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Tingley is one of many young scientists who are deeply frustrated with life in research. In September, Nature put a post on Facebook asking scientists who were starting their first independent position to tell us about the challenges that they faced. What followed was a major outpouring of grief. Within a week, nearly 300 scientists from around the world had responded with a candid catalogue of concerns. "I see many colleagues divorcing, getting burnt out, moving out of science, and I am so tired now," wrote one biomedical researcher from Belgium (see 'Suffering in science'). Nature selected three young investigators who voiced the most common frustrations; here, we tell their stories.
But are young scientists whining — or drowning? Our interviewees acknowledge that they are extremely fortunate to have an opportunity to direct their own creative, stimulating careers, and they are hardly the only professionals who are expected to work hard. It's easy for each generation to imagine that things are more difficult for them than they were in the past.
But some data and anecdotal evidence suggest that scientists do face more hurdles in starting research groups now than did many of their senior colleagues 20–30 years ago. Chief among those challenges is the unprecedented number competing for funding pools that have remained stagnant or shrunk in the past decade. "The number of people is at an all-time high, but the number of awards hasn't changed," says Jon Lorsch, director of the US National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) in Bethesda, Maryland. "A lot of people with influence on the system recognize this is a serious problem and are trying to fix it."
It seems we can spend trillions of dollars on wars, or on science, but not both.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday October 27 2016, @11:32PM
I've spoken to a Japanese post-doc applying for faculty positions in the US and he said that, even though it is incredibly competitive in the US, there is at least a chance at a future as an independent scientist.
In Japan, he says, seniority is the most important thing and that junior and more senior professors are still micro-managed by the most senior scientist and that the hierarchy only changes when someone retires or dies.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 28 2016, @12:27AM
Japanese Scientists need to read the entire story archive of BOFH. Then combine it with any number of snuff/horror movie plots from Japan, and their opportunities to rise will increase! At the very least, they might be able to place a boss with seniority who will understand that autonomy will be best for everyone, especially his personal health and sanity :)
(Score: -1, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday October 28 2016, @01:03AM
If your Japanese post-doc can speak English without sounding like s/he has 10 dicks in his/her mouth, then they already have a significant advantage.
Even with advanced degrees, here in America FOB-speakers are relegated to the bowels of process engineering trying to figure out what a "GPIB" is for the first 3 months of their careers. The mistake the H1-B sponsors make is that a foreign Ph.D knows more than an uneducated citizen with 15 years experience who could be trained for the job in weeks, and they waste money appropriately.
It's why courses in English, geared specifically towards Asians, are offered here. It's kind of like the trick the Indians use - put a marble under your tongue to sound more Anglo.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 28 2016, @01:15AM
The post-doc could speak fine, but he has been a post-doc in the US for almost 12 years.