The scientists I have interviewed in this status are quite capable by most measures. They have doctorates from very good departments, research support from NIH or NSF, several publications and good citation records. For example, the first-authored publications of one young marginal scientist in my sample had been cited more than 60 times according to the 1985 Science Citation Index. Thus, although the positions are marginal to academia (and, perhaps, also to the social organization of science), the researchers themselves are not marginal to the intellectual enterprise of science.
Yet the conditions of employment in such positions are often undesirable. The salaries are usually lower than academic salaries and the positions may not provide full-time pay, even if they demand full-time work. There is also little job security: employment usually ends when a project ends. Moreover, marginals have limited academic rights, such as claims on laboratory and office space or ...
