Postdocs should receive relocation benefits from the universities that hire them.

Abstract

Postdocs are essential to microbial science and STEM academic workforces but are underpaid and receive little-to-no relocation benefits. PhDs foregoing postdoctoral training for lucrative industry and government jobs exit the academic pipeline, which imperils current scholarship and the future professoriate. Relocation to postdoc jobs is expensive, especially for recent graduates and international scholars, but academia rarely provides support. Solving this short-term liquidity pressure can increase productivity, job satisfaction, and the likelihood they remain in academia.