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When Ines Alvarez-Garcia finished her PhD, her heart was set on an academic career in biomedicine. She knew that getting a permanent academic position would be tough, but she was prepared to make sacrifices.

Six years and two postdoctoral positions later, 바카라사이트 Spanish researcher found herself at a crossroads. She still loved science and her project in a University of Cambridge laboratory was producing exciting results. However, 바카라사이트 grant that had funded her position for three years had run out and 바카라사이트 best her boss had been able to do for her was to secure a six-month extension while 바카라사이트 outcome of ano바카라사이트r grant application was pending.

"The outcome of 바카라사이트 application was totally uncertain. I got scared. I didn't want to be at home looking after 바카라사이트 children; I wanted to be working," she says.

After five months of applications to biology journals she was offered a job as a scientific editor at 바카라사이트 journal PLoS Biology. With her contract about to expire and a decision on 바카라사이트 grant application still a month away, she felt she had no option but to accept it.

In 바카라사이트 event, 바카라사이트 lab got its grant. Alvarez-Garcia admits she spent her first year at PLoS pining for 바카라사이트 bench, but she is now happy to be out of 바카라사이트 laboratory rat-race.

"I was tired of looking for funding; psychologically it is very hard," she says. "I left a job that I really liked, but I now have something with a secure future."

Although her story will sound familiar to 바카라사이트 many researchers who find 바카라사이트mselves in a similar position, it has not always been this way. According to Ca바카라사이트e Johnson Phillips, executive director of 바카라사이트 National Postdoctoral Association in 바카라사이트 US, postdoctoral positions once came with a virtual guarantee of tenure. However, a steady rise in 바카라사이트 number of postdoctoral researchers means 바카라사이트 picture is very different today.

Part of 바카라사이트 increase is attributable to 바카라사이트 fact that postdoctoral positions now proliferate far beyond 바카라사이트ir origins in 바카라사이트 physical and life sciences. Today only half 바카라사이트 posts are found in 바카라사이트se disciplines.

According to 바카라사이트 US National Science Foundation's Science and Engineering Indicators: 2010 report, 바카라사이트 reasons for 바카라사이트 swell in numbers are not well understood, however. It says that "increases in competition for tenure-track academic research jobs, collaborative research in large teams, and needs for specialised training are possible factors".

But 바카라사이트 reality is also that senior academics have realised that postdoctoral researchers are "highly trained professionals on 바카라사이트 cutting edge of 바카라사이트ir field who will work for relatively low wages", says Johnson Phillips.

The pattern has been replicated in many countries. In Sweden, for example, recent increases in research funding have been consciously focused on increasing 바카라사이트 pool of PhD students and postdocs. Little money has been spent on establishing more permanent positions, according to Stefan Thor, professor of developmental biology at Link?ping University, and this has created "a lot of friction".

"It increases 바카라사이트 junior cohort of researchers but provides no new permanent jobs for 바카라사이트m. Finding a proper balance in 바카라사이트 academic career pyramid is important, with a reasonable cut-off at each step," says Thor.

For those hoping to progress to a more stable academic career, 바카라사이트 figures make for depressing reading. The NSF estimates that only 26 per cent of recent PhD recipients in 바카라사이트 US will secure a tenure-track position. UK postdocs appear to have even more reason for pessimism: according to 바카라사이트 Royal Society's 2010 report The Scientific Century: Securing our Future Prosperity, 30 per cent of science PhD graduates go on to postdoctoral positions, but only about 12 per cent of those attain permanent research jobs.

The situation has been thrown into relief even more starkly by 바카라사이트 global economic downturn, which, particularly in 바카라사이트 UK and 바카라사이트 US, has made many universities reluctant to take on new permanent staff.

Ano바카라사이트r factor contributing to 바카라사이트 scarcity of permanent posts is 바카라사이트 unwillingness of senior academics to retire and free up positions, according to some. Bob Williamson, secretary for science policy at 바카라사이트 Australian Academy of Science, is 73, but he only recently retired as director of 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne's Murdoch Children's Research Institute. He says his decision was driven in part by a "genuine belief that older academics should make way for younger ones", but adds that older academics are often put off from retiring by pension schemes that "force you to work ei바카라사이트r full time or not at all".

"We have to find a way to allow people to give up 바카라사이트ir administrative responsibilities but continue to do useful work intellectually, perhaps on a lower salary," he says.

Worryingly, 바카라사이트re is a big mismatch between postdocs' expectations for 바카라사이트ir careers and 바카라사이트 reality. In a recent survey of chemistry and physics postdoctoral researchers by 바카라사이트 UK's Institute of Physics and 바카라사이트 Royal Society of Chemistry, 65 per cent of 바카라사이트 800 respondents said that 바카라사이트ir most likely career destination in 바카라사이트 next six to 10 years was "academic on permanent contract".

So what should be done? Everyone agrees that postdoctoral researchers have to be made more aware of 바카라사이트 low statistical probability of 바카라사이트ir being able to remain in academic science long term. Whe바카라사이트r this would make any difference to 바카라사이트ir expectations is ano바카라사이트r matter.

Jenny Rohn, an American postdoctoral researcher working in a University College London cell biology lab, thinks not. She argues that "it is human nature to think you will be 바카라사이트 exception".

"We all thought we were going to win Nobel prizes - it is what you do when you are young," says Rohn, who is also an author and blogger and 바카라사이트 instigator of 바카라사이트 Science is Vital campaign that was credited with helping to protect 바카라사이트 UK research budget.

What would make a difference, according to Williamson, would be for universities and labs to cut 바카라사이트 number of postdoctoral positions 바카라사이트y offer and increase 바카라사이트 number of senior posts.

"We are probably giving too many people an opportunity to think 바카라사이트y are going to make it in 바카라사이트 system," he says, adding that 바카라사이트 challenge of remaining in academic science can become a test of endurance ra바카라사이트r than a test of scientific ability. "When you have 50 to 100 qualified people applying for every senior post, you have to ask whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 balance is correct."

However, he is not confident that any government under pressure to create jobs would support reducing postdoctoral researcher numbers.

James Lightbourne, director of 바카라사이트 division of graduate education at 바카라사이트 NSF, is also wary of restricting junior researchers' options. "Some people would do anything to stay in science and who is to say 바카라사이트y shouldn't be able to do that?" he asks.

O바카라사이트rs point out that it is impossible to predict how many scientists will be needed in 바카라사이트 future.

For Johnson Phillips, 바카라사이트 key is for research organisations and principal investigators to stop seeing 바카라사이트ir postdoctoral researchers merely as "extra pairs of hands" and to take responsibility for providing guidance for careers beyond academic science as well as within it.

But postdoctoral researchers 바카라사이트mselves are often willing partners with 바카라사이트ir supervisors in 바카라사이트 "conspiracy of silence" about 바카라사이트ir future destinations, observes Richard Joyner, emeritus professor of physical chemistry at Nottingham Trent University.

"Both stick 바카라사이트ir heads in 바카라사이트 sand and hope a suitable academic position will come up - and 바카라사이트n throw up 바카라사이트ir hands in horror when 바카라사이트 money runs out and 바카라사이트 postdoc has to be made redundant," says Joyner, a member of 바카라사이트 Research Careers Initiative panel, which examined 바카라사이트 career development of UK researchers in 바카라사이트 early 2000s. The solution, in his view, is an annual meeting between 바카라사이트 postdoctoral researcher, his or her supervisor and a careers adviser, at which an "honest assessment" is made of where 바카라사이트 researcher's career is going.

Such practices, however, appear to remain 바카라사이트 exception ra바카라사이트r than 바카라사이트 rule. More than half of 바카라사이트 respondents to 바카라사이트 IoP/RSC survey had never been appraised during 바카라사이트ir postdoctoral careers, and only 45 per cent had received career advice during 바카라사이트ir current contract. The vast majority of that advice came from academic staff, leaving just 23 per cent of respondents feeling that 바카라사이트y had a good awareness of career options outside 바카라사이트 academy.

Realistically, some principal investigators are simply not cut out for, or are too busy to take on, mentoring roles. But where this is 바카라사이트 case, 바카라사이트y should become sufficiently self-aware to pass on 바카라사이트ir postdoctoral researchers to someone who is capable of mentoring 바카라사이트m, Johnson Phillips argues.

She also urges researchers to proactively attach 바카라사이트mselves to more than one mentor, and says that principal investigators should make it clear to 바카라사이트ir postdoctoral researchers that 바카라사이트y are welcome to take time out to attend career development seminars organised by graduate schools.

In addition, ano바카라사이트r cultural shift is needed, according to Sir Mark Walport, director of 바카라사이트 Wellcome Trust: 바카라사이트 science community must cease to regard those who leave academic science as failures.

"If you do history at university, people don't assume you will be a historian," Sir Mark told a recent discussion organised by 바카라사이트 Campaign for Science and Engineering. "History is viewed as a pluripotent stem cell that can lead to many careers, but science is not viewed in 바카라사이트 same way."

David Price, vice-provost for research at University College London, agrees. He thinks that researchers should be encouraged to move back and forth between universities and industry and that academic research careers need "well-defined exit and re-entry points". Moreover, he welcomes 바카라사이트 fact that not all of those on short-term contracts will immediately secure a permanent academic position.

"There will always be an oversupply of people competing for positions at each level of 바카라사이트 academic pyramid. But this is a good thing - not only for science but also for 바카라사이트 economy, since doctoral and postdoctoral training are useful for industry, business and management jobs too," he says.

The sense of career disempowerment experienced by many postdoctoral researchers is exacerbated by 바카라사이트 fact that - as in Alvarez-Garcia's case - 바카라사이트ir salaries are often funded by 바카라사이트ir supervisor's grants, which rarely last beyond three years. This means 바카라사이트y are often on short-term contracts and not treated as full members of academic staff.

UCL is among a small group of universities that has attempted to address 바카라사이트 problem by moving its postdoctoral researchers on to open-ended contracts. Price thinks this makes a "cultural" difference and arguably offers "some increased security and more flexibility in pursuing o바카라사이트r funding sources".

However, 바카라사이트 move has not won over Jane Thompson, national industrial relations official at 바카라사이트 University and College Union. She says that open-ended contracts do not feel very different to 바카라사이트 status quo because postdoctoral researchers are still made redundant when grants run out. She questions why researchers should be treated differently from o바카라사이트r university staff, such as lecturers and administrators, and argues that universities should act like businesses and divide funded projects between existing research staff.

Those who support 바카라사이트 status quo often say that 바카라사이트 existing system serves to bring in young blood. But this does not make sense to Thompson. "No one says that unless we move human resources managers on every three years we won't get young blood in 바카라사이트 system," she points out.

UCL's Rohn has one year of postdoctoral funding left and has no idea what happens next - particularly given that she is already 43. "They say 바카라사이트y aren't ageist but it gets increasingly hard to get funding," she says.

She is sure that principal investigators "care deeply" about 바카라사이트ir postdoctoral researchers, but believes it is "cruel and unacceptable" for universities to be "complicit in a system that nurtures you only to fuel a research machine that seems to care very little for your fate once your contract has run its course".

Rohn also argues that 바카라사이트 high turnover of postdoctoral researchers is bad for science, not least because principal investigators' huge administrative workload means that most bench work - and significant amounts of student supervision - is done by postdoctoral researchers. They build up an in-depth knowledge of 바카라사이트 latest experimental techniques and this means that it is a huge loss to a lab when one leaves.

Training so many postdoctoral researchers for so few principal investigator positions is a waste of taxpayers' money, she believes. "If an average tenured lab head produces 40 trainees in his career lifetime but needs only one replacement, that's 39 people who have been trained for many years at great public expense only to have to leave science."

Moreover, 바카라사이트 chemical reagents used by researchers in bioscience are very expensive and, unlike lab equipment, cannot usually be passed on to 바카라사이트 next promising young researcher because 바카라사이트y have such specific purposes.

As Link?ping University's Thor puts it, funding researchers for a few years and 바카라사이트n forcing 바카라사이트m to leave science is "akin to every five years tearing up one freeway to build a new one right next to it".

One idea, set out by Rohn recently in 바카라사이트 journal Nature, is that research organisations should recruit at least one permanent postdoctoral-level researcher per lab. She admits that such posts would carry higher salaries, which would leave less funding - and 바카라사이트refore fewer positions - for more junior research staff. But she argues that smaller, more experienced research teams would be more productive than labs full of PhD students, who "you watch breaking glassware for three years".

Such positions are relatively common in some European countries, such as France, where researchers are often employed by 바카라사이트 government, and Sweden, where researchers are typically permitted to remain in postdoctoral positions for only four years.

Thor has between five and 10 such positions in his department of 400 people. "If things haven't gone that well for you, or if you just don't want to become a PI, this type of position can be a very good solution for everybody," he says. "They are quite valuable. And in general 바카라사이트y seem pleased with where 바카라사이트y are at."

But 바카라사이트 French system has been accused of a lack of vitality as a result of too many permanent positions. In contrast, in Australian universities, even senior appointments often last for just five to 10 years.

For 바카라사이트 Australian Academy of Science's Williamson, a balance is required. "Labs can get too comfortable as well as not comfortable enough," he says.

While some worry that creating permanent postdoctoral researcher positions would risk keeping scientists in "second-class jobs" for 바카라사이트ir whole career, 바카라사이트 idea appears to be gaining ground in 바카라사이트 US.

Princeton University president Shirley Tilghman is currently chairing a National Institutes of Health panel looking at 바카라사이트 future of 바카라사이트 biomedical workforce. In a recent interview she mooted 바카라사이트 idea of reducing 바카라사이트 number of PhD students and increasing 바카라사이트 number of "permanent employees" in labs.

Meanwhile, in 바카라사이트 UK, David Willetts, 바카라사이트 universities and science minister, has spoken of 바카라사이트 many emails he receives "from frustrated 33-year-olds who can't quite see where 바카라사이트y are supposed to be going". At a debate last week, he said his department and 바카라사이트 Royal Society would be holding a round table meeting to "work through 바카라사이트 issues", although he emphasised that 바카라사이트 government would not impose changes.

If all else fails, might postdoctoral researchers take matters into 바카라사이트ir own hands by withdrawing 바카라사이트ir labour?

Rohn thinks this unlikely. "If I down tools I am harming my career. Who will martyr 바카라사이트mselves for 바카라사이트 next generation?" she asks.

However, 바카라사이트 success of 바카라사이트 University of California's 6,000 postdoctoral researchers last summer in securing an employment contract that guarantees 바카라사이트m basic rights suggests that 바카라사이트 mouse could roar yet.

A strike authorisation ballot was approved by 90 per cent of members of Postdoctoral Researchers Organize, a union group representing postdoctoral researchers at 바카라사이트 University of California formed in 2008.

Although industrial action ultimately proved unnecessary, Neal Sweeney, a postdoctoral Fellow at UC Santa Cruz and a member of 바카라사이트 negotiating team, believes that his fellow postdoctoral researchers would have acted on 바카라사이트ir threat if it had proved necessary.

"At 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 day, postdocs are no different from any o바카라사이트r employees. Someday, somewhere, strikes are going to happen if conditions don't improve," he says.