The Crisis of "PhD graduates and Early-Career Scientists" is "Anomaly in the Anatomy of Academy!?.

The Crisis of "PhD graduates and Early-Career Scientists" is "Anomaly in the Anatomy of Academy!?.

In the latest "Nature Editorial", the following Editorial piece appeared (linked below). While the piece carries grim reality check on PhD graduate students based on results from a recent survey done by Nature,intention sure is a good one, they do not know how to write a title. The title itself is a questionable one, the plight of early career or PhD graduates low pay or living wage according to nature is a Scandal, like a Hollywood movie scandal or Washington DC scandal, is it?,Really Nature?. 

The living wage for graduate students or Post Docs or early scientists is not a Scandal, it is rather endemic, intrinsic system wide corrupt practice, because the academic structure is "Designed" that way?. 

It is not a temporary issue or a scandal between a supervisor or University admin or govt funding agencies, it is a crippling bigotry in "Equitable" treatment of young graduates and PostDocs, and it is a chronic debilitating structural issue of American Universities, Institutions as well as the global academic centers.

It is a Crisis that will deteriorate scientific endeavors and future scientific discoveries, once the young generation of scientists realize what they see or undergo is by design, interest and involvement in such field will take a nosedive, it is too late but still can be repaired and fixed. 

Ofcourse time is running out

Quote:"This year’s survey should set loud alarm bells ringing for anyone involved with recruiting and training the next generation of researchers. It demands swift, decisive action from governments and funding agencies to secure the future of science and the broader economic and social benefits that flow from it"".

fortunately Science still is meaningful and attractive to young minds around the world regardless of so much fakery and political derailing of science and research that recently happened or still happening in the name of Covid-19!?. Massively politicized, manipulated and utterly faked, mane made pandemic that lots of Scientists knowingly participated, events and unscientific approach like this would push the young minds that are already weary of "living wage or pay crisis" away from research..!

However, the fight and protest  

Quote: " On 11 October, a graduate-student group at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, staged a walkout as part of an ongoing protest calling for a guaranteed living wage and for the kinds of rights and benefits that come with academic employment contracts. The group is also looking to form a union, which it wants Dartmouth to recognize"

these young scientists put up to resolve these living wage and benefits issues that catapulted into "Unionization", the union way of fix up sure can help and heal the academic fractures to some extent, some centers like Uconn Health Center (UCHC) where the first Postdoctoral Union was formed prospered, became one of the finest research centers in America contrary to what most thought, unionization will fail, will create rift and not the right path ultimately bow down to the unionization, that is spreading all across US. However, I caution that Unionization works and it is fine to embrace, but the leaders and policy makers and stakeholders got to "overhaul" the way academic and research centers function with regard to "living wages and Pays" to graduates, PhD students and PostDocs, they are the Pillars of Science, medicine and Research!. A nation without best scientists and research will ultimately fail, will be a failed society. 

This Scientific crisis must never be looked at as a temporary or short term issue or a scandal that will go away or carpeted under academic ladder? but this is a pervasive existence of  "anomaly in the anatomy of academy!?.", the pain and endurance among early career students and graduates, PostDocs is not felt only during economic crisis or inflation or wall street crash!!!! 

 Quote:"The resulting financial pressures weigh more heavily on some than on others. They bear down particularly hard on people from low-income households, those who might be first in their families to go to university, and people from under-represented or historically marginalized groups — the very people whom universities are working diligently to recruit and retain.

perhaps little more pain during inflation or economic crisis but like a long lasting chronic pain, living wages and standard of living pain endurance for them continue through any and all state or countries economic condition..!.

Quote: "Institutions need to re-evaluate their approach to PhD support"

Exactly, not just re-evaluate, be proactive and make changes to their policies to lend support and encourage in healthy ways than damn discouraging atmosphere, a "wholesome" academic structural change and upliftment is inevitable to safegaurd the young scientists future, thereby Science's future.

Link to Nature Editorial:

The scandal of researchers paid less than a living wage (nature.com)

This is a system wide structural corruption within the academic

 Link to the Nature Article below:

• EDITORIAL
• 02 November 2022

The scandal of researchers paid less than a living wage

The cost-of-living crisis is a fundamental threat for PhD scholars and early-career researchers. They need to be paid properly.

PS:

THIS IS AN EFFORT TO EDUCATE, UNITE AND VOICE FOR THE POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS/POSTDOCS IN USA. ALL THE POSTDOCS AND POSTDOC WELL WISHERS ARE WELCOME TO CONTRIBUTE AND POST YOUR MESSAGE HERE. GOOD LUCK, GOD BLESS POSTDOCS.

PostDocs, Graduate Students and visitors, use the Contact form, No longer use Nazi run LinkedIN

Hello Postdocs, graduate Students and all visitors to my Blogs, I no longer use or visit the Nazi run LinkedIN, this social network website and the management behind this company is promoting unscientific, fake, false information on many topics and limits real science and real event discussions on LinkedIN. 

Ever Since the Covid-19 Pandemic was unleashed, LinkedIN has done lots of damage to real science and true information by promoting fake info, fake data and false Scientific narratives. Because of that, lots of restrictions, posts removals, comments removal, many linkedIn members accounts restrictions, bans etc. Because of this dictatorial and LinkedINs policy against free speech and free expression, I decided to not use LinkedIN anymore. Unless LinkedIn changes its policy and clean up its corrupt and biased policies etc. Which is unlikely to happen. I urge anyone or all of you on my LinkedIN contacts or network to visit two of my blogs: Neuromonitoring1 and PostDocs UNion, use the contact form on these blogs to reach out if you want to connect with me. 

Thanks, Dr.Muni

Amost 15 years after the First PostDoc Union at UConn Health Center, now UConn main Campus Postdocs unionize!

The University of Connecticut main campus UCONN Postdocs are the latest to seek Unions for their postdocs, this makes one of the dozens of recent postdocs unionization in major Universities including Ivy league one's across USA.

The UConn Postdocs union gets its first contract approved!?

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From UConn Postdocs union website!!

FIRST CONTRACT APPROVED!

HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR FIRST CONTRACT
UAW POSTDOCS UNION AND UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
In January 2020, postdocs voted 113 to 1 in favor of ratifying our first contract, an overwhelming 99% margin, with more than two-thirds of all UConn Postdocs voting yes.

Under state law, Connecticut’s legislature must approve contracts for it to into effect and due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the vote was delayed until this Spring. On April 28, 2021, the Connecticut state legislature voted to approve our contract with bi-partisan support, and it is now in effect!

The contract ensures substantial economic improvements and establishes critical new workplace rights for all Postdocs.

 https://uconnpostdocunion.org/

PostDocs and Graduate Students Uncertainty during Covid-19 Lockdown, what happened to Jobs?

What is going on with regard to PostDocs, internship, Grants and graduates training supports?. The Covid-19 Lockdown's impacts on PostDocs, early career researchers and PhD graduates is not a mainstream media topic, they would rather go write about some useless topics and not spent time for deserved subjects like PostDocs issues. However, some rare journalists and independent writers continue to highlight and bring attention to the issues, like this one on Graduates plight during lockdown, plight is pretty bad!?.

Uncertainty Looms as Student Jobs are Disappearing During the Great Lockdown

By Eve Washington Visuals by Charlotte Li and Jason Kao Edited by Claudia Gohn and Paul Hanna

May 15, 2020

Canceled jobs, hiring freezes, and general uncertainty for the future have taken job opportunities from many students amid the COVID-19 pandemic—but this is just a reflection of a larger issue. The U.S. economy is entering a recession that threatens to be worse than any other in the past: the Great Lockdown. Small businesses across the country are in danger of closing, the unemployment rate is the highest it has been since the Great Depression, government responses are slow and hard to access, and experts are unsure of the path for recovery for industries impacted the most.

Check the article Linked to the title (blue)

 

Boston Area "PostDocs" collect huge Data about Postdocs from 13 univerisites/instituitions to make changes

Boston city and surrounding area has several universities, research institutions and scientific centers, the local postdoc group called BPDA seems to be collecting comprehensive data about postdoc jobs, postdoc salaries, benefits etc from 13 university/institutions around Boston area!. to help postdocs and improve their plight.

Check out their sites and activities here:

https://bostonpostdocs.org/

We are a regional coalition of postdoc associations and postdoc representatives from 17 Boston area Postdoctoral Associations

Our aim is to foster a sense of community, encourage increased communication, and aid in creating a collaborative environment among postdocs by advocacy efforts and organizing social and career development events to bring together postdocs across the Greater Boston Area

Nature: No One is Allowed go to out!, Science and Research around the world affected by Coronavirus!!!

Today's Nature Editorial Reviews the impact of Coronavirus on Scientific community and Scientific Research as a whole in China and around the world!.

China and the Empty Streets, Image from Nature.com

A Review of the Coronavirus spread and its impact on Scientific community in China and world wide will wake up even the most insensitive and callous politicians around the world, however, many politicians or policy makers in governments in US and around the world living in denial, joining them are the economic pundits and fake heads, who claim Coronavirus has no financial damage to American Economy?.. Well, will you trust these fakers or trust a Scientific Review by Nature. who has no political or other interest to tell the true story. Trumps policy and stand on scientific research already is as worst as Bush's, both of them did a major hair-cut to scientific funding, with that kind of mind set, and zero interest or knowledge about Science, he seems to totally undermine what a Pandemic like coronovirus can do to the local city, country and to the world/

Nature shows us the glimpse of its deadly impact on Research by surveying or listening to about 600 researchers, scientists and university members in China and world wide!.

According to this Nature reviews, as we also heard from various other news and sources, that most cities in China are in lock-down, most streets are empty, so what is happening to all the universities and research institutions in China, its been shut down!. The Chinese Science and Research is in a frozen state, that is horrible for the nation of China, but wait, there is so much interconnection to science/research to various parts of the world, in terms of scientific supply, it is a two way traffic, China needs world scientific supplies and China in turn is a big supplier of tools, technologies, chemicals, reagents to all research products!, and that chain is frozen too as Chinese research is frozen?.

Nature calls it is wrecking havoc!?.. Hey Politicians, Policy makers can you hear that?..

Here is the Review:

‘No one is allowed to go out’: your stories from the coronavirus outbreak

From laboratory closures to equipment shortages, researchers worldwide tell Nature how they have been affected by the epidemic. 
 The outbreak of a new coronavirus is wreaking havoc worldwide. In China, the epicentre of the epidemic, the virus has infected tens of thousands of people and killed more than 2,100. Unprecedented measures meant to contain the spread have brought millions of daily lives to a halt, and the effects have touched economies and global supply chains.

PostDoc Unions and Unionization news goes academic mainstream!

It is interesting to observe that PostDocs Union is steadily getting its due attention from scientific community as well from publishers after almost 15 years of the very First officially PostDoc Union established at the University of Connecticut Health Center, UCHC. A new tradition and history was set by us at the UCHC with "PostDocs Union".

from the journal eLife, find the Link and article below

This one is particularly special as the report is published by eLife (academic/scientific journal)
and found on PubMed!.
PubMed is a """

US National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health. PubMed Central® (PMC) is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM)""""

NIH and PubMed, the main US govts scientific org and publication channel.

As most of postdoc union activities reported as news by various newspapers  seldom one can notice such reports published in research or scientific journals except in Science and Nature that frequently discuss postdoc news but not so much about PostDoc unions, well that trend inside Nature and Science  is also changing rapidly as both these private science publishers are increasingly focusing on Postdoc union and graduate students issues  in recent years.


Here is the report:
Original Article Link:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4238050/

eLife. 2014; 3: e05614.

Published online 2014 Nov 21. doi: 10.7554/eLife.05614

PMCID: PMC4238050

PMID: 25415240

How postdocs benefit from building a union

Benjamin Cain,^* Jessica M Budke,^* Kelsey J Wood, Neal T Sweeney, and Benjamin Schwessinger

Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer

This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

Go to:

Abstract

Members of UAW 5810—the union for postdoctoral researchers at the University of California—describe how their union has led to improved terms and conditions for postdocs.

In recent years there has been an increasing amount of discussion about the problems facing the scientific research workforce in the US (Alberts et al., 2014). As the number of Ph.D. graduates has gone up (Cyranoski et al., 2011), and the competition for jobs and grants has increased, more and more young researchers are spending longer and longer in postdoctoral positions as they try to secure a permanent job (De Jesus, 2012). Consequently, the way that academia treats postdocs will have a huge impact on the future of research, in universities and beyond.