Norway stands out as an exceptional destination for PhD students and Postdocs, offering highly competitive salaries. In this comprehensive guide, the Fastepo team presents a detailed breakdown of the Postdoc and PhD salaries in Norway, encompassing both before-tax and after-tax earnings.

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PhD and Postdoc Salary in Norway

In Norway similar to Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Netherlands,  Ireland, France, and the UK, PhD students and postdocs are employed by the universities on a fixed-term contract.

Salaries are determined based on the collective agreement for academic staff employed by the State Sector. Your salary scale as a PhD student or Postdoc may also take into account your previous academic experiences. It’s worth noting that the typical duration of a PhD program in Norway is around 4 years, while postdoc fellowships span approximately 3 years, although these timelines are not rigidly fixed.

Before-tax Salary of Academics in Norway

PhD students in Norway can expect gross annual salaries ranging from 479,600 to 523,200 Norwegian Krone. Notably, Postdocs in Norway receive higher compensation than PhD students, with gross annual salaries ranging from 523,200 to 605,500 Norwegian Krone.

Postdoctoral Fellows’ salaries are categorized under wage code 1352, typically falling within levels 57 to 77 on the Norwegian State salary scale. A 2% deduction is made from these salaries for the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund, with the normal wage level spanning from 57 to 60.

Taxation of PhD and Postdoc Salaries in Norway

Precisely calculating tax deductions for PhD and Postdocs in Norway can be challenging due to numerous variables. However, we can provide an overview of the taxation process with some estimations.

The basic tax rate in Norway is 24% of your net income, while social security contributions amount to 8.2% of your gross income. In essence, this means that you will contribute more than 30% of your gross income to the state in the form of taxes and social security contributions. It’s important to note that deductions may be available for married individuals or foreigners residing in Norway for short durations.

Fully Funded PhD and Postdoc Positions in Norway

For those seeking fully funded PhD and Postdoc positions in Norway, Fastepo has you covered. Explore our listings for:

To put the earnings into perspective, let’s consider an example. If you earn 450,000 NOK annually as a PhD student, your monthly take-home pay will be approximately 26,000 NOK. For Postdocs on a pay scale of 530,000 NOK per annum, the monthly earnings would be around 31,000 NOK.

However, your salary is far less than those PhD students who are employed in ITN PhD positions or postdocs who are hired through the Marie-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Fully Funded PhD Positions with Salary

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