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I was wondering what is the salary range for a Post Doc in France (Engineering - Ecole des Mines)?

In the UK the range is £31K - 38K and I'm already midway in the range. I'm considering moving to France for an interesting Post Doc and I was wondering how much of a salary I can negotiate.

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    what do they advertise?
    – Solar Mike
    Dec 13, 2017 at 21:39
  • from 2100 Euros per month but not the range. I don't want to negotiate until I have a solid offer but I need to know whats the range so I can make a reasonable demand based on my current salary grade. I know I need to take a pay cut in France but I'd like to minimise it.
    – Saeid Alami
    Dec 13, 2017 at 21:43
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    You need to compare the tax situations, insurances etc as well - it's not just the total paid...
    – Solar Mike
    Dec 13, 2017 at 21:46
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    I doubt it will be more than 2300 per month net (times 12). Cost of living in Paris can be very high.
    – PsySp
    Dec 13, 2017 at 22:30
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    Be careful of what kind of salary you're talking about and reading about – in France, the difference between gross salary (before social security deductions) and net salary (what will end up in your bank account) can be as high as 2x.
    – user9646
    Dec 14, 2017 at 9:24

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I did two post-doc in France, both paid by public institutions.

  • In 2013, CNRS paid 2.022€ net per month,
  • In 2014, INRIA paid 2.120€ net per month.

This included social security, but I had to pay some taxes at the end of the year (so beware and save!).

I also had access to various benefits, both from my employer, e.g.,

  • re-allocation funds,
  • contributing to the cost of my commuting (this is a legal obligation, and they will happily comply),
  • financial help to pay a nurse for my kid

and from the state.

Those offers were "forfait" and not negotiable. Most of the public employers will be happy to provide you with additional information about the various benefits you can access to, and to discuss the cost of living, but they have absolutely no room to discuss your salary.

If you look at the INRIA's webpage, they explicitly give the salary for a post-doc with them: there won't be no exception, everyone gets the same salary, no matter the town, subject, experience, qualification, PI, etc.

I don't know precisely the situation at L'école des Mines, but I would be surprised if the situation was much different. This page reads

Pour ses actions de recherche et afin de conforter les liens très forts qu’elle entretient avec les entreprises françaises et étrangères, l’École recrute également de jeunes scientifiques, titulaires d’un doctorat ou d’un diplôme équivalent,

  • sur contrat à durée déterminée, éventuellement renouvelable
  • leur assure une rémunération brute mensuelle allant de 2 340 € à 2 944 €.(chiffre 2007)
  • leur permet d’acquérir au sein de ses laboratoires de l’École une expérience complémentaire de très haut niveau dans les métiers de la recherche

So, in 2007, the salary range for a post doc was between 2.340€ and 2.944€ but I would assume that on what ends of that spectrum you land depends on your age, experience, social status, and not on negotiation. I could be wrong: the better way to get a definitive answer is to ask them!

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    it is also crucial to note that this salary is paid 12 times/year. In other countries (NL, Austria for example) it is paid 14 times. The commute cost is not paid in full (in paris I was paid only 40%)
    – PsySp
    Dec 14, 2017 at 7:15
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    Yes. Employment in France, especially public employment, is very very regulated in terms of salary, with fixed rates that are calculated based on specific factors such as what degree you hold and how long you have been in the job. (I remember getting an automatic raise for completing my B.Sc.) I wouldn't expect there to be any room for negotiating at all.
    – nengel
    Dec 14, 2017 at 8:33
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    Note that you can use this simulator for how much taxes you are going to pay. It's in French, but the tax administration is only going to communicate with you in French, so you better get used to it... Indicatively, in 2017 a net salary of 2100€/mo gives a yearly tax amount of 1816€, for a single person with no kids with no other revenue and no applicable deductions. Of course this can vary a lot depending on your precise situation.
    – user9646
    Dec 14, 2017 at 9:25
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    @NajibIdrissi Also, the Taxe d'Habitation should be included in that. Most landlords ask the tennat to pay for it. It can be quite high.
    – PsySp
    Dec 14, 2017 at 9:45
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    @SaeidAlami Health insurance and pension savings are automatically already deducted from your paycheck (when you are given the "net" salary, it's taken into account). However you will probably also need to take out mutual insurance, which is in addition to the national basic health insurance and has greater coverage and more reimbursement. It's not extremely expensive though (at the most, 500€/year given your postdoc salary I think, paid out monthly usually).
    – user9646
    Dec 14, 2017 at 16:29

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