Survey of Canadian Postdocs

An organization I'm peripherally involved with (CAPS- the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars) just released a comprehensive survey of postdocs in Canada. It has some interesting findings that speak to the overlooked status of postdocs in research:

• There are many, many more postdocs than there are faculty positions. 
• 2/3 make less than $45,000, and many are unsatistified with their access to employment benefits
• They are classified as independent contractors, employees, trainees or sometimes even students, depending on the institution and their funding source- this can make them ineligible for benefits such as the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP), Employment Insurance (EI), maternity leave, etc (I posted previously about the confusing way postdocs are taxed in Canada)

You can read some of the coverage on the survey here, here and here. (Press release)