The Importance of a Plan B

Researchers customarily are obsessed with what they do. By definition, this is to the detriment of other aspects of their lives.

One activity that is grossly undervalued is career planning. A number of factors contribute: the short-term nature of science funding, the often reliable nature of that funding, a misplaced sense of entitlement (some researchers seem to feel that they are inherently deserving of the public largesse), and a research culture that is not especially materialistic.

Unfortunately, over the next few years this cavalier attitude will take a toll on the research community. Hundreds of excellent scientists will lose their livelihood. Full stop. No lab, no income, and no immediate prospects. All because they've neglected to make a proper career plan.

Dropouts from research fall into three categories. First, there's the natural attrition of the frankly lackluster, who vanish to goodness-knows-where after a couple of half-hearted years at the bench. No great loss.

Then there's a group of otherwise talented people who are ill-suited to life in the lab. Invariably they anticipate the pink slip, may even welcome it, and have usually made preparations to move on. They can pick up successful careers in a wide variety of fields, often leveraging their science backgrounds. I count myself in this group, although I know that not everyone would exclude me from the first category: I can remember being incensed a few years ago by Sydney Brenner's complaint that editors at Science and Nature (where I once hung my hat) were wielding an awful lot of power for "failed postdocs."

The third category is the one to worry about. These are committed scientists who are successful by traditional criteria, such as having strong publication records. They are in their 30s, even 40s, and hold independent but untenured positions. Such battle-proven professionals can no longer presume that they have a secure career. Many first-rate, experienced scientists are seeing their grant renewals being rejected and finding that alternative funding sources are thin on the ground and intensely competitive. The calamitous outcome is that increasing numbers of researchers are losing their labs, their careers, and their peace of mind.

A prime example is Alan Schneyer, the researcher who was sanguine enough to tell his story to The Scientist's deputy editor, Alison McCook. Schneyer had gradually built up a team in a major Boston institute to do highly-regarded research in a hot field. But, as you can read in Losing your Lab, after 20 years the funding dried up, and the lab closed.

Schneyer's story has a somewhat happy ending. But others won't be so lucky. "The R01 investigator - the individual scientist working away with a couple of people in a lab - is the heart and soul of America's biomedical research and has made us the world's leaders in science," according to former FASEB president Ralph A. Bradshaw (http://chronicle.com/free/v50/i22/22a01701.htm). Under the current funding strictures, less than 10% of R01 applicants are successful. Which should tell us all that there's trouble ahead!

What should be done? First, we need data: How many of these mainstays of US research are being forced out, and what becomes of them? Neither Alison nor I have been able to track it down. If it's available, please let's see it.

Second, researchers of all ages need to indulge in a spot of career planning. If you can't contemplate leaving research, at least do what you can to protect your future. The Web extra to the article, "Weaned by Whitaker," gives some suggestions from a group whose minds are focused on the topic - they're the last recipients of funding from one particular foundation. If you have suggestions based on your experience, I hope you'll add to this list.

Career planning has three stages: 1) self-exploration - identifying what you really want; 2) career exploration - charting the route to what you want; and 3) self-presentation - giving yourself the best possible opportunity of getting it. Numerous books can help in the process, and most institutions have good career counseling services. If you have some recommendations of your own, again, please share them with others in our comment section online.

rgallagher@the-scientist.com