[ylem]

I'll echo that that depends very much on funding source. For some university postdocs, it is around $35K, for NIH postdocs, it's less than $50K. Given that the typical postdoc has done a PhD for 5-7 years and many people do two postdocs, it is something to consider. For example, the typical biologist gets her first from NIH at 42....Then, there are those that don't find employment using their science skills, but percolate into other industries (consulting, finance, etc.). I think it's a great lifestyle for those that succeed, but it is extremely competitive--finding faculty positions has also gotten harder due to contracted state funding of universities...