The WG Research Careers and Working Conditions focuses on advocating policy recommendations for higher education and European research stakeholders on changing the working conditions for early career researchers into more sustainable ones.

The working group is led by Anastasiia Simakhova who is a researcher at the National Aviation University (Kyiv, Ukraine). 

This working group (WG) would be dedicated to everything concerning the career paths available to researchers including employment and working conditions. In 2024/2025 a special focus will be on continuing the mapping
This includes looking into;

• the financial situation of doctoral candidates postdocs. Including information about the percentage of doctoral candidates and postdocs who are unfinanced, financed by stipends or scholarships, or financed through employment;
• information about the length of the financing. Are the minimum and maximum lengths to contract or stipends. 

For comparison, the if possible the following information should also be included in the mapping:

• information about salary levels outside of academia. This includes the minimum wage (legal or an estimate), the average salary of a newly graduated MA (estimate), and the average salary for PhD holders outside of academia;
• information about access to social security such as parental leave, sick leave, and unemployment benefits - including information about length and financial compensation;
• information about access to saving up for the pension system;
• information about the process for applying for long term resident permits and/or citizenship for especially non EU citizens.

How to sign up for the WG mailing lists

Each working group has an email list. Here, the working groups can keep in touch between meetings, such as calling for meetings and sharing information of interest to its members.

Eurodoc has 6 working groups that are open for all Early career researchers and doctoral candidates affiliated with one or more of the members (national associations) of Eurodoc to join. In some cases, it is even possible for others to join these working groups.

If you wish to be added to the new email lists for any working groups, please sign up through this link.