U.S. science funding sends young people a mixed message
By Eva Emerson
Much effort is expended on informing young people about the wonders of science. Lab classes at school, hands-on museums, television shows, competitions and publications such as our own Science News for Students are designed to cultivate an appreciation for knowledge and to encourage students to pursue careers in science. I wholeheartedly endorse efforts to improve and expand STEM (short for science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. I think science, and more specifically scientific thinking, is the most powerful tool for understanding the world. Everyone should learn how to think like a scientist.
Some doubts about the depths of U.S. support for STEM, however, began to creep into my mind while reading staff writer Beth Mole’s article about the acute effects of the government shutdown and sequester amid chronic underfunding of U.S. basic research. The story highlights the broad array of important science that depends on federal dollars, from studies of disease and climate to investigations of the cosmos. Unfortunately, at this moment in history, being dependent on federal funding puts any enterprise, no matter how worthy, in an extremely vulnerable position. More and more aspiring researchers are finding that instead of marking the beginning of a research career, earning a Ph.D. means the end of their professional lives as scientists. “Of current biomedical doctoral students,” Mole writes, “only about 25 percent are projected to get tenure-track faculty positions and carry out independent research in the next five years.”