This is a painful, poignant but necessary discussion that academic biologists in general need to keep in mind. I would add another question: how many retirees academic biology retirees are living (partially) on food stamps as well..? I know a couple in just my own area. At first, to many on this list, this question will probably seem of less interest than the others. After all, retirees have presumably had fulfilling careers and ended them voluntarily, right? Not necessarily. Post-tenure reviews of various types are in place at a large number of institutions (here in Virginia, for instance, state-run institutions literally HAD to put such a system in place in the 1990's in order to save the tenure system itself). The threat of going through such a process, particularly in public, is a clear-cut motivation for (unwanted and unplanned) early retirement as an alternative...
Yet, as biologist age, very often so do their research careers; despite their best efforts, the funding dries to a trickle, any new grad students they might attract need to be supported by departmental rather than grant monies (and it doesn't take a genius to guess how long that lasts, or how much ill will it engenders). Eventually, pressure develops to find a way to get so-and-so quietly out the door, in favor of a young investigator with a more fashionable research topic... So, so-and-so retires, still with more potentially productive research (and teaching) years left that now will remain untapped, and often years earlier than his/her financial retirement planning had projected. This is happening now, and I predict it will happen with increasing frequency in the near-term future as both academic departments and granting agencies concentrate their enthusiasm on the few younger investigators who make it through the obstacle course. Young people who have found their calling and see themselves on a trajectory toward a career in academic biology need to know that this can happen. Just like they need to know that they may not get that critical first job no matter how long they persevere, and may come to consider themselves lucky to get a third or a fourth postdoc. Just like they need to know that, even if they get that first job, in many departments they had better come up with major funding by the middle of their third year or there likely won't be a fourth. Perhaps there is a simpler way to put this: We have to make sure that the young people entering our profession, a pool that, by definition, includes our best and most creative intellects, really understand that a doctoral degree, no matter how expensively earned in terms of personal costs, and no matter how strongly emblematic of a deep and abiding personal commitment, is, when all is said and done, (and with apologies for the cliche) nothing more than a "union card." It is not a guarantee of a job, financial security, a particular lifestyle, the certainty of a life devoted to creativity and scholarship or even of a secure retirement. On Sun, Feb 9, 2014 at 10:20 AM, John A. <omnipithe...@yahoo.com> wrote: > I've already received many, many replies in the first 48 hours since I > posted my request. I've heard from more people than I can easily > count--recent Ph.D.s, graduate students, even undergraduates with difficult > stories of hard work, perseverance, and increasing despair that they will > ever find work in the disciplines they've trained for. > > I will do my best to respond to everyone who's contacted me; if you > haven't heard from me yet, it's only because there are so many others who > have also poured out their fears and their frustrations. There are a great > many people in our field who have found their calling, earned their degree, > and now can find no way to support themselves--the invisible and > disregarded of modern academia. > > Because many of you have expressed concerns about privacy, let me say > that I won't share names, affiliations or any other identifying details > unless the individuals involved grant their permission. If you or a friend > have been hesitating out of personal concerns, please know that I consider > every contact a confidence, and I don't intend to break that trust. > > > - J. A. >
