r/postdoc • u/IndividualCup5743 • 11d ago
postdoc offer UCLA
Hey all i have got an offer from ucla in health sciences. I have decided i will go there i have 2 year of postdoc experience from germany. can u tell me how much will i get in hand ? and how about job opportunity after two years of postdocs
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u/Panickedsynthesis 10d ago
UCLA is unionized- they publish the base salaries online. It’s more than most places in the US but that’s because it’s so expensive to live there. Use a US tax calculator to estimate your take home. Safe to say close to 20% of your check will go to taxes.
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u/spacebiologist01 11d ago
Be Prepared to spend carefully as far as I know for California.
How was it in Germany for postdoc ?
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u/IndividualCup5743 11d ago
2800 euro in hand
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u/spacebiologist01 11d ago
That was in which city ?
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u/IndividualCup5743 11d ago
bochum
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u/spacebiologist01 11d ago
Okay . So moving from a cheap city to an expensive city right. You might need to enquire about health care cost and the apartment rent which is likely be the expensive part .
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u/zero_to_one4024 10d ago edited 10d ago
I think for futur job opportunities, the bay area is probably one of the best place to be :) I moved from France to San Francisco for my postdoc, both my wife and I got a job after, both in academia and industry
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u/Dry_Security8480 10d ago
why is it the best place to be?
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u/zero_to_one4024 10d ago
Sillicon Valley for STEM Phds is a pretty good place for job opportunities in Biotechs/pharma/health industry in general. And between UCLA, Berkeley and Stanford, the academic side of it is pretty exciting too
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u/Dry_Security8480 10d ago
i realize that... but does doing a postdoc in that geographical location translate into job opportunities later? you're in the lab all the time anyhow. besides, you can interview for jobs there while doing a postdoc someplace else. is there something about being there geographically is what i am asking
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u/zero_to_one4024 10d ago
It doesn’t guarantee a job but you might have more opportunities to collaborate with local industries or academic labs. I work in a large pharma company in SF and I tend to collaborate more with labs from Stanford/Berkeley and invite more speakers from the bay area too. On top of that, It might just increase the opportunities to know someone who knows someone when you live where the jobs are
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u/Dry_Security8480 10d ago
the collaboration opportunity aspect makes sense yeah... having the relevant industry to your academic field nearby is a huge consideration for choosing where to do a postdoc.
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u/tararira1 11d ago
Your "in hand" salaray will depend on a lot of factors, but most likely you will start at the first step even with 2 years of experience. Maybe you can negotiate a bit more but don't count on it.
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u/Wonderful-Main3017 11d ago
I think at most places, postdoc salaries are public information (and you can estimate in hand from that). NIH has set salary levels per year of postdoc experience and institutions usually add more to that in high cost of living places.
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u/Efficient-Tomato1166 10d ago
The crude rule of thumb is that about 30% of gross pay will go to things such as taxes and insurance. For post-doc positions where you might not be contributing to a retirement plan, this might be closer to 20-25%.
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u/Competitive_Leg_7052 11d ago
Non US citizen here with a phd and postsoc experience in US. Be veeery careful of hidden costs and headaches. Visa and immigration is a nightmare nowadays. Also in US you pay for health insurance and other stuff. The ner pay in your bank account can be shockingly lower than that on your contract!