1. FIRST-YEAR POSTDOC AT A LARGE UNIVERSITY

Related Articles Minding your $ and ¢ 2. MID-LEVEL RESEARCHER AT A SMALL BIOTECH 3. DIRECTOR OF TOXICOLOGY AT A LARGE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY 4. RESEARCHER AT THE US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION Economic Status: This 29-year-old postdoc has saved only $2,000 in a checking account and makes about $37,000 a year from his National institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship. He also carries tens of thousands of dollars in debt for undergraduate school loans. Financia

Written byBob Grant

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Economic Status: This 29-year-old postdoc has saved only $2,000 in a checking account and makes about $37,000 a year from his National institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship. He also carries tens of thousands of dollars in debt for undergraduate school loans.

Financial Considerations: Starting a family, thinking about buying a home, planning for retirement, paying off school loans, on a very tight budget.

Goals: Secure health coverage and maintain a balance of at least $3,700 in the checking account after monthly bills are paid, says Kenneth Robinson, the head of his own financial planning company in Cleveland. "And then, I would like to see a fund for true emergencies of $7,000," he adds. Once these savings goals are reached, says Robinson, plan to start a retirement account and build up additional savings. Robinson suggests a 403(b) plan, the non-profit version of a 401(k), common at many universities. If his NIH ...

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Meet the Author

Bob Grant
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From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.
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