Emma Pewsey

@emmapewsey.bsky.social

261 Followers 260 Following

Comment and careers editor for Chemistry World. Professional words person, very amateur drawing person

Valeria Nicolosi, Jean-Pierre Sauvage and Ben Feringa sat on stage in front of a blue screen saying Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings
The front cover of the June 2025 issue of Chemistry World on a wooden table. The cover picture is an illustration showing a busy medical waiting room filled with different women. I'm drawn on the bottom right wearing a red top and black skirt, reading a copy of a previous issue of Chemistry World
Minimum wage increased approximately linearly between its introduction in 1999 and April 2022, from an equivalent salary of around £6400 to £16,200. Until October 2002, minimum PhD stipend levels were slightly higher than minimum wage. A sharp increase in stipend levels then occurred between October 2002 and October 2005. Since then PhD stipends have continued to increase, though to a lesser extent than minimum wage. By April 2019, minimum wage and minimum PhD stipends were once again about equivalent; as of April 2022, the salary of someone working full-time on minimum wage increased above the value of the PhD stipend minimum. A 13% increase in October 2022 brought stipends above minimum wage again, but this lasted only until April 2023. The planned increase in stipend for October 2025 will leave PhD students earning around £100 more a year than if they were on minimum wage