Although much has been written about the difficulties that a new Ph.D. will have in getting into a first job after doing a postdoc, this article is about a different and vastly underdiscussed problem. That problem deals with hazards to the career of a scientist after he or she has been in a career for some time. These hazards often force capable scientists out of science. A scientist who is either in academia or in a research institute that permits investigator-originated research must perpetua

In refuting my conclusion that the National Institutes of Health system for deciding which proposals to fund is flawed and badly in need of reform (The Scientist, Oct. 16, 1995, page 12), Brian Herman not only seems to accept the system as it is but also seems to see it as being as good as it can be and needing no improvement (The Scientist, Feb. 5, 1996, page 12). It is really too bad that he was not able to see the roughly 30 pieces of positive E-mails I got, in addition to faxes, letters, a

Flawed System Author: Arthur E. Sowers Scientists who do research in academic environments must pay for this research from grant money obtained through a highly competitive process that starts with the writing of a grant proposal. Although this process can end successfully if a grant proposal is funded, it more often than not ends with a proposal being rejected. It is widely known that over the last 15 years the average chance that a proposal will be funded has declined from about 50 percent