question for those in academia

[helixaspersa]

Does anyone know off-hand roughly what the salary is for an AHRC-funded post-doc at the moment? I have tried to find out from their website but I can't find it. (I've been asked to be the UK PI for a project, which if it went ahead and succeeded in its funding bid would mean pay at this level, hence the question.)

Comments

[white_hart]

I think it's up to the individual institution to cost the application, but for a postdoc we'd generally use University grade 07S.3 in the first year with annual increments (so starting salary of around £26k, I think? I know the total costs are in the region of £35k). There is some flexibility, though - we could certainly use a higher scp for someone with more experience.

(Can you tell I do this for a living??)

[helixaspersa]

Hurrah, I was hoping you were online! Thanks. That sounds doable. (Anything more than I'm earning at the moment would mean I could keep my flat, and I don't think I could bear to stay in Oxford if I had to move out and house-share again! So this would be good news.) It's all a bit confusing because apparently as a PI I would have the right to sub-contract the work, as long as I'm overseeing it; so presumably I could accept another job too, if I were actually offered anything. But I don't know whether they definitely want me to be in *Oxford* or whether that doesn't matter (it's a European project, with investigators in several countries).

[white_hart]

In fact, 07S.3 is currently c£30k, so a bit more than I thought thanks to the October payrise. It would be more usual for the PI to have a substantive post and only have a few hours per week charged to the grant, and then have a full-time postdoc working for them, but I don't think there's any real reason why you couldn't be a PI working full-time.

I suggest having a word with the Humanities research support team - I think Vicky Drew is the person dealing with AHRC applications now, but if she isn't she can point you in the right direction, and they're all very helpful and knowledgeable over there!

[helixaspersa]

Thanks. £30K seems like untold riches right now! Yes, I think I am a bit junior to be a common choice for PI, but they seem keen on me (it's a neo-Latin project for which I am unusually well qualified; and for which frankly the number of such qualified people is pretty miniscule), and apparently there's no actual bar to having someone younger than average if you can make a case for their competence and suitability. Presumably the idea is that if I turn out to get a proper job for next year, and we also got this funding, then I would as you say delegate a lot of the actual work to a postdoc.

Thanks for your help on this, really very much appreciated. I'll be in touch with some of the admin people tomorrow. Are the humanities applications dealt with centrally rather than by dept? I suspect this would count as a classics project (because of the Latin, and the woman making the bid is a classicist), but neo-Latin is always a bit unpredictable, it sometimes comes under history or English or something instead.

[white_hart]

History have their own research support people, but I think the other departments all go through the divisional team.

I'm currently working on a ESRC application with a recent postdoc as co-investigator, and the impression I get is that the actual PI isn't doing much apart from lending his name and reputation, so if the other co-investigators are all Eminent and you're the best person for the job I think it probably all evens out...

/via friends friends

[nineveh_uk]

Nice to see someone pimping the research support people! I _think_ it's Vicky for AHRC, if not it's Lindsay Rudge.

And an AHRC post-doc should be 07. Humanities, being broke, would normally try to start on 07.01 which is presently £28,839, unless the funders can be persuaded to cough up.

Re: /via friends friends

[helixaspersa]

I don't think I've ever had so many comments so fast! Thanks, this is all really helpful. Lindsay Rudge's name definitely rings a bell. I'll check at work tomorrow.

Re: /via friends friends

[white_hart]

AHRC pay 80% of FEC, and as Oxford's overhead rate is currently about £48k per FTE it would be a nice little earner; I've certainly been advised to cost postdocs at 07.3 to be consistent with Humanities.

[biascut]

I don't do it for a living but I share an office with people who do it for a living, and I was going to say around £25k! It seems to be around the middle of the grade immediately below the lecturer A grade.

[helixaspersa]

Thanks! Amazing the informative power of my friends list . . .