US science is losing top students, significantly, in recent years
B. B. Goel
Wednesday, 04 November 2009 20:20 UTC
Exodus of talented students away from science is not limited to India but probably a global phenomenon; confirmed case in US. Although number of students is not decreasing much but the quality is. It also implies that more and more mediocre students are joining the technical/research work force in US, among US citizens. Check the following article published in the latest issue of Science Science (2009): 326 (5953). 654] (30 October 2009 issue): Study Finds Science Pipeline Strong, But Losing Top Students.
A new study finds little evidence for leaks in the U.S. pipeline for producing native-born scientists except for a steep drop in the percentage of the highest performing students taking science and engineering jobs. The findings suggest that the United States risks losing its economic competitiveness not because of a work force inadequately trained in science, as conventional wisdom holds, but because of a lack of social and economic incentives to pursue careers in science and technology…..
Although the percentage of those in the top quintile who pursued STEM in college climbed from 21% in the 1972/‘77 cohort to 28.7% in 1992/’97, it plunged to 13.8% in 2000/‘05. Likewise, the share of the top quintile still holding STEM jobs 10 years out of college dipped from 44.8% in the 1977/’87 cohort to 43.2% in the 1993/2003 cohort.
Updated 04 November 2009 20:21 UTC
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Replies
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Anonymous
In real world, I do not know how practical is the assertion that, “Really good people will be less concerned about money if they can do work that is meaningful to them,” she says .
The terms “less” and “more” are matter of personal opinions. But if a student have to take loans about $ 20,000 for a masters degree, equal amount or more during PhD and then end up with a postdoc that hardly allows to have a decent living in US standard (besides not being able to re-pay student loans), then it is quite understandable why so many (mostly) Asians are needed there in US to do such “dirty” jobs in science! An old, used Toyota Corolla, a third grade housing in a forth grade locality (near university campus), and too much work load without much freedom to pursue scientific quests surely are not attractive enough for a good US student to choose a career.
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Anonymous
Just like world of Cricket; world of research is also losing its charm. It’s attractiveness to brilliant students and even to many dedicated professionals to fading fast. Money and social acceptability is one reason, but I feel the main reason is loss of quality work that attracts new talents into the game of research. Too much data crunching for data sake, without any bigger context, without any long term vision or practical reason. Too much pressure on frequent publications is taking the rest of its charm out of it (of doing quality and exciting work).
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