I'm speaking metaphorically, of course; everyone knows that scientists are socially challenged and very rarely engage in human contact. But if I may reiterate the sentiments of Dr Isis and Scicurious, there is a way you can do something great for that special post-doc in your life--be it yourself, your future self, your current PhD-holding trainee, relative, friend, or significant other--write your congressperson!
President Obama's FY 2011 budget includes a 6% increase in trainee stipends, which, while modest (especially in light of what we actually make), would be a significant improvement over the last 4 years' budgets, in which stipend increases were either 0% or 1%. We are long overdue for this raise, but the budget still needs to work its way through appropriations in order for these changes to become a reality.
So here's where you come in! Write to your congressperson and tell them how important it is that our country invests in its young scientists. The National Postdoctoral Association's website has all the information you might need to do so, including links to all the appropriations committee members and a form letter in case you're not sure exactly what to say. But I highly encourage you to write your own letter, with feeling!
Think of it like a hug for your post-doc. A hug made of money.
The Plight of the Post-Doc
6 comments:
nice one Becca. I see this NPA thing is making the round. Fingers crossed for our postdocs...
On the other hand, my university just announced a 3-day furlough/1% salary cut for all personnel, including post-docs fully funded on NIH grants...
Just sent this to my lab of 60? 70? 80? postdocs. Hopefully more than a few of them will be inclined to write in... I certainly was.
Woo-hoo! Spread the word, yo!
CE, you need to post about this too! Your impassioned "speech" over at DrugMonkey deserves expanding.
Don't actually hug us. We have postdoc germs and you might catch them.
-antipodean
Post a Comment