How Much Does a Cern Scientist Earn Annually?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the annual earnings of scientists at CERN, exploring various aspects of salary, job roles, and the culture within the organization. It includes informal commentary and humor regarding the lifestyle of scientists and the nature of their work.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant inquires about the annual salary of CERN scientists.
  • Another participant humorously suggests that the appeal of working at CERN is not financial but rather the lifestyle, referencing a fictional portrayal of CERN in literature.
  • A clarification is made that the private jet reference is fictional, and salaries vary widely, with post-doctoral fellows earning around $40k per year, while professors earn more and graduate students earn less.
  • There is a question about whether salaries increase significantly with experience, to which a participant responds that they do not rise exponentially.
  • A participant notes that the allure of working with advanced technology diminishes the need for high salaries to attract talent.
  • Another participant humorously describes the dynamics of research roles, suggesting that experienced scientists may have more leisure time but also responsibilities involving mentoring students.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying views on the financial aspects of working at CERN, with some humorously downplaying the importance of salary while others provide more serious insights into the salary structure. There is no consensus on the exact earnings or the impact of experience on salary.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention a range of salaries without specifying exact figures for all roles, and there is uncertainty regarding the exact nature of compensation packages, including potential perks or benefits.

mfeneley
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Roughly how much does a Cern physicist or other scientist make each year?
 
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It's not about the money. It's about the private jets at your disposal.
 
They have a private jet?
 
Sorry. It's a reference to one of Dan Brown's books - Angels & Demons where the director of CERN had a private jet at his disposal. To the best of my knowledge this is not the case.

To be honest, I don't know too much about CERN itself. Scientists in large collaborative experiments have a range of salaries. Most of them will be post-doctoral fellows working contract positions making ballpark $40k US per year. Professors will earn more. Graduate students will earn less.
 
Thats it? Does it rise exponentially with experience?
 
I'll have to say, this thread turned out to be a very funny dialogue.
 
mfeneley said:
Thats it? Does it rise exponentially with experience?

It does not..
 
There are a lot of people who want to play with the newest and coolest toys. They don't have to offer big money to attract big talent.
 
You get to torture research students and take long golf breaks after a few decades experience. No private jet, but lots of free flights to exotic places -- you may have to give a half hour talk though, which interrupts the golf playing. Tortured research students will do the grunt work & even write the paper if you torture them enough... If you are *really* lazy, or the golf is really good, you can take a research student with you to give the talk, but that's wasting a free flight you can take later in the year... Also they get above themselves if you give them any perks...
 

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