Square chestnuts from au Fei Temple
No. | public QbitAI qubit reports
Foreign postdocs are a particularly vulnerable group in American universities:
Forced to work more than 100 hours a week, paid less for no reason, not allowed to put his name on papers he worked on…
In the face of such treatment, some bloggers stayed in the lab because their tutors threatened them with visas that they might not be able to renew.
A recent report discusses the plight of expatriate bloggers at the mercy of their mentors.
The above phenomenon, all from the interview after the description of bo.
In a commentary, Nature insisted that this must stop.
Why was queen Bo injured?
The lab’s supervisor, or boss, is called the Principal Investigator.
There is no difference between a PhD and a Postdoc.
For foreigners (and their PIs), there is one important difference between a PhD and a post-phd: the visa.
PhD takes F1 student signature, which is generally safe;
After signing up for A J1 or H1B job, the lab offers most of them two-year short-term positions.
After two years of service, it is almost entirely up to PI to decide whether to stay in the United States. If PI does not approve, it cannot be renewed.
To a large extent, PI is responsible for the recruitment of laboratory staff, and it is difficult for the school to interfere.
In the report, a PhD student at one of America’s top universities put it this way:
When I got to school, PI said he had approved my renewal. And then he said he would only pay me
70% of the salary. But the salary was negotiated before we went.
I asked him if this was routine. “Are you serious about wanting to work here?” he asked.
Another blogger interviewed said:
PI has turned the lab into a pressure cooker. You will see foreign bloggers sleeping on the lab floor and working every week
Over 100 hours.
PI knows what he is doing, just taking advantage of foreigners.
Others said PI refused to put his name on a paper when he was involved in a study.
The researchers also interviewed some school administrators about the postdoctorate experience.
One of them put it this way:
Once a weekI hear about bad things happening, and it’s getting worse.
The queen came into my office, told me about it, asked me if it sounded wrong.
Visa is a big problem, so foreign bloggers are not afraid to report PI. They may not be able to stay in the US if they are retaliated against by PI.
Tenure is slim, and P.I. is against getting a job
Foreign bloggers are not a minority group.
According to 2016 data, among the 64,712 Bloggers working in the US:
U.S. citizens and green card holders, 46 percent;
54% of those who visited the US on short-term visas.
Many laboratories give preference to foreign bloggers, not all because foreigners are diligent.
After all, with the visa issue, it seems not difficult for PI to keep the foreign postgraduates under control.
PI is against post-doctorate job hunting
Even though the PhD postgraduates have provided significant assistance to PI’s research, PI still does not need to make any consideration of her future career path.
Many PiS are opposed to postgraduates seeking jobs (outside academia). They felt that she would be distracted from her research work.
American and foreign PhD holders said they would be punished by PI for going out to look for a job. The light ones were ignored by PI, and the heavy ones were kicked out of the lab.
However, only 15-20% of postdocs in the US get tenure. Others have to look for work, and if that is blocked, expatriates have little choice but to return home.
One school administrator interviewed said there were also postgraduates who continued to hunt for jobs “underground” despite PI’s opposition. But most people are afraid to grasp the nettle, especially when they see their peers pay the price.
In addition, some PiS are not familiar with the current employment situation in academic circles. Because it was a very different world when they got their tenures.
They simply believe that the failure to get tenure is a sign of incompetence.
Psychological problems emerge
In fact, 20% of the bloggers interviewed reported experiencing an “Existential Crisis” after discovering that they were unable to achieve their long-term professional goals.
Chronic stress, anxiety, anger, depression, etc., are all symptoms of this crisis.
In the United States, a postdoctorate can earn between $40,000 and $50,000 a year. Some postgraduates already have families, while others are struggling to pay off student loans.
To foreign bo later said that the crisis is deeper, is facing home.
In recent years, the proportion of foreign postgraduates is rising. Their career development problems are increasingly concentrated.
However, there were also PI respondents who said that they maintained good relationships with PHDS and PHDS who went to the industry.
These connections later became the main source of funding for the lab and also improved PI’s academic performance.
It’s everyone’s job to tip off
Of course, you can’t ask every PI to encourage postgraduates to go outside the academic world.
But asking postgraduates to double their 40-hour workweeks, docking their wages for no reason, and withholding their names from research papers they participate in are not legitimate and may be illegal.
Even if PI threatens to get a visa, his colleagues should report him if they see him.
Another university administrator interviewed said that if the university fails to take effective measures to prevent such irresponsible or even illegal behavior, the university may also be held legally liable.
Report portal: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327977488_Factors_that_influence_the_transition_of_university_postdocs_to_non- academic_scientific_careers_An_exploratory_study
Nature reviews portal: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07479-7
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