Theoretical Background: Uncertainty with respect to professional prospects, a challenging work-life-balance and health problems as well as moderate to high work satisfaction are associated with being a young scientist. This paper aims to investigate the working conditions, job satisfaction, and strain of early stage researchers working in the field of psychology in Austria. To date, no systematic investigations have examined the working situations of these individuals.Methods: A total of 97 early stage researchers – 64 praedocs (66% female; M Age = 29.84 years, SD Age = 4.00 years), and 33 postdocs (55% female, M Age = 33.39 years, SD Age = 3.41 years) – participated in an online survey.Results: The results reveal that both groups report highly demanding working conditions (e.g. uncertain career paths due to temporary work contracts, high number of additional hours of work done outside the contractual work hours), moderate to high levels of work satisfaction and moderate to low strain.Conclusion: A considerable number of potential areas for improvement become apparent. However, due to the small sample size, the representativeness as well as generalizability of the results are limited. Based on the results of this survey, possible measures to improve the current situation are presented. This article provides guidance for potential future early stage researchers.
