Go to China, young scientist {no money for you in USA} (WaPo)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Matthew Stremlau, Published: May 20

Twenty years ago, most molecular-science PhD graduates in the United States went on to start up their own labs at universities across the country. These labs drive innovation and keep the United States globally competitive. Today, however, only a handful of my friends will go on to run their own labs, though more would like to. Some go into industry or consulting or law. Others leave science altogether.

As public funding for science and technology shrinks, it just isn’t possible for people who want to become scientists in America to actually become scientists. So when a friend of mine who recently received her PhD in molecular biology asked for some career advice, the answer was easy. Go to China, I told her.

At one time it was common for American scientists to go abroad. Usually, they went to Europe because of better expertise and better funding. Then the Cold War came along and jolted American policymakers into action, producing stunning results. Public investments in science and technology revolutionized everything from medicine to microprocessors. According to Alan Leshner, chief executive of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, more than 50 percent of U.S. economic growth since World War II has come from science and technology. But today, many scientists, particularly young scientists, face a public funding situation that is dire.

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, told senators this month that for every six grant applications the agency receives, “five of them are going to go begging.” Will this tough funding environment force American scientists to start looking for jobs in other countries? If they do, there won’t be any shortage of options.

The global science landscape is radically different from what it was when I started graduate school 10 years ago. Opportunities for cutting-edge science are sprouting in many other countries. China stands out. But there are plenty of others. India, Brazil and Singapore built world-class research institutes. Saudi Arabia aggressively recruits researchers for its King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. With a staggering $10 billion endowment there — larger than MIT’s — American scientists no longer need to suffer through Boston’s endless winters. Not to be outdone, Abu Dhabi opened the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology in 2009. These emerging powers have a voracious appetite for good scientists. So they’re trying to poach ours.
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more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/go-to-china-young-scientist/2011/05/19/AFCY227G_story.html

[RKP5637]

1. The brain power will start to leave America for better places/funding. That, is a

very very bad omen for our future, but not a surprising one.

[eppur_se_muova]

2. I've been searching for an overseas job myself. Money looks much better.

I'm looking at a postdoctoral position in Oz that pays nearly twice as much as I've ever gotten as a visiting professor in the US. Postdocs in UK seem to pay as well as professorships at any but top-ranked US schools. My ideal job would be in Canada.

[Xithras]

3. My nephew is studying for a career in materials physics research.

For his foreign language credits, he's going with Mandarin. Apparently every mentor he's spoken with has told him that non Mandarin-speaking researchers will be unemployable in another 15-20 years.

The United States is the new Britain. We'll always be an advanced and powerful country, but the glory days we spent as one of the worlds power centers are rapidly ending.

[RKP5637]

5. Yes, I think that is sadly quite true, "the glory days we spent as one of the worlds power

centers are rapidly ending." And what is quite sad about this is we are doing it to ourselves. If one had wanted to end the days as one of the worlds power centers a better scheme IMO could not have been cooked up than what we've witnessed for many years now.

What I find most troubling is the demise of education in American, many proud of their ignorance and this bizarre RW religious frenzy that seems to be encapsulating many in the country.

[RandySF]

4. Forget those commies!

How smart are they if they don't believe that Adam and Eve rode to church on dinosaurs?