benefits and privileges for postdocs - (Mar/04/2013 )

I am not happy at my university at all. The job in here has no benefit or privilege, specially if you are a foreigner. There is no medical insurance for my wife, or any dependent. Other universities, specially private ones, pay much more, but my boss is the deputy secretary general of the ministry of science and I'm scared of leaving this job for another. If I leave now she can literally hunt me down . Besides, I need her recommendation letter for my next job.

Last year before my contract extension I applied for other jobs, even for my former university in UK, but they all turned me down. Our work is stuck at this moment and we are asking a German company to synthesize the genome for us. The job is not really productive. I am a second year postdoc with 7-8 papers only. This year they didn't raise my salary because I didn't reach 10 papers milestone. The salary is also not much, and wife is always angry why I can't earn more . The finance department also forgot to pay me 2 times for one month, and they didn't even apologize.

Last year when I came here they told me once a year I can go back home and claim the plane ticket. But now they say I can claim only one plane ticket at the end of my contract,... wife or children not included. I keep asking myself what I am doing here. This is really slavery. Next week I am going back to my home country to search for jobs (I might not have access to the internet to moderate the forum).

Can you please share your experiences with me? I want to know the benefits that you as a postdoc get in your countries.

My benefits are cash and the right to do whatever I want all day. It's not a job, it's a training program.

Maybe life is much easier in France so you don't have to see it this way. You're lucky.

You have a good point....I'm currently in a country with socialized healthcare etc. Here, like everywhere else, the post-doc is a temporary situation. Like any "job", if you don't like it then you should find something better. The best strategy is to spend a significant portion of your time lining up a real career. If making your current boss happy is going to further the career you want to pursue, then keep doing it. If at the end of your time there, nobody is even going to ask to see a recommendation letter, then just do whatever you need to do to make yourself marketable.