Thread by @ShawnMcGuirk

At the @CAPSACSP panel on post-docs w/ @Joe_S_Sparling @BerubeDo Rachel Fernandez, @krishnahegde3 @DrHaverfield #CSPC2018

#CSPC2018 @Joe_S_Sparling @CAPSACSP says you lose money for every year you train as a postdoc (on average). PhDs that go straight to the workforce are often more financially stable. Post-docs lose retirement income, forego wages (esp now they pay tax) despite high #talent

Due to unionization and internal funding, there are now more post-docs with employee status. This palliates some of those issues, but externally funded and govt post-docs are still behind esp since they are not employees, no benefits despite taxation - @Joe_S_Sparling #CSPC2018

#CSPC2018 @krishnahegde3 agrees with many of these points, adds that post-docs are sometimes trainees, sometimes employees. Trainee post-docs lose on benefits, employee post-docs lose on training. How do we reconcile this? #CSPC2018

This also leads to a Sophie's choice when applying for external funding awards. They come with merit, but accepting external awards can change postdoc status. They can lose benefits by losing employee status... even more difficult a choice for post-docs w/ families #CSPC2018

Parental leave also depends on status, thankfully @NSERC_CRSNG @SSHRC_CRSH @CIHR_IRSC have taken positive steps to ensure this is accessible to award holders 🙌

- @krishnahegde3 #CSPC2018

Many post-docs suffer from over-work, many take no vacation time, which can significantly impact mental health. There are few outlets for counseling. - @krishnahegde3 #CSPC2018

Only 20% of post-docs make it in academia, and through the @CAPSACSP survey they heard many stories from those who had to make difficult transitions - @krishnahegde3 #CSPC2018

Av postdoc salary in Australia is 73K, in 🇨🇦 it's closer to 40-45K. This is entry level salary, in jobs that require little training. PDFs are experts with 10+ yrs experience. Plus, many aren't sure what they are (employee, student, trainee?) - @DrHaverfield #CSPC2018

Key postdoc issues from @CAPSACSP @DrHaverfield
- no tracking of labour conditions or career outcomes
- no oversight for employment status
- lack of standards, insitutions make up their own rules
- lack of funding
#CSPC2018 ⬇️⬇️⬇️

#CSPC2018 @BerubeDo represents @SSHRC_CRSH (@CIHR_IRSC and @NSERC_CRSNG are in the crowd, prov agencies should be part of this discussion as well)

She mentions post-docs should definitely be involved in the made in Canada @Athena_SWAN consultations to ensure they are supported

Plug for @u15 by Rachel Fernandez for being supportive, as @Joe_S_Sparling announced that @CAPSACSP started a postdoc registry for 🇨🇦 that will be kept updated. Discussion w/ @StatsCanada & other data orgs (+ tricouncil) are key step forward for tracking #CSPC2018 @sciencepolicy

Getting good data still has barriers, says @BerubeDo, but work is being done to collate data among agencies @SSHRC_CRSH @NSERC_CRSNG @CIHR_IRSC and @StatsCanada (among others) to improve tracking and gather #evidence for good #policy
#CSPC2018

(I have to leave the panel for an interview w/ @sciencepolicy, let's keep a tweet thread going though #CSPC2018! @nehabhutani17 ⬇️)

@threadreaderapp unroll pls