While the income-earning side of the equation for postdocs is low, keeping the outgoing expenses equally low should be the primary concern at this stage in a career.

Across the Tasman Sea, Australia deals with the unjustified dismissal paradox by excluding employees earning above a specified "high-income threshold" from the protection of its unfair dismissal laws.

Growing income inequality has coincided with the increasing importance of a college degree for earning a middle-class wage.