The following discussion is designed to provide advance information to scientists considering a post doc position at Stanford. During the interview process, many prospective post docs are not told about all aspects of post doctoral life at Stanford, and some may feel uncomfortable asking. We provide the following first-hand information with the sole intent of assisting others in making their decision and to avoid unpleasant surprises upon arrival. While some of the following content is subjective, the majority is a factual account of the current conditions at Stanford. This said, the Bay Area is a wonderful place to live, and Stanford is a great institution. The popularity of both are in part responsible for the numerous positive and negative aspects of the postdoctoral experience here.

The Bay area has a great deal to offer. Downtown San Francisco is about as cosmopolitan as it gets with wonderful museums, restaurants, clubs, theatre, arts, and more. We live just minutes from the ocean and a few hours from the Sierras, wine country, Yosemite, and Lake Tahoe. And the weather is spectacular year round! Not surprisingly, other folks have figured all this out too. So yes, it can be crowded, but there are a few other things to note:

• Cost of Living - it costs alot to live here!!! Everything from gasoline to food is more expensive here than what you may be used to from other parts of the country.
• Housing - a strong economy and the rapid growth of Silicon Valley have created a great demand for a limited number of properties. As a result, houses are extremely expensive to buy and rents are high as well. Although your new post doctoral salary looks great compared with what you made during graduate school, be forewarned that much of it will go towards housing since we live in the second most expensive rental housing market in the nation. In fact, our recent survey reports that Stanford post docs pay an average of 30% of their after-tax salary on housing.
• Childcare - the huge number of young professionals living in this area have overwhelmed the local childcare facilities, considerably driving up the cost and decreasing availability. It can be extremely difficult to find daycare, with waiting lists of several years not uncommon. Stanford currently provides no childcare subsidy or preference for post docs in its campus daycare facility.

Stanford is a very prestigious university. Some of the best scientists in the world have trained here as post docs and many still continue to work here as members of the faculty. We are responsible for providing Stanford with a steady source of income in the form of grant money, and contribute greatly to the University's endowment, making Stanford the second richest school in the United States. The University has recently begun to better recognize our contributions, and our pay and benefits have improved.

• Salary - Minimums are set and enforced based on NIH guidelines
• Benefits - Benefits include Health, Dental and Disability.
• Student Status- Stanford postdoctoral fellows are officially classified as "non-matriculated graduate students", this means we can receive student rates for many activities from sporting events to music/drama performances.