BRITAIN: A British molecular biologist is giving up his academic career to retrain as a plumber... and double his salary.
Dr Karl Gensberg said he hoped to double his £23,000 (€34,000) annual salary by leaving his post at Birmingham University, following a 13-year career in research.
The academic, from Streetly, West Midlands, decided to take up a new trade after a conversation with a tradesman.
The father-of-one told The Birmingham Post: "The plumber said he assumed I had loads of money because I had a PhD. I happened to have my pay slip to hand, so I showed it to him and he was absolutely gobsmacked.
He said he earned £33,000 and some of his colleagues took home £50,000.
"I just thought what am I doing? My work is a combination of zero career structure, contractual abuse and pathetic pay, which is a pretty poor package.
"Even if I make the same amount as I do now, at least I won't need to be worried about what will happen to me when my short-term contract ends."
A university spokeswoman said: "Dr Gensberg is employed on a fixed-term contract, which will end shortly and, therefore, the university has been seeking to redeploy him.
"He has been given time off and flexibility in his working hours to pursue another career."