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For more than 10 years, The Scientist has surveyed the postdoc community to learn what they value most from their training experience and which institutions best provide those lessons. For the third year running, the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research has taken the top spot in our 2013 Best Places to Work Postdocs survey, offering its postgraduate fellows more competitive salaries and benefits as well as access to high-quality scientific experience and guidance. The Institute also pays close attention to quality of life, providing its 120 postdocs with subsidized childcare, health care, retirement planning, and an active postdoc association.
(For a full list of the Top 25 Institutions, including the strengths and weakness of each, click here JPG | PDF)This is a noticeable change from how postdocs were treated when we began our surveys in 2003. Back then, postdocs had few benefits and few avenues to discuss their grievances and advocate for better treatment. Indeed, postdocs responding to our first surveys said that what they wanted most was an attentive principal investigator, the security of knowing that their training would push their career forward, and a pay and benefits package that was in line with their specialized experience and expertise. And Whitehead isn’t the only institution that took note of postdocs’ demands and began providing better pay and benefits as well as in-house organizations to deal with postdoc affairs. This year’s second-place winner, the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, for example, also ensures that its postdocs’ basic needs are met, providing health-care and retirement plans, as well as responding to requests for new equipment. In addition, the institute challenges postdocs to interact with the local biotechnology community, and offers perks like free yoga classes and subsidized gourmet lunches.
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