Why do a postdoc? Pay, freedom and public health
Andrew Page asks Dr Emma Waters, Dr Heather Felgate and Dr Muhammad Yasir why they chose postdoctoral research despite lower pay and insecure contracts. Recorded before first-year PhD students on the Microbes, Microbiomes and Bioinformatics doctoral training programme at the Quadram Institute in Norwich, the discussion explores scientific discovery, flexible working and public benefit. The panellists describe what keeps them in research, while Andrew encourages students to keep their career options open.
Listen to Episode 106: Why on earth would you do a PostDoc? on SoundCloud
In this episode
Why stay in postdoctoral research?
Andrew opens with a deliberately blunt question: why accept an underpaid postdoc with long hours when industry might offer two or three times the salary? Emma’s answer is that she loves research: finding a problem, choosing from wet-lab and computational approaches, and solving something nobody has solved before. Discovery and the freedom to explore matter to her.
Emma also explains that pay looks different depending on your starting point. Coming from a disadvantaged background, with nobody else in her family having attended university, she earns more than her parents. Nevertheless, she recognises that four undergraduate years and five PhD years represent substantial expertise that should be reflected in pay.
Flexibility comes with insecure contracts
Heather values enjoying her work, using her brain and having some control over her hours. She describes being able to work around family responsibilities, including staying home with a sick child and making up time later. She would like better pay and a permanent position, but those wishes sit alongside genuine satisfaction with her current work.
Her grant-funded contract has an end date, however, and the prospect of needing another job in six months is stressful. She also describes a less linear career than moving straight into industry: six months teaching chemistry and biology at a girls’ school in Uganda, and a year in Melbourne running a Mexican restaurant. She sees these experiences as valuable and encourages students to explore life beyond their immediate research path.
Comparing salaries and deciding what matters
An audience member asks whether seeing school friends earn more ever makes the panellists regret staying in research. Emma acknowledges noticing peers reaching managing-director positions and hearing about their salaries. But she also sees stress in their lives, and weighs that against being happy in her own workplace and having flexibility over her day.
Heather frames the decision around what someone wants from life rather than a single correct career choice. If money is what makes a person happy, pursuing it is a valid option. The discussion also touches on being able to express yourself at work and finding satisfaction through public outreach, including encouraging children to consider science.
From difficult experiments to pandemic evidence
Yasir describes the satisfaction of solving an experimental puzzle, but also the misery when a method does not work. One project required six months of difficult optimisation. He credits teamwork, resilience and encouragement with getting through that period; the eventual success changed how the work felt.
During the pandemic, Yasir was given freedom to collaborate independently with his former university in Pakistan. That collaboration sequenced about 600 SARS-CoV-2 samples—almost half of the country’s sequenced samples at that point, according to his account.
Andrew places the work in the context of Pakistan being on the UK’s travel red list. He says there was concern about the Delta variant, whereas their sequencing showed Alpha, which had been imported from the UK. The panel discusses the evidence’s relevance to travel policy and families meeting again. Yasir presents this as an example of academic freedom supporting an international public-health contribution.
Keep collaboration and career options open
Heather values being able to contact unfamiliar researchers, discuss projects and propose collaborations or papers. She contrasts that openness with the intellectual-property restrictions she associates with industry. Yasir adds that researchers can seek grants and funding to expand their work or move towards greater responsibility.
Andrew closes with practical advice for students concerned about earnings: keep options open, and consider the bioinformatics and data science route rather than focusing solely on laboratory work. He argues that it generally offers more earning potential and more opportunities in industry. The panel’s broader message is to choose according to personal priorities, not salary alone.
Highlights
- 00:00:47 — Andrew introduces the postdoc panel and the audience of PhD students.
- 00:01:18 — Emma explains why discovery and problem-solving keep her in research.
- 00:02:46 — Heather describes enjoying science and fitting flexible working around family life.
- 00:03:57 — Grant-funded contracts bring uncertainty, alongside opportunities for different life experiences.
- 00:06:53 — An audience member asks about regret when peers earn more outside research.
- 00:08:09 — Heather asks what matters most: money, happiness or other priorities.
- 00:09:37 — Yasir discusses experimental setbacks and six months spent optimising a method.
- 00:10:54 — Yasir recounts a Pakistan collaboration that sequenced about 600 SARS-CoV-2 samples.
- 00:12:03 — Andrew explains the sequencing evidence’s relevance to Pakistan’s UK red-list status.
- 00:13:20 — Heather describes the freedom to start projects and approach new collaborators.
- 00:14:19 — Andrew recommends considering bioinformatics and data science for industry earning potential.
In their own words
I just find it very flexible. I love the atmosphere. I love using my brain.
— Heather Felgate, 00:02:46
And we did sequence about 600 SARS-CoV-2 samples, and that was almost half of the samples that were sequenced by the whole country at that point.
— Muhammad Yasir, 00:10:54
Who is talking
- Andrew Page (host)
- Emma Waters (guest)
- Heather Felgate (guest)
- Muhammad Yasir (guest)
- Lee Katz (host)
Also mentioned: Nabil-Fareed Alikhan.
Questions this episode answers
Why choose a postdoc over a better-paid industry job?
The panellists value discovery, enjoyable work, flexibility and opportunities to help people through research. They acknowledge the pay gap, but emphasise that the right choice depends on personal priorities.
What drawbacks of postdoctoral work does the panel discuss?
Lower pay and insecure contracts are central concerns. Heather describes the stress of knowing a grant-funded job will end, while Yasir discusses the emotional difficulty of spending months on an experimental method that is not working.
What did Yasir’s SARS-CoV-2 collaboration in Pakistan contribute?
The collaboration sequenced about 600 samples, which Yasir says represented almost half of Pakistan’s sequenced samples at that time. Andrew explains that the findings provided evidence relevant to UK travel restrictions, showing Alpha rather than the feared Delta variant in their sequencing.
What career advice does Andrew give PhD students?
Andrew recommends keeping career options open. For students prioritising earnings, he suggests bioinformatics and data science rather than a solely laboratory-focused route, arguing that these offer greater earning potential and more opportunities in industry.
This page was written from a machine transcript of the episode and checked against it. Listen to the episode for the whole conversation.
Show notes
An honest discussion about the up and downsides of doing a postdoc in front of an audience of first year PhD students. Guests Dr Emma Waters, Dr Heather Felgate and Dr Muhammad Yasir are joined by Dr Andrew Page.
It was recorded in front of a live audience of PhD students at the Microbes, Microbiomes and Bioinformatics doctoral training program in the Quadram Institute in Norwich UK.
Emma starts the conversation by sharing that she enjoys research and solving problems with different tools. The thrill of discovery and exploration that comes with the postdoc position is something she loves.
Heather echoes Emma’s thoughts and believes that she is happy where she is, rather than chasing after a higher paying job in the industry. She appreciates the flexibility that academia offers, which has enabled her to balance her family and personal life.
The conversation takes a turn when PhD students ask if any of the postdocs regret the decision of choosing academia despite the evident pay gap between the industry and academia. Emma points out that although she may have earned more in the industry, she is happy where she is, and finds satisfaction in helping people through her work. Chasing profits in the industry would not offer her that kind of gratification.
Yasir shares his success story of sequencing 600 samples of the SAR-CoV-2 virus in Pakistan, and how it contributed towards the fight against the pandemic. He credits the freedom and flexibility of academia that allows him to collaborate with colleagues from all over the world.
In conclusion, Andrew advises students to explore their options and to keep their careers open- ended. He suggests that if they are after a higher paycheck, they should consider the bioinformatics data science path that offers more earning opportunities in the industry. The postdocs stress the importance of following what makes one happy in life, rather than chasing big salaries.