than there are postdocs, so it's not uncommon for people to move abroad just to get a stable job.
I don't believe my situation is rare: this position was considerably easier to attain than a faculty position.
Stability is better and worse. It is better in terms of resources (I don't have to apply for grants, I can get summer students, and not for grad student descent! ) but it certainly has less job security than tenure.
future1979|7 years ago
joshvm|7 years ago
Entry postdoc salaries in the UK are on par with industry outside London (£30-40k). Over time industry will probably pay more, but professors earn £60k minimum so they're hardly underpaid.
Being a postdoc is something of a sweet spot. You get paid enough (finally) to enjoy life a bit, you have immense working flexiblity and you aren't lumbered (yet) with the bureaucracy of the university system. The only way to advance is usually to take on teaching loads and more admin.
But.. postdocs are almost always contractual, lasting 1-3 years. This has benefits: most people do a couple of postdocs before getting tenure and it allows you to move around the world if you like. Academia is only permanent if you get tenure, and even then it's still dependent on your research output and teaching performance. If you got a job in a grad scheme, you'd have a more stable job after finishing your PhD.
Getting tenure is hard. This is absolutely not the normal route for PhDs, as much as they think it is. There are far fewer permanent positions than there are postdocs, so it's not uncommon for people to move abroad just to get a stable job.
arcanus|7 years ago
I don't believe my situation is rare: this position was considerably easier to attain than a faculty position.
Stability is better and worse. It is better in terms of resources (I don't have to apply for grants, I can get summer students, and not for grad student descent! ) but it certainly has less job security than tenure.