Also called: Postdoc, Research fellow
Scientist with a new PhD who does full-time research for a few years before landing a permanent job.
Postdocs run experiments, analyze data, write papers, mentor grad students, and apply for faculty jobs. It's a training stage that can last 2-6 years.
NIH postdoc stipend scale roughly $62k-$72k; estimate.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Doctorate (PhD), about 11 years after high school. Bachelor's, then a PhD (usually 5-7 years), often a postdoc, then a competitive faculty job search; tenure takes about 6 more years.
Ways in: Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Biology, Chemistry, Physics.
Growing about average. Number of postdocs exceeds permanent jobs.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI speeds experiments and literature review, which may reduce postdoc slots; hands-on lab work and new ideas stay human.
Classes: AP Biology or Chemistry, AP Statistics, AP Calculus.
Official data: O*NET occupation 19-1042.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.