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More Engineers and Scientists Needed? Or Not?
 Michelle wanted to be a brain scientist to help cure diseases. She planned a traditional academic science career: PhD, university professorship and, eventually, her own lab. But three years after earning a doctorate in neuroscience, she gave up trying to find a permanent job in her field.Dropping her dream, she took an administrative position at her university, experiencing firsthand an economic reality that, at first look I wondered if she had a PhD from Toejam Tech, so I went looking and found her profile. Looked pretty good to me, until I got to this - "Last year, I was "The Flood" in UAB's production of "The Vagina Monologues." That reality runs counter to messages sent by President Obama and the National Science Foundation and other influential groups, who in recent years have called for U.S. universities to churn out more scientists. Obama has made science education a priority, launching a White House science fair to get young people interested in the field. But it's questionable whether those youths will be able to find work when they get a PhD. Maybe we need worker bee engineers, not PhDs. Although jobs in some high-tech areas, especially computer and petroleum engineering, seem to be booming, the market is much tighter for lab-bound scientists -- those seeking new discoveries in biology, chemistry and medicine. "There have been many predictions of [science] labor shortages and . . . robust job growth," said Jim Austin, editor of the online magazine ScienceCareers. "And yet, it seems awfully hard for people to find a job. Anyone who goes into science expecting employers to clamor for their services will be deeply disappointed." If you are over-educated and played a part in "The Vagina Monologues". But now we get to the heart of Michelle's problem - The pharmaceutical industry once was a haven for biologists and chemists who did not go into academia. Well-paying, stable research jobs were plentiful in the Northeast, the San Francisco Bay area and other hubs. But a decade of slash-and-burn mergers; stagnating profit; exporting of jobs to India, China and Europe; and declining investment in research and development have dramatically shrunk the U.S. drug industry, with research positions taking heavy hits. Since 2000, U.S. drug firms have slashed 300,000 jobs, according to an analysis by consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. In the latest closure, Roche last month announced it is shuttering its storied Nutley, N.J., campus -- where Valium was invented -- and shedding another 1,000 research jobs. I blame the upcoming implementation of Obamacare. Posted by: Bobby 2012-07-08 |
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