The Tough & Uncertain Life of a Postdoc

An interesting column from Jennifer Rohn in Nature yesterday. She lifts the lid on the difficult and insecure career path of postdocs, particularly in the life sciences, which is her area. The uncertainty and relatively poor terms and conditions for postdocs is wasting generations of scientists, she argues. What we need instead is a different kind of researcher position, a permanent post with the security and conditions that go with it. Whilst this may appear to be the expensive option, it would have considerable benefits for labs, which won't lose the knowledge and experience every 3 or 4 years.
The idea is supported by the various comments that follow the piece, although all question if and how such a concept would work in practice. Do take time to have a read through to get an insight on the difficulties that postdocs face as they make their way into academia.