Category: Academia

PNAS: Bruce Fowler, Army Laboratory

(On July 16, 2009, I asked for volunteers with science degrees and non-academic jobs who would be willing to be interviewed about their careers paths, with the goal of providing young scientists with more information about career options beyond the pursuit of a tenure-track faculty job that is too often assumed as a default. This… Continue reading PNAS: Bruce Fowler, Army Laboratory

Dispatches from the Class War: Educational Consultant Edition

The New York Times has a habit of publishing these loathsome little profile articles that either belie the paper’s liberal reputation, or are a stealthy attempt to bring about the Red Revolution by stoking class hatred. These generally take the form of profile stories about wealthy suburbanites in Westchester County or Connecticut, who have more… Continue reading Dispatches from the Class War: Educational Consultant Edition

Wanted: Non-Academic Scientists

Having spent the last couple of posts talking (in part) about the need to change academic culture, and de-stigmatize non-academic science jobs, here’s an attempt to step up and do something direct and productive. No, this won’t cost you anything. One of the difficulties with trying to broaden the usual definition of scientists is that… Continue reading Wanted: Non-Academic Scientists

Scientists vs. the Scientific Community

This isn’t actually about a literal or metaphorical smackdown– it’s more about a distinction in language, related to a number of the comments that have been made regarding Unscientific America. (Yeah, I know. I’ll find something else to talk about soon.) The issue is most clearly laid out by Janet, who writes: In addition to… Continue reading Scientists vs. the Scientific Community

Unscientific America on Jobs in Science

The most unfortunate thing about the furor over Unscientific America is that the vast majority of the shouting concerns a relatively small portion of the actual argument of the book. Far too much attention is being spent on the question of whether Chris and Sheril are fair to Myers and Dawkins, and not nearly enough… Continue reading Unscientific America on Jobs in Science

This Is My Job

I got a weirdly hostile comment to my popularization post last night: You have some chutzpah. You are being paid, probably quite well, to do research! Journalists are paid, not nearly so well, to popularize research. It takes some nerve to take an extra year’s salary, and to take time away from your real job—and… Continue reading This Is My Job

Scientist PACs and Judges

One of the most interesting suggestions made by Chris and Sheril in Unscientific America is the idea that science needs to play political hardball (page 158, in the endnotes): Why not form a nonpartisan science political action committee, or PAC, devoted to funding candidates who are either scientists themselves or who make science a strong… Continue reading Scientist PACs and Judges

Popularization Is Its Own Reward?

One of the major problems contributing to the dire situation described in Unscientific America is that the incentives of academia don’t align very well with the public interest. Academic scientists are rewarded– with tenure, promotion, and salary increases– for producing technical, scholarly articles, and not for writing for a general audience. There is very little… Continue reading Popularization Is Its Own Reward?