[infinite8s]

That's true, although the average age for a scientist to land a tenure track position is in their late 30s, after several postdocs (where you are barely paid more than a graduate student). Ican't find the citation at the moment, but I believe it came from the NIH.

[hugh3]

Postdocs nowadays tend to make something on the order of $50K (as compared to maybe $25K for a grad student). It's not big face money, but it's a big step up from grad student life.