I get paid enough to survive with my current postdoc, but I still need to rely on my credit card more than I want to and I'm unable to save or pay down my student loans faster than the bare minimum. I am in my 30s and I feel very behind my peers financially. I was the first one in my family to go to university and I remember my father being really proud of me when I started my doctoral program - sometimes I wonder if he would be disappointed if he knew how much I get paid.
If postdoctoral funding was CAD $60,000/yr for all postdocs, how would that change your life? It would be a big improvement over the current level of $45,000 which does not reflect a PDF's training or the cost of surviving in Canada right now. 60k is still relatively low, compared to non-academic jobs, and is not a salary I'd want to live on for more than 1-2 years - which will probably mean leaving academia for a stable job when the opportunity arises.
Additional comments: We need strong unions for all academic workers, and to rethink our funding/pay model - if we want academic research to thrive these jobs should be competitive with industry jobs for the same level of training.
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