How Much Do PhD Students Earn? Turns Out, It’s Below Minimum Wage

Thinking of doing a PhD down the line? You may want to consider the cost of being an academic researcher.

Being a PhD student can sound alluring if you’re into studying and making exciting new discoveries.

Perhaps you’re at a crossroads after completing your undergraduate degree, or you’re still in high school and making plans for the future.

One of the questions you’ll want to ask yourself with any career is: “how much will I earn?”

Money isn’t everything, but it’s worth knowing what you’re in for. And a report by The Conversation has revealed that PhD students are kinda getting the short end of the stick when it comes to making moolah.

First things first: did you even know PhD students are paid a stipend while completing their studies? And what exactly is that?

According to Indeed, a stipend is a “fixed sum paid regularly to someone” which “offsets cost-of-living expenses, such as food and accommodation.”

This makes sense, because completing a PhD is pretty rigorous and you won’t really have time to work at Coles on the side.

For reference, a PhD student works a full-time apprenticeship in their chosen research field, with an average of 38 hours a week. That’s the same number of hours for a full time employee in Australia.

So, you’d think they’d be paid the same wages, right? Well, not really.

The living costs of PhD candidates are funded with a tax-free stipend from their university of $28,854 a year.

That’s only two-thirds of the national minimum wage, which was just increased to $42,246 after the minimum wage rise.

With an income of $554.88 a week, PhD candidates are actually living below the poverty line of $608.96 for a single person if they have to pay housing.

According to The Conversation, the PhD stipend is at a near historical low. And it’s not just Australian PhD candidates who are suffering.

Here are some PhD folks with their two cents on the matter.

The conversation about the PhD stipend is a weird one for me. As someone who never had a gross income higher than $14k (save a stint as a RA this year, and excluding studylink), $28k is insane to me! But of course, not everyone doing a PhD is in my boat.

— Sean Richards (@OrdinaryStarman) October 19, 2021

Being single and without partner as a PhD student is really not for the weak. No one to send you money, pay for things for you, split things with. So with no upward mobility and a low stipend, you just get poorer and poorer while alone. 🥲

— kyndall (@yourfriendkyn) June 23, 2022