Itās not a question you can casually ask a colleague, or even a friend. Politics and religion might be fair game but never your pay packet. So how are you supposed to know whether youāre getting a fair deal if you donāt know what your colleagues earn, or what the going rate is?
Perhaps youāre considering a career in academia and wonder when youāll be able to buy a house, or thinking of switching to the ādark sideā ā aka industry ā and want to know what perks you should ask for. Or maybe youāre just curious to know how much your boss earns. Either way, weāve got it all. Last September, we asked 5000 scientists from all walks of life what they earn and what benefits they enjoy. Read āThe state of payā to find out what they said.
Once youāve seen what people earn on paper, find out what it means in practice. In āThe lab diariesā thereās an insight into the lives of three young scientists working in the big three ā academia, industry and government. It turns out that, for some, job insecurity is more of a concern than money.
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Finally, read āI, scientistā to see how the digital revolution is slowly taking hold of science. Welcome to a world in which both the tools used in the lab and scientistsā research output are accessed via apps and social networks, and where blogs are the forum for scientific discourse. There could soon even be an app for making scientific discoveries. Are you ready for this brave new world? If you donāt know where to begin, thereās a list of the 10 best lab apps to help you dip your toes in the water.
Ā鶹“«Ć½ās careers coverage doesnāt end here. See our regular Insider section in the main magazine for all the latest news and trends or check out the website as newscientist.com/topic/careers.
