• Question: how much do you make an hour, possibly a year?

    Asked by Denis on 23 Sep 2025. This question was also asked by Master Iysa, connerlee, heft532bock75, bubs532parr65, Jack, dylan.
    • Photo: Luke Fountain

      Luke Fountain answered on 23 Sep 2025:

      This is a good question. In my current job I have a yearly salary of around $72,000, which is about £55,000. This is a little higher than average for my current job, which is a post-doctoral researcher – that’s just a fancy way of saying I do science research after getting my PhD. It’s a little higher than average because I work for NASA and not a University, but that is often the case with science jobs, it just depends who you work for and what part of the world you work in!

    • Photo: Martin McCoustra

      Martin McCoustra answered on 23 Sep 2025:

      I earn around £80k per year plus my university tops up my pension significantly.

    • Photo: Emily Walls

      Emily Walls answered on 23 Sep 2025:

      I’m still at the early stages of my career; PhD students are given a stipend or salary of approximately £21,000 a year tax-free (so you get all of it!) for 3.5 years.

    • Photo: Niamh Topping

      Niamh Topping answered on 24 Sep 2025:

      I’m a PhD student so I get a stipend rather than a salary (which just means I don’t get taxed on this money). The current rate is about £21,000 a year. I also earn a bit more by teaching alongside my research

    • Photo: Vicky Fawcett

      Vicky Fawcett answered on 25 Sep 2025:

      I earn ~£33,000 a year as a research associate in the UK.

    • Photo: Joshua Hollowood

      Joshua Hollowood answered on 4 Nov 2025:

      Because I’m still at the start of my career, I’m given £22,780 to live off per year. I also do very easy work where I help out with teaching and invigilating exams which earns me extra.

      With a PhD, you’re given just enough money to live off. However, once you get to the next stage of your career in research, you can expect to earn a much more reasonable wage.

    • Photo: Georgia Rowe

      Georgia Rowe answered on 6 Nov 2025:

      I earn £36,000 a year salary as a synthetic chemist. I finished my PhD last year and have only been in my job for 6 months, so hoping it’ll increase as I get more experience!

    • Photo: Rachel Edwards

      Rachel Edwards answered on 7 Nov 2025:

      I’m quite a senior academic now (it’s terrifying!). I get about £75k per year. Like everyone else, I’m not sure of the hourly rate! I started on the lower PhD and postdoc salaries, but have worked my way up.

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