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As young researchers, we believe that high-quality public and higher education, research, development and innovation are key to our country’s growth. However, our experience shows that the situation of the young researchers’ community and the next generation of scientists in Hungary is desperate. Low basic salaries and the precariousness of supplementary incomes [1] on the one hand, discourage talented youth from embarking on a career in research, and on the other, many young researchers who are currently active in the field leave the academic and research career paths for reasons of livelihood. The missing volume of researchers cannot be quickly and easily replaced later on because of the 5-10 year time span required to become a researcher, which is likely to put Hungary at a disadvantage for several decades in the very near future.

The flagship strategic action plan of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation, the John von Neumann Programme announced in 2023, has as one of its objectives to increase the number of students pursuing doctoral studies and the number of research and development staff per million inhabitants from 6 273 to 9 000. We believe that these objectives are also of paramount importance, but to achieve them we need to ensure the following:

• that current professors and researchers do not leave Hungary or give up their academic career;
• that the most excellent students enter the doctoral programmes, receive their doctoral degrees and find employment in the R+D+I sector;
• that starting a doctoral programme is a valid alternative compared to finding a job in the labour market, in order to ensure an increase in the number of researchers.

Of the many problems [1] facing young researchers, the high inflationary environment of recent years has made the abysmally low basic salaries the most critical, which do not even allow for sustaining oneself. Ad hoc salary increases in the higher education sector have lagged far behind increases in overall wage levels and the rising cost of living. To illustrate the situation:

• the stipendium of doctoral students provided by the state (at the beginning, HUF 140 000 net,  rising to HUF 180 000 later on) is significantly lower than the minimum wage stipulated by law (HUF 266 800 gross, which is HUF 217 442 net, also taking into consideration the personal income tax benefit for those below the age of 25);
• the basic salary for beginner professors, researchers, assistant lecturers and assistant research fellows a kezdő oktató-kutató, tanársegéd vagy tudományos segédmunkatárs alapbére (HUF 293 278 gross) has to be supplemented so that it would reach the amount of the minimum guaranteed salaries for secondary-level qualifications (HUF 326 000 gross), whereas these positions require a university (master) level qualification, doctoral studies, hence at least 4-5 years of professional experience;
• the basic salaries of senior lecturers holding a PhD (HUF 366 600 gross) lag far behind Hungarian average salaries (HUF 554 049 gross based on the data of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office);
• the situation is similar in the case of researcher positions as well, in certain HUN-REN institutions, for instance, the basic salary for research fellows (the approximate equivalent of senior lecturers) is HUF 370 000 gross.

The above amounts are the statutory minimum for state-maintained higher education institutions, which already include the 15+15% salary increase that may be handed out by the employers at their own discretion according to a new measure introduced from 2021/2022. Although these amounts can be increased at the discretion of the institutions, even that does not represent a significant payrise (for example, at ELTE, the basic salary for assistant lecturers is HUF 380 000 gross, while it is HUF 420 000 gross for senior lecturers). Institutions run by public trusts are not covered by the public sector pay scale, but the available data and the informal survey carried out by the Hungarian Young Academy suggest that there is no evidence that basic salaries would have generally increased. In fact, low basic salaries are also common in higher positions, but it is young researchers who are the worst affected by financial hardship.

Providing the extra funding needed to settle basic salaries would be essential for several reasons. Although the actual income of individual researchers is in many cases higher than their basic salaries, a mere examination of sectoral or institutional averages can be misleading and gives a more favourable picture than reality, for the following reasons:

• The distribution of income is not even, even within a specific institution or faculty [2]. In many places, the total income of young researchers is at or close to the basic salary. At the same time, young researchers play a significant role in carrying out the basic duties of the given institution: they teach subjects, consult students, and perform administrative tasks to support teaching in more hours than their older colleagues, often sacrificing their evenings or weekends.
• Researchers are forced to supplement their income through grants, project activities or part-time work [3]. However, even among those who apply for grants, only a small proportion (in many cases only 20-25% of applicants) are successful, i.e. an even smaller slice of the overall young researcher population. In addition, these are fixed-term supplementary incomes, at the expiry of which even the most outstanding researchers may have to return to their basic salary unless they manage to secure another grant in the meantime.
• Low basic salaries, which do not escape the attention of those outside the institutions, either, have made teaching and research careers less prestigious, leaving many talented university students reluctant to embark on doctoral studies. Some scholarships promise higher incomes than public grants, but if the chances of winning them are uncertain and only a fraction of doctoral students can profit from them, they cannot be expected to increase the number of people entering doctoral training.

All these factors keep young researchers in a continuous state of (existential) uncertainty, which makes it impossible for them to work in a relaxed, predictable and performance-oriented way as teachers and researchers. Moreover, supplementary income typically entails a significant administrative burden, as well as overtime and stress, which tends to lead to burnout and/or quitting academic careers. At the same time, many segments of the labour market offer much higher incomes with more predictable working conditions and a better work-life balance.

Due to the above reasons, the situation of young researchers working in higher education and research institutions has reached a critical point. Without immediate intervention, the training of professionals with high added-value expertise, the supply of talented young scientists and outstanding research, development and innovation activities may become impossible in the long term in Hungary.

Therefore, we call on policy makers to consider the above and to provide additional resources to increase basic salaries across the whole higher education and research sector, with a particular focus on young researchers. In our view, this would contribute significantly to ensuring a predictable career path for the young Hungarian research community, and would also serve the medium and long-term interests of the national economy.

We will simultaneously send our petition to the competent officials of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation as well as of the Prime Minister’s Office.

With this declaration, we also express our solidarity with the several thousands of employees of universities and research institutes who have put forth their financial requests in an open letter.

Budapest, 15 April 2024

Signatories:

1. Abonyi, András
2. Alpár, Donát
3. Bagoly, Zsuzsa
4. Bálint, Erika
5. Balla, Esztella
6. Beke-Somfai, Tamás
7. Csongrádi, Gyöngyi
8. Csuka, Dorottya
9. Dékány, Éva
10. Dömötör, Orsolya
11. Ercsey-Ravasz, Maria-Magdolna
12. Fekete, Zoltán
13. Fröhlich, Georgina
14. Gazdag-Tóth, Boglárka
15. Gselmann, Eszter
16. Haranginé Lukács, Réka
17. Hartmann, Bálint
18. Hatvani, István Gábor
19. Horváti, Kata
20. Hungler, Sára
21. Kecskés, Gábor
22. Kelemen, Zsolt
23. Kerepesi, Csaba
24. Kóspál, Ágnes
25. Kovács, Karolina Eszter
26. Kun, Bernadette
27. Lázár, Zsófia
28. Lencsés, Ákos
29. Lendvai, László
30. Lengyel, Balázs
31. Lipták, Katalin
32. Máté, Ágnes
33. Mátyás-Rausch, Petra
34. Micskei, Zoltán
35. Mohr, Emőke
36. Ördögné Kolbert, Zsuzsanna
37. Pach, Péter Pál
38. Pircs, Karolina
39. Poór, Péter
40. Sik, Domonkos
41. Sódorné Bognár, Zsófia
42. Szalma, Ivett
43. Szentgáli-Tóth, Boldizsár
44. Szilágyi, Adrienn
45. Toldy, Andrea
46. Tóth, György
47. Veszelka, Szilvia
48. Wilhelm, Imola
49. Zsidó, András Norbert

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[1] Németh, B ; Munkácsy B ; Vida ZsV ; Fröhlich G ; Hatvani, IG ; Tóth, Gy ; Solymosi K. ; Máté Á ; Lőrincz L ; Lengyel B. A fiatalok helyzete az akadémiai pályán. Kutatási jelentés. 2022. ISBN: 978-615-6448-18-7, DOI: https://doi.org/10.36820/fka.2022

[2] Németh, B ; Munkácsy, B ; Vida, ZsV ; Fröhlich, G ; Hatvani, IG ; Tóth, Gy ; Solymosi, K ; Máté, Á ; Lőrincz, L ; Lengyel, B. Egyenlőtlenségek a magyarországi fiatal kutatók között: tanulságok a Fiatal Kutatók Akadémiájának 2021-es felméréséből. MAGYAR TUDOMÁNY 184:12 pp. 1529-1543. (2023)

[3] Hartmann, B ; Bálint, E ; Kovács, KE ; Lipták, K ; Máté, Á ; Wilhelm, I ; Zsidó, NA. Az ösztöndíjak és támogatások szerepe a fiatal kutatói életpálya során. MAGYAR TUDOMÁNY 184: 12 pp. 1566-1574.(2023)