Hacker News Reader

Comment by mnky9800n | Hacker News Reader

Incidentally if you are interested in doing a PhD the University of oslo has 64 open phd and postdoc positions currently. PhDs will get a competitive salary (typically something like 50-55k USD/year, this is much higher than anything in USA for example), free healthcare, pension, in the first year you qualify for cheap student housing if you have moved from abroad, and tbh, Norway is kind of nice to live in in my opinion as long as you pick up a winter sport and don't mind the darkness.

https://www.mn.uio.no/english/about/vacancies/index.html

View on HN

As someone who moved to Norway (not Oslo) to pursue a PhD in computer science, I highly suggest everyone who might be interested to give it a chance. High quality of life and supportive system and society. Vacancies for University of Bergen: https://www.uib.no/en/about/84777/vacant-positions-uib.

> University of Bergen

Don't forget to bring your rain gear!

> don't mind the darkness

This was weirdly exciting and depressing at the same time :)

What are the chances in trying to go for a non-STEM Masters/PhD (or higher studies in general) in Norway (or one of "those" countries) after studying E for UG and then working in E for more than a decade (in the third world) and having no other experience at all? Or anywhere for that matter? Is there a way to go about it? (Now, this might sound entitled, and I apologise if it does, but without having to pay (at least) tuition for that higher education)

> This was weirdly exciting and depressing at the same time :)

And, depending on how far north you go, should be taken seriously. In Iceland, out of my exchange students cohort of ~10, once the winter hit, one had to escape home and two were hospitalised after too much drinking. It can be a really tough experience, especially when you don't have close friends/family to contact and lose track of time.

Yeah, not all humans do well in the dark. I wonder if this happens for some of the submariners ? Maybe on boomers (the nuclear powered missile submarines) since those spend a very large proportion of each mission underwater ?

I expect I'd be fine with this because I don't normally interact much with sunlight, the windows in my home have the blinds down 24/7, etc. But you can't really tell for sure without trying it.

I think that there is some options at University of Oslo for example. I work in geophysics and ML, so I don't know so much. But at some point I entertained the idea of doing a PhD in science fiction which is an option at UiO. There is also a large linguistics department and social sciences faculty as well as two centers for education research.. I imagine there are many options, but I think it is hard for me to know since I don't do that kind of work.

Unless someone really want to become a postdoc or tenured PI similar to the calling of a teacher, it's really difficult to justify the lower opportunity (time and money) cost of a Masters' or PhD in the US in tech, for example. After just a few years, one can make 250k USD/yr sometimes without even a 4-year degree in CompSci or related STEM field. I honestly feel dumb for pursuing the equivalent of a reputable BS EE/CS when I could've been making 400k/yr in dotcom times.

More power to pure academics who don't pursue money or fame, and instead make an impact.

I am more motivated to find jobs that let me think my thoughts than jobs that maximise my income. People often say well but if you make a lot then you can pay for this. I have found that those that make a lot never find the time to pay for it.

> pension

Not sure that is a perk. In EU (not sure about this exact offer in Norway) to get ANY money out of pension, you have to work like 30 years at the very same country (not EU). But it is mandatory social insurance (tax) of 10% to 40% of your income.

> In EU to get ANY money out of pension, you have to work like 30 years at the very same country (not EU).

Quite far from the truth.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/retire-abroad/sta...

Eligibility periods

In some EU countries, you must have worked for a minimum period of time to be entitled to a pension.

In such cases, the pension authority has to take into account all the periods you've worked in other EU countries, as if you'd been working in that country all along, to assess whether you're entitled to a pension (principle of aggregation of periods).

How your pension is calculated

Pension authorities in each EU country you've worked in will look at the contributions you've paid into their system, how much you've paid in other countries, and for how long you've worked in different countries.

In reality the system is already breaking down bc so few people pay into the pension system for so many old pensioners. Idk about Norway tbh - they seem to have a much more solid social system - but in Germany I don’t expect anything from the pension system in 2060+

Norway has an insane sovereign wealth fund worth 3x GDP that they can only withdraw 3% from per year and that oil sales go into (as they’re basically self sufficient on hydroelectricity), they own 1.5% of all global equities. Their pension system is probably the strongest in the world.

Norway’s pension is backed by $1.74T in sovereign wealth funds [1]. I doubt they’ll have the same issues as Germany.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Pension_Fund_of_Nor...

That’s nice if you’re Norwegian I guess

> to assess whether you're entitled to a pension

But that is what I am talking about! Maybe you get something, maybe not! And nobody knows if Norway will be in EU in 30 years from now!

This is not a stake where you get 10% share of your pension, for working there 3 years (10% of 30 years), but very vague promise.

> all the periods you've worked in other EU countries

What if I worked OUTSIDE of EU? I worked 15 years in Norway, than moved back to US.... Now I am freeloader and get NOTHING!!!

> But that is what I am talking about! Maybe you get something, maybe not!

You wrote that in the European Union (nothing to do with Norway) you don’t get ANY (your uppercase) money if you don’t work « like 30 years » at the « very same » country. If you don’t stand by what your wrote so much better because it was false.

blablabla, I know PhD from Asia, who worked in Norway for 5 years. Their take is any money they get from pension is a bonus. They may get lucky to break even, without counting 24 years of inflation!

> Now I am freeloader and get NOTHING!!!

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/freeload...

a person who uses money, food, a room in a house, etc. given by other people, but who gives nothing to them in exchange

Yes, and because you only worked there 15 years, you did nothing and are freeloader!

Read laws, locals who only worked 15 years are also not entitled!

> Yes, and because you only worked there 15 years, you did nothing and are « a person who uses money, food, a room in a house, etc. given by other people, but who gives nothing to them in exchange »!

Ok then.

> But that is what I am talking about! Maybe you get something, maybe not! And nobody knows if Norway will be in EU in 30 years from now!

I don't know the specific case of the US and Norway, but some EU countries have extra bilateral agreements with non-EU countries. Italy for example has agreements with countries all around the world (among them the U.S.).

If you are worried that you may not get your money in 30 years, other agreements give the person going back to his home country the right to get back the money that he gave to the pension fund (this include the U.S.).

Now, this depends on the country, but I wouldn't discount the destination without checking first.

> If you are worried ... other agreements

I am not worried. I am saying there is no contract that says you get X in N years! Maybe that maybe something, but it is very vague promise.

You mean similar to social security in the US ? Where you only can get anything out of it if you have enough credits?

In fact it is similar in many countries (i.e. UK) where there is a minimum period required to get anything

In the U.S. you only need 40 credits (10 years) to get anything out of it. Less if you collect early due to disability. Not sure how similar this is to any of the EU pension schemes being discussed.

> (typically something like 50-55k USD/year, this is much higher than anything in USA for example),

This is not my experience (close friend in a flyover state makes 55k), so I googled and found this website: https://postdocsalaries.com/results

55k looks to be well within the normal range of American postdoc salaries.

The 50-55k range is for PhD students, not postdocs. PhDs in Europe often get a much higher pay than in America.

You've looked at postdoc salaries, not PhD salaries. very different. For example in the UK a PhD will get somewhere aroun £19-21k a year, whilst a postdoc will get anywhere from £37-45k a year......

Thanks for the correction, posting too early in the morning. :)

My wife earned that as a postdoc at Stanford, but as a PhD in Oxford earned £14k per year. $55k as a PhD is really really good.

I assume having to learn Norwegian is a small issue?

Norwegians love to speak English.

There are no language requirements to be a phd or postdoc at the university of oslo except in the cases where you may need to speak a scandinavian language to study it such as if you are working at the center for nordic linguistics. So no, you do not need to consider this an issue at all.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com