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SCIENCE JOBS JUST DON'T PAY WELL...''Why the pace has to pick up'' (Cover Story, Aug. 24-31) points out that not enough American students choose careers in scientific research, thereby necessitating the importation of foreign talent. It has been suggested that more money be given to research funding and to grants and fellowships to graduate students. This misses the point. A prospective researcher must spend four years on an undergraduate degree, followed by four or five years of postgraduate education, followed by two or more years as a postdoctoral research fellow just to have a chance at obtaining a position in academia or government research. If one is lucky enough to obtain an assistant professorship, then one has another six years to prove oneself worthy of tenure. But if unsuccessful, then one's career is essentially on the scrap heap. There is, however, a more serious reason for avoiding science: It simply is not respected in North America. One can expect to live in poverty during one's graduate and postdoctoral years, just when most people are starting a family. Your neighbors, be they plumbers or janitors, make more money than you do. Even if you do reach the ranks of full-time employment, typical salaries are a fraction of what medicine, law, or commerce pay. Sure, the work is fascinating, but try to explain that to your wife. I now work in France. I earn the same as I did in North America--but that is more than most lawyers, accountants, and even doctors over here. I feel good about myself. I am in a privileged profession. Each year, my department hires four or five new scientists, who will have lifetime jobs from the word go.
James Mitchell
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Updated Sept. 10, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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