Falling behind: postdocs in their thirties tire of putting life on hold

3 min read Original article ↗
  • CAREER FEATURE

Temporary contracts, low salaries and cost-of-living hikes force many researchers to put off parenthood and other big decisions.

By

  1. Linda Nordling

    1. Linda Nordling is a freelance journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa.

When Manuel Chevalier met Mine Altinli in Montpellier, France, both were in their late twenties. Chevalier was wrapping up his doctoral thesis on southern Africa’s past climates, whereas Altinli had just embarked on a PhD on how infections develop. Both were excited about a career in academia. “I expected to be a postdoc for five to six years after my PhD, hopping from country to country. I felt happy about that prospect,” says Chevalier.

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Nature 622, 881-883 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-03296-9

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