Giulio Formenti, 36 years old, in 2017 was on the front line in a historic battle: to enhance the doctorate in Italy, starting from the compensation, which at the time amounted to a thousand euros. Today he works as researcher in New York.
Why?
“In 2019 I completed my doctorate at the University. My wife is also a researcher and had no intention of staying in Italy. She wanted to return to the United States. We got married there, during Covid. I looked around too. I’m here for 5 years and now, after the post-doc, I have a position that is the equivalent of a fixed-term researcher, I am Research Assistant Professor. I don’t have a “permanent position”, but I am co-director of a laboratory at Rockefeller University, a ‘very prestigious biomedical institution. I deal with genomics and data analysis.
Compared to the Italian system, what are the most obvious differences?
“First: you don’t have to hold public competitions, but whoever hires you, based on your skills, takes on a great responsibility. He is liable if you are not good enough. In Italy there are more Byzantine procedures and the competitions are not always transparent. The American system It is based on individual responsibility.”
Salaries?
“The topic of salaries is related and the difference is enormous, not only in research. I am the coordinator of the New York chapter of Airi, the association of Italian researchers abroad. We have more than 500 members in New York and we proposed a survey in all the United States to which 750 responded. Among the questions there was always the same: under what conditions would you return to Italy? The majority expects a salary of more than 100 thousand euros, proportionate to their skills. Of course, everything is parameterized prices of living, rents: New York is not the easiest place to start a family, but I don’t think that in Milan we are very well placed on these issues.”
Approximately how much is the salary of someone starting the post-doctoral phase?
“Around 65-70 thousand dollars a year. In Italy it reaches 2,300, but it is very rare, the average is around 1,600 euros a month. But then the system is more individual, there is no ministerial table: you can stay nailed to the post or earn more. Sometimes it is more meritocratic, other times less fair: you can do the same job as your colleague but get more or less. Everything is private tax”.
Are there any other benefits for researchers?
“You pay for the house but at half the market price, for nurseries you have a 30-50% discount.”
I ask you the fateful question too: would you return to Italy?
“I am maintaining relations with Italy, also because I believe that international experiences can enrich the university. I think that a system that could encourage the exchange and ultimately the return of human capital and skills is that of double affiliation. It is difficult for everyone to return, knowing that you have to cut your salary by two thirds without knowing if it is worth it. There are tax incentives for returning, but they have flaws. It is better to attract with scholarships than with tax exemptions: it is better to be paid more and pay more taxes And there is concern for the post-PNRR period: the investment was great, now we need to make sure it lasts. Many researchers have been recruited for a limited period in an academic and industrial system that is not particularly receptive will it be theirs? If no other resources arrive and no real investment is made in research, it will be like rain on the asphalt.”
