Still, even those academic workhorses are doing a little better than in the past. Salaries for postdocs—17% of respondents—rose by an average of 8.1%, more than double the inflation rate. Postdocs in industry had a blockbuster year, earning 19% more. (One caveat to the postdoc numbers: Some of the respondents may be f irst-year postdocs, meaning the comparison may be to what they were earning as graduate students.) Despite the rising tide, large disparities remain. Even excluding industrial scientists, scientists in certain disciplines earned far less than their colleagues did. Developmental biologists with doctoral degrees who work in academia, for example, earned a median salary of just $45,000, whereas Ph.D. pharmacologists earned $99,000. Academic developmental biologists gained some ground, however, earning 7% more than last year,compared to a 2% average raise for Ph.D. toxicologists.

   So what about younger scientists? Our survey did not address directly the issue of mentorship, but almost all the young scientists we interviewed call this an important factor. Michigan State’s Hoag is grateful that her department has faculty mentoring committees, which are available to advise all probationary faculty members. Hoag’s department offers all faculty members an annual review, which allowed Hoag to be clear on what was expected of her and how well she was meeting those expectations. That knowledge has been an important element of her professional contentment.

   U.S. Life Scientists Report Rising,Salaries and High Job Satisfaction
The latest salary survey of AAAS life scientists, developed in partnership with Kelly Scientific Resources, finds that pay increases outpaced inflation, especially for postdocs.