This is the first diary I've ever written on request; it was a diary to give some idea of why us young scientists, those few Americans among us that have stood by the profession for as long as we have, are fools. Brainy fools, but still fools, goes the conventional wisdom.
But those of us who have stuck it out, love what we do. I certainly do. Being a lab rat has been in my blood since childhood, and certainly since my young adult days of Christmas Counts and Breeding Bird Atlases.
There's a little research in it, a few links to folks better then I, but for the most part, it is anecdotal; most of what you will find about the science labor market is indeed anecdotal. I choose to center where I currently am; the postdoctoral world. Graduate school is a whole separate ball of wax (and deserves a journal of it's own).
Follow me below the cut for some facts, figures, links, and scuttlebutt from within the National Institutes of Health, of the uncertain future us young scientists are facing.
Read More