With the global economic crisis and rising unemployment rates, you may feel it's enough just to have a job. But even in this kind of economy, basic human nature — and therefore the need to find out if you're being paid what you're worth — goes on.
This spring, Genome Technology conducted its seventh annual salary survey, and 1,468 readers weighed in with information on their compensation, benefits, and expectations for the near future. This year for the first time we included a set of questions specifically for people who are currently unemployed, and we asked about readers' plans for applying for stimulus grant funding. As usual, we begin the survey results with plenty of demographic data so you can get a sense of who our typical respondents are.
With three percent of respondents reporting themselves as unemployed and another two percent saying that they'd been laid off in the past year but had found new work, it seems clear that layoffs in this community have risen but are significantly lower than in many other industries.
After hearing anecdotal evidence that jobs have evolved because of economic conditions, we asked readers to report on how their jobs have changed in the past year. Data show that scientists have responded to changing situations by attending fewer conferences, applying for more grants, taking on more responsibilities, and working longer hours. A much smaller group of people reported having to reduce staff or put hiring plans on hold.
To conduct this survey, GT emailed a link to the survey website to subscribers and sent out a reminder email several days later. The survey data was gathered in late April.
Primary scientific background of responents
Demographic data
Demographic data by organization
Grant funding
Median salary by region
Median salary by title and organization type
Unemployment data