2. MID-LEVEL RESEARCHER AT A SMALL BIOTECH

Related Articles Minding your $ and ¢ 1. FIRST-YEAR POSTDOC AT A LARGE UNIVERSITY 3. DIRECTOR OF TOXICOLOGY AT A LARGE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY 4. RESEARCHER AT THE US FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION Economic Status: This 34-year-old woman has been at her company for five years, makes $90,000 a year, and has saved $40,000 in a 401(k). Her husband makes $60,000 a year and has saved about $20,000 in his 401(k). They have one four-year-old child and are planning to have another wit

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Economic Status: This 34-year-old woman has been at her company for five years, makes $90,000 a year, and has saved $40,000 in a 401(k). Her husband makes $60,000 a year and has saved about $20,000 in his 401(k). They have one four-year-old child and are planning to have another within a year.

Financial Considerations: Being prepared for high turnover at biotechs, planning for retirement, saving for college, on a comfortable joint income.

Goals: Focus on retirement: Hal Schweiger, a financial planner with Capital Financial Advisers in San Diego, says that the couple can retire in 30 years with about $5.6 million if they both maximize contributions to their 401(k) plans. To buffer against the inherent uncertainty of working in the biotech sector, Schweiger recommends building up an emergency fund equivalent to six month's salary in something like a money market account.

The Plan: Maximizing her 401(k) contribution means contributing eight ...

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Meet the Author

Bob Grant
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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