Why are postdocs in the US paid peanuts? In Australia you do

>>9077195
Well, 80k in Australia is like 60k here, so the difference isn't all that profound.
>Do professors just get paid a gorrillian so there's huge competition or something?
No, there's huge competition because:
1) academia is becoming a form of welfare for "achievers" who like to be given a scratch behind the ear and a gold star after they do (good thing).
2) Schools are becoming saturated with people who have followed an educational pipeline for their entire lives, have no idea how to exit the Kafkaesque operant conditioning chamber that society has created for under 22's and just assume that academia is a decent pathway into adulthood. So they just keep on chasing higher level degrees until they niche themselves as far as they can niche and the only place to go is sideways eternally.

The issue is too many people want to be students for the rest of their lives and see "bein uh professor" as a way to achieve this goal.

>>9077338
>have no idea how to exit the Kafkaesque operant conditioning chamber that society has created for under 22's and just assume that academia is a decent pathway into adulthood.
Hit me in the feels.
Started my PhD because I couldn't find a job.
Now I'm close to finishing my PhD and have applied for like 40 industry jobs but only got one callback

>>9077195
>postdocs in the US versus Australia
USA has a history of slavery.

>>9077347
>I applied for 40 jobs
No wonder no one has called you, thats fucking nothing

>>9077403
If you need to apply for more than 40 jobs before you get a position, let alone even a reply, your resume is extremely shitty.

>>9077409
Well I guess you should give up then. Its not like more tries will help, game over

>>9077409
Bit more difficult in my case since there are basically no jobs in my specialty at PhD level in my country

>In the US you do a PhD in 6 years, during which you're forced to teach for free, and when you graduate you can do a postdoc and get $50K.

I don't know where you got this info from, but as far as my experience goes, most STEM PhD candidates are paid a stipend + tuition waiver for their assistanceships which can be teaching or research (or "graduate" which is the euphemistic way of saying bitch work.)

For example, I have no tuition, my healthcare is paid for, and I have a stipend of 20k for the fall and spring semester for a part-time teaching assistant position and I have the option of either part or full time work in the summer for additional money (physics at U of I, for the curious.)

File: phd102008s.gif (40KB, 600x545px) Image search: [Google]

40KB, 600x545px

Daily reminder that people crave the results of research but will never pay for it.

Is there even a point of going into academia anymore? It sounds like it's practically impossible to get a decent job.

>>9078363
To feel superior to others and to have a prop to help you condescend to people

it's worth it desu

>>9077195

>not living with your parents and saving $50k a year

Almost have enough to buy my own house now lol

File: virgin walk.webm (3MB, 960x540px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 960x540px

>>9078370
t. virgin

>>9078370
I lived with my mother for most of my PhD, saving the same way you did.
Really feels good to move into your own place m8, even if you spend 110% of your income to do so.
Doing a PhD while living alone is pure freedom

>>9077360
Australians have a history of being descendants of criminals and psychopaths.