The career outlook for life scientists hit a rocky patch at the start of the 21st century. Although the 1990s brought a boom in jobs, the failure of genomics companies to quickly produce marketable products dampened venture capitalists' enthusiasm for early-stage biotechnology, and the market slowed. The US economy in general began to decline, and in 2002, unemployment for scientists reached 3.9%, a 20-year high.
However, even during the darkest times, unemployment among scientists was always lower than among workers in other industries (see figure, United States Unemployment Rate by Occupation, 1983-2002 below). This suggests that it is still easier for scientists to find jobs than it is for the average US worker. And, some signs indicate that the life sciences industry is picking up: Venture capitalists are still willing to invest in biotechnology, and some fields, such as bioinformatics, need workers. Indeed, the government predicts that the number of ...
