Jobless in the scientific sector?

I have the impression that at least some members of the Research Cooperative are experiencing a less-than-welcome lack of paid employment.

On 27th January 2010, Jeffrey Mervis in the journal Science (Vol. 327:407; www.sciencemag.org) wrote about the 2010 edition of Science and Engineering Indicators, a publication of the U.S. National Science Foundation.

In his article, "Trends Document China's Prowess", Mervis noted that with regard to jobless rate, the US scientific sector was much better off than the rest of the economy, but that unemployment rates had risen to "levels not seen in 30 years".

Sixty years ago, my father was a NZ scientist with a PhD fresh from Cambridge, UK. He arrived in the USA with $10 in his pocket and job at the University of Wisconsin. His boss drove across country to collect him from New York and take him to his new post. My father eventually returned to New Zealand with an American wife and continued to work there for the next 40 years. He was willing to travel to follow work, but returned to his own country and home-town where he helped create many opportunities for his students and colleagues.

If China is now a rising star in world scientific research, it would be good if young researchers from the USA and other countries can enjoy opportunities to work there. It may become easier as more foreign students and researchers become familiar with working in China, and personal networks are established. China is certainly making efforts to attract researchers from around the world, and has been sending many students from China to other countries for training (especially since the 1970s).

I have been working in Japan for many years. I do feel isolated from my own country, friends, and colleagues in New Zealand, but the internet does make it a lot easier now to stay connected with them.

For those who are now jobless in the scientific sector in the USA, I hope that the Research Cooperative network will help you make connections that are useful for your work. A period of "self-employment" is also a period of full academic freedom, and can be used for writing projects and other research-related activities. To keep working even in the absence of an employer is useful for gaining paid employment in the future. During my own periods of joblessness, I traveled, conducted field work with a backpack, camera, pen and notebook, wrote papers, edited papers for others, and kept contact with colleagues in three different countries. Being young, unmarried, and jobless was not a problem.

For those of us who now have families to support, staying in science through a period of unemployment is obviously more difficult. A scientific training should however give us some resources to deal with the problem!