CAREERS

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ILLUSTRATION BY SEÑOR SALME

JOB SATISFACTIO N

Paths less travelled

For many, a career in academia is the goal, but other options could prove more rewarding.
BY CHRIS WOOLSTON (Responses from people who hadn’t gone unchanged from the 2016 survey. Still, there’s
beyond an undergraduate degree were filtered no guarantee that those numbers will stay sta-

M
any science students and junior out, leaving a sample of 4,334.) Nearly 40% of ble. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents said
researchers continue to aspire to a respondents live in North America, 35% are that their satisfaction had worsened in the past
career in academia, a dream that in Europe and 16% are in Asia. Nature also year, and just 32% said that it had improved.
has persisted for generations. But Nature’s heard from researchers in Australasia, Africa A break-down of responses by employment
biennial survey of salary and job satisfaction and South America. sector showed how attitudes vary across the
in the global science community underscores The survey asked about salaries, job satis- wide spectrum of scientific paths. Respond-
an important reality: there is a vast number faction, work–life balance, encounters with ents working for non-profit organizations
of career opportunities for scientists beyond discrimination, mental health and other key were especially likely to feel satisfied with their
academic research, and some of those options issues that can define and shape a scientific jobs (73%), followed closely by respondents
might be more rewarding, whether emotion- career. The results, along with follow-up inter- in industry (71%), government (68%) and
ally, financially or both. views with selected respondents, captured the academia (67%). “This supports the fact that
Nature’s survey — for which fieldwork was diversity of the scientific experience, from the there are very fulfilling, high-paying jobs
conducted between June and July 2018 by struggles to the triumphs. outside of academia,” says Susan Porter, dean
Shift Learning, a London-based research con- More than two-thirds (68%) of respond- and vice-provost of graduate and postdoctoral
sultancy — drew responses from 6,413 self- ents said that they were satisfied or very sat- studies at the University of British Columbia
selected readers from around the world. isfied with their careers, a rate that is largely in Vancouver, Canada.

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 CAREERS

Satisfaction numbers have shifted since decided that a career in consulting would be a $15,000, that end of the salary range was dom-
the 2016 survey, which found a slightly higher better fit for his skill set and ambitions. inated by teachers. About 50% of respondents
proportion of satisfied scientists in academia Now, Proskin is in a position to offer advice who said that they are mainly teachers earned
(65%) than in industry (63%). The differences to other young engineers and geologists who less than $30,000, and nearly 30% of research
between the two surveys suggest that the bal- are pondering their futures. He encourages or staff scientists were at the same modest
ance between academia and industry has them to keep their options open and avoid place on the salary scale. The upper ends of the
slightly tilted towards companies. the academia-or-nothing mindset. “Maybe scale were populated mostly by full professors,
High levels of job satisfaction among it’s time to switch that thinking around,” he managers and research directors.
researchers have been documented by other says. “The default mode should be that you As with the 2016 salary survey, geography
surveys, including one earlier this year of PhD are going into industry unless you’re very proved to be a strong determinant of salaries.
holders by the University of British Colum- academically inclined.” Nearly 40% of respondents in Asia reported
bia and one in 2016 of European researchers Mariana Pacheo Blanco, a postdoctoral earning less than $15,000 a year, compared
conducted by Vitae, a non-profit science- researcher at BIOCEV, a biotechnology and with 2% of respondents in North America. At
career advocacy organization in Cambridge, biomedical academic research centre in Vestec, the top level, 11% of all respondents in North
UK. But Vitae head Janet Metcalfe warns Czech Republic, is happy with her job in aca- America and Australasia reported earning
that job satisfaction isn’t always a sign of a demia. But she also has a major complaint: she’s more than $150,000, putting them far ahead
positive working environment. “Researchers disappointed with of other regions. Pockets of hardship con-
love doing research and therefore can have the funding oppor- “The default tinue to persist in Europe. Just over 20% of
high job satisfaction, but they can still be tunities. “I spent five mode should respondents in Europe reported earning less
experiencing high levels of stress and poor years in Germany be that you than $30,000 a year compared with just 5%
well-being,” she says. where there’s a lot of are going into of those in North America — a gap that is
funding for science,” industry unless unchanged from our 2016 survey.
SALARY says Blanco, who is you’re very The survey also reflected gender disparities
Questions about salary revealed a deeper originally from Mex- academically in salary, especially in scientists who had been
divide between sectors. Fifty-nine per cent of ico but earned her inclined.” in their profession for many years. Among
respondents in industry said that they were PhD at the Univer- respondents who said that they were in the
happy with their salaries; by comparison, sity of Munster in Germany. “The difference later part of their career, 33% of men reported
only 40% of respondents in academia, 41% in between Germany and the Czech Republic is earning more than $110,000 a year, but only
non-profits and 49% in government said that considerable.” 23% of women reached that level. For entry
they were happy with their pay. Overall, 43% As a postdoc struggling to get by, she’s part level, early-career and mid-career respond-
of respondents said that they were happy with of another great divide that might be even ents, income brackets were fairly evenly split
their salary. Just over half of all respondents more fundamental than industry versus aca- between the genders. Women were also more
reported a recent pay rise, but it clearly wasn’t demia: the gap between the haves and the likely than men to report being unhappy with
enough to erase all disappointment. have-nots (see ‘Different paths’). Just 5% of their salaries (59% compared with 53%).
Sam Proskin, a senior geotechnical engineer respondents reported a salary of more than The question “Are you happy with your sal-
with Thurber Engineering in Calgary, Canada US$150,000 per year. Nearly 30% reported a ary?” turned out to be an exercise in relativism.
is pleased with his salary and career choices. salary between $50,000 and $80,000, and close More than 20% of respondents who earned
He had hoped to land a job in academia as to 25% said that they earned between $30,000 more than $150,000 a year said that they were
he finished his PhD in geotechnical engineer- and $50,000. At the other end of the scale, unhappy with their salaries, whereas 27%
ing at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, 11% reported earning between $15,000 and of people who earned between $15,000 and
Canada, in the mid-1990s. But after testing the $30,000, and 12% didn’t earn even that much. $30,000 a year reported that they were happy
academic waters in both the United States and Job titles matter when it comes to salary. with their lot, probably because that range fit
Canada, and finding few opportunities and Although a few professors, managers and their expectations and cost of living.
lots of stories of pressure and competition, he research directors reported earning less than Shrisha Rao, a computer scientist at the
International Institute of Information Tech-
nology in Bangalore, India, hasn’t reached a

TEREZA CHRBOLKOVA
lofty income bracket, but is happy with his
salary and gratified with his work. “I’m for-
tunate to be at an institution that values me,”
he says. “I’m not making more than people in
the United States, but my income is high for
my country and my profession.”

JOB PATH
Still, unsurprisingly, academia remains a
popular destination: nearly three-quarters
(70%) of respondents said that it had been
their main goal as they finished their PhDs,
which is in line with the aspirations of stu-
dents who responded to Nature’s 2017 gradu-
ate-student survey (see Nature 550, 549–552;
2017). Blanco, who studies non-Hodgkin lym-
phoma, says that she is highly satisfied with
her job, mainly because she is finds her topic
compelling. “I’m working on cancer, which
makes the science more exciting,” she says.
Mariana Pacheco Blanco enjoys academic research, despite funding struggles. “It’s the hot spot everywhere.” But she gives

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 CAREERS

Different paths Q Job satisfaction levels in different countries

Nature’s 2018 survey of salary and job satisfaction, which drew more than 4,300 responses from
Netherlands 80% (44 respondents)
science professionals around the world, found disparities across the science spectrum. Gender,
geography and area of employment — academia, industry, government or non-profit — all help to
shape career outcomes. Science offers many paths, but some are more rewarding than others. China 75% (61)

United Kingdom 72% (358)

Q What is your current salary? 71% (266)
India
30
Japan 70% (78)
Academia
Industry High salaries are 68% (1,399)
United States
Respondents (%)

more common
20
in industry than
Italy 64% (160)
in academia.
Germany 60% (229)
10
Brazil 54% (61)

Switzerland 49% (59)

0
Less than $15,000– $30,000– $50,000– $80,000– $110,000– $150,000– $200,000+
US$15,000 29,999 49,999 79,999 109,999 149,999 199,999 Differences in funding, job opportunities and
local politics can make a scientific career more
satisfying in some countries than others.
Q Salaries by gender and career stage (all current workplaces)
Below average Average* Above average Q How satisfied are you with your current job?
Entry level
Male Extremely/ Extremely/
Female somewhat somewhat
dissatisfied satisfied
Early-career stage 20% 68%
Male
Female
Mid-career stage
Male 3,975
Female respondents
Late-career stage
Male
Female
Neither satisfied
0 20 40 60 80 100 nor dissatisfied
Respondents (%) 12%

Q Are you satisfied with the following aspects of your current job? Q What is the biggest challenge to your
career progression?
Women Men
Men are more satisfied
Career advancement with their salary and other Competition for funding 55%
components of their job Lack of jobs 40
Parental leave
than are women.
Lack of networks 32
Management Inability to sacrifice personal time 23
Salary Inability to relocate 15
Discrimination/bias 13
Job security
Lack of relevant skills 11
Compatibility with family life Language skills 9
45% 50% 55% 60% 65% 70% 75%
0 20 40 60
Respondents satisfied (%) Respondents (%)

Q Have you experienced discrimination or harassment at Q Do you have a positive or negative view of
your current job? your future job prospects?

Gender 329 I don’t know 2%

Age 162 Negative Positive
Racial 159 25% 59%
Sexual 77 Out of a total of 707
General bullying 75 responses, 329 people
Religious 44 experienced gender
discrimination in their
Nationality/politics
Other
39
35
job. Of those, 91% 4,155
were female. respondents
Disability 26
LGBT+ 23
Nepotism 13

0 100 200 300 400 Neither

Number of respondents 12%

Some data have been rounded to the nearest per cent and may not add up to 100%. Data-analysis services were provided by
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educational-research agency Shift Learning. *Average for career stage.

 CAREERS

even more credit to her supervisor, cancer

JENNIFER D. PAN
biologist Ondrej Havranek, who, is generous
with his time and advice, and doesn’t demand
long hours from his team. “If I want to leave
at 5 p.m., I can leave at 5 p.m.,” she says. “He
respects my private life, which can be a prob-
lem for some people in academia.”
Rao, who earned his PhD at the University
of Iowa in 2005, says that he has had his sights
set on academia since the early days of his
science training. As a professor at a technol-
ogy institute where he studies cloud comput-
ing and resource utilization, he feels that the
plan paid off. “I enjoy a lot of academic free-
dom,” he says. “People aren’t telling me what
to do on a regular basis.” Still, he says, “My
peers and I would be happier if we had more
resources. India punches below its weight
when it comes to science. That’s a hard fact.”

SATISFACTION
Finding enough hours in the day to main- Aaron Pan switched from the academic track to a curatorial role.
tain both a career and a personal life can be a
challenge no matter where a scientist works. respondents reported observing such problems about their future job prospects — a rate that
Although most respondents were satisfied at their current job, and more than one-fifth hasn’t changed much from the 2016 sur-
with their own work–life balance, this is (21%), said that they had personally experi- vey — but that optimism is not evenly dis-
another area where industry seemed to have enced such treatment. Of those who said that tributed. Scientists were more likely to have
an edge over academic life: 79% of respond- they had witnessed or experienced some sort a rosy outlook if they had a full-time job and
ents in industry said that they were somewhat of discrimination, nearly half (47%), said that were under the age of 40 and male. The 25%
or extremely satisfied with this aspect of their they had experienced gender discrimination, with a negative outlook were more likely to be
career, compared with 68% of respondents in the most common type. Ninety-one per cent female and to have a temporary contract. On
academia. of respondents who said that they had person- another pessimistic note, more than half (51%)
Job satisfaction is a multifaceted matter. ally experienced gender discrimination were of respondents said that their job prospects are
When asked to identify the factor that was female. Discrimination based on age (23%) or worse or much worse than they were for pre-
most important to satisfaction, respondents race (22%) were also relatively common. vious generations. Still, a full 75% of respond-
put ‘interest in the work’ at the top of the list. About half of all respondents felt that their ents said that they would recommend a career
That factor also ranked highest in terms of workplace is doing enough to promote diver- in scientific research to students — a marked
actual satisfaction — a happy case in which sity. Those working in industry (58%) were increase from the 61% who took that position
something that’s deemed important actually more likely than those in academia (50%) to in the 2016 survey.
delivers. Still, other aspects of being a scientist say that their institution is on top of the issue. One of those science supporters is Aaron Pan,
are dragging respondents down. Survey par- Hannah Murfet, a quality compliance manager executive director of the Don Harrington Dis-
ticipants were generally unsatisfied with their at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK, gives cover Center, a science museum in Amarillo,
ability to influence decisions that affect them, her employer high marks. “Where I work now, Texas. Pan started a postdoc at Southern Meth-
job security, career-advancement opportuni- the mission is very centred on diversity and odist University in Dallas, Texas, after earning a
ties and recognition for achievements — all inclusion,” she says. PhD in palaeobotany, and was planning to con-
things that they felt were important in making Murfet, who is an advocate for women in tinue on the academic path until another option
a job worthwhile. science, helped to form the Next Generation opened up. He applied for a curator position at
Network, a group dedicated to helping young the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
WELL-BEING researchers learn in Texas, and his career trajectory changed for-
Respondents were also frank about the nega- about careers in com- ever. “I think I would have been happy on many
“If you’re
tive effects of their work on their mental pliance and quality different paths,” he says. “Here, I still get to do
health. Sixteen per cent of those surveyed control, an increas-
interested in research, but it’s research I want to do. I don’t
said that they had either received help or were ingly in-demand
industry, find an have to publish just to get tenure.”
currently getting help for depression or anxi- career option that opportunity to Whether in academia, industry, non-prof-
ety. Seventeen per cent said that they had not many scientists fall get in. It can take its or government, there are lots of places to
received help but would like to. And 3% had into almost by acci- you where you do science, and lots of ways to be a scientist.
sought help but had yet to receive it. Those dent. “It would be want it to.” The Nature survey highlights the diversity
responses follow a pattern of widespread great if more people of options, but it also points to issues that all
unease in science. In Nature’s 2017 graduate- could consider this opportunity,” she says. researchers should keep in mind as they plot
student survey, 12% of respondents said that Most of all, she wants to encourage young peo- their course. From salary to job satisfaction,
they had sought help for anxiety or depression ple to keep their minds open to a wide range many things can go right — but they might
that was directly caused by their studies. of options. “If you’re interested in industry, not. The good news is that science, for most,
Instances of harassment and discrimination find an opportunity to get in — it can take you will always be interesting. And that can be just
— problems that remain stubbornly common where you want it to,” she says. “You don’t have enough to keep a person going. ■
in science — can, of course, also undermine to stay as a bench scientist. You can move into
researchers’ job satisfaction or ability to per- marketing, sales or compliance.” Chris Woolston is a freelance writer in
form their job. More than one-quarter (28%) of Nearly 60% of respondents feel positive Billings, Montana.

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