Asking about postdoc stipend?

[therapyphd2015]

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Hello all,

I am so glad to have found these forums...

I am in the process of ranking my internship spots and have specifically looked for a UCC with a post doc option.

I am debating two sites as my #1. When it comes to internship training they are pretty much equal in my ranking. One site lists the salary for the post doc year on the website and the other site has listed in their materials that they offer a "competitive post doc stipend" but they do not list the amount.

I would really like to know about the post doc salary as the site is in an expensive city and the salary amount would make a difference. This would impact my ability to live in that city and would make me feel better about ranking the site #1. Another part of me feels that it would be rude to ask. I worry it makes it seem like I am assuming I will match there and assuming I will get a post doc there.

How would you handle this situation?

 

[WisNeuro]

That question is fair game. If the figure is not specifically listed, I think you can come right out and ask. If you were interviewing for a job, you'd ask about salary before accepting an offer, this is not much different.

 

[G Costanza]

Did you look for a salary on the appic website?

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I agree with WisNeuro--that type of question is definitely fair game, and if the site hedged/was hesitant to answer, I personally would see that as a small red flag. Heck, I even asked sites how much parking cost (if it wasn't free), if health insurance was included in the stipend and/or how those rates looked, if any travel funds were available, etc.

 

[Ollie123]

To be fair, its very different talking about salaries for a job you ARE applying for as opposed to one you are technically not. I can see how it might be awkward to ask about post-doc salaries while on internship interviews - particularly at UCCs since it seems somewhat more atypical for these sites to keep people around relatively to the AMCs where virtually everyone stays for post-doc. Some of my sites make it abundantly clear internship interviews essentially ARE post-doc interviews, but others were not like that.

That said - if you need to know to make your decision, its reasonable to ask. If they are a public university and you know the name of prior post-docs, there is a decent chance you can look it up yourself in an online database.

 

[joetro]

Most of the UCC post-docs I've seen posted are around 28-32K. Medical centers or research ones follow NIMH guidelines, currently 39K, and VA's are often mid-40's.

 

[LPPSYD]

You could possibly offset some of the awkwardness by asking this along with additional questions about the post-doc position. I would think sites would want applicants who are interested in staying there after internship, so expressing interest in it in general may work in your favor.

 

[therapyphd2015]

Thank you all for the info. This is very helpful. I think I am going to couch the question in several others to make it less awk. I think I will ask the current interns who I know are applying to stay for post-doc.

 

[Peaches03]

Hello all,

I am so glad to have found these forums...

I am in the process of ranking my internship spots and have specifically looked for a UCC with a post doc option.

I am debating two sites as my #1. When it comes to internship training they are pretty much equal in my ranking. One site lists the salary for the post doc year on the website and the other site has listed in their materials that they offer a "competitive post doc stipend" but they do not list the amount.

I would really like to know about the post doc salary as the site is in an expensive city and the salary amount would make a difference. This would impact my ability to live in that city and would make me feel better about ranking the site #1. Another part of me feels that it would be rude to ask. I worry it makes it seem like I am assuming I will match there and assuming I will get a post doc there.

How would you handle this situation?

Can I ask if this was for NYU? And if so, did you find out how much the stipend was? I'm looking at postdocs now and noticed their wording of "competitive," which is unclear given what's competitive to live in NYC and what's competitive compared to other postdocs is vastly different. Thanks for any info!