• Question: Is your pay good? and how much would your regular pay be?

    Asked by anon-182782 on 25 Jun 2018. This question was also asked by anon-182786.
    • Photo: Liza Selley

      Liza Selley answered on 25 Jun 2018:

      Scientists aren’t known for being rich – we pick our work because it interests us rather than to become millionaires. I would argue that it is more important to enjoy every day of my life because I am interested in what I do than it is to hate what I do 5 days a week but have lots to spend at the weekend.

      A scientist’s salary is by far enough to enjoy a nice house, run a car, have holidays and go out with friends. You don’t get paid very much as a PhD student – maybe £16-19k but you do get student discounts and a break from paying taxes. After you finish your studies the pay usually doubles which is nice 🙂

    • Photo: Claire Donald

      Claire Donald answered on 25 Jun 2018:

      Just as Liza said we do our job for the love of science not for the money! Having said that you usually get higher than average pay because people value the skills you will have learned at University. My PhD was funded and I got £14,000 a year tax free and my first job after that doubled it. Working for a biologicals company will usually pay more than if you work for a University but there are perks that you can get which make it worth it.

    • Photo: Alexandra Hogan

      Alexandra Hogan answered on 25 Jun 2018:

      I think it’s pretty good. I get paid about 37,000 pounds per year (before tax) as a scientist at a university.

    • Photo: Hannah Farley

      Hannah Farley answered on 25 Jun 2018:

      I get a stipend/funding for my PhD, which works out at £1250 a month. Oxford is quite an expensive place to live – people don’t do PhDs to be well off. Science in general isn’t known for high pay, but sometimes people work in industrial companies that use science and earn more money that way.

    • Photo: Ashley Akbari

      Ashley Akbari answered on 25 Jun 2018:

      I definitely do my role because i enjoy it rather than just the pay, with my pay being regular (as in i do not make bonuses or additional payments) – but as an experienced researcher and someone that manages a team I get paid around ~40k before tax

    • Photo: Lauren Burns

      Lauren Burns answered on 26 Jun 2018:

      I am also a PhD student, and usually if you are lucky enough to get a stipend these are usually similar across different universities – I also get about £14k (tax free) a year. My student fees also get paid for me, so the stipend goes 100% on day-to-day living and bills. However, I have not gone into work yet, just went from school to uni and still here, so this is the most I have been paid (yet!) and living to that is fine as people tend to live within their means. Once I finish though, it does open up more doors and gives the opportunity to reach the higher payment bands. Although, as my colleagues have said, to me it is more important to enjoy work and feeling like I am working towards something greater.

    • Photo: Joey Shepherd

      Joey Shepherd answered on 26 Jun 2018:

      As the others said, we’re in it for the love of science, not the pay! I finished my PhD 16 years ago and I’m now a University lecturer with a team of scientists and PhD students and my salary is around £43,000 per year before tax.

    • Photo: Camille Parsons

      Camille Parsons answered on 27 Jun 2018:

      I work as a statistician within a university and I get paid around £37,000. I am lucky enough that I love my job 🙂

    • Photo: Laura Hemming

      Laura Hemming answered on 27 Jun 2018:

      As others have said PhD students don’t get paid an awful amount – though I find that my yearly stipend of about £15k is enough to live comfortably in Manchester. I don’t know how far this would stretch though in somewhere like London or Oxford. Once the PhD is finished there are lots more job opportunities that will pay substantially more than the PhD salary.

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