The United Kingdom may be home to a disproportionate number of highly ranked institutions in this year's survey, but it would be incorrect to assume that life is a bed of roses for the country's postdocs.
For one thing, cash flow remains a serious problem. "Postdoc jobs do not pay enough in the UK," says Simon Felton, general secretary of the National Postgraduate Council. He says finance is a long-term problem that leaves staff feeling vulnerable, makes it hard to get mortgages, and leads to significant recruitment and retention problems.
Some of those problems may ease, however, as growing numbers of UK institutes put postdocs on permanent contracts. The University of Bristol is leading this trend: Felton reports that about 50% of its postdoctoral researchers now have permanent contracts.
The European Union's directive on fixed-term contracts will have a further effect on the situation for hundreds of postdocs in the ...
