ScienceCareers.org | Huddled Masses: Benderly: 13 April 2007
This article takes a look at the effects of so many foreign scientists coming to the US to earn PhDs and staying. In general, I see this as very positive. Why not let the US benefit from being a brain sink? They stay, they, or their children, become Americans and it's a win for us and a win for the scientists. The only losers are the countries that suffer the loss of their best and brightest. Now, this article makes a case that the extra scientists lead to depressed wages, more pile-up at the post-doc level, and make science a less appealing option for Americans in general. I'm tempted to make the case that this narrow-minded economic perspective misses the point. Scientists don't enter the field for the money -- it would have to be worse, I think, to really discourage those of us who are drawn to it. There are some deep issues here to consider, and one's ultimate perspective probably depends on one's own priorities. There are plenty of scientists who place the advancement of the state of knowledge above a high personal salary. Scientists, in some sense, get paid by being able to follow their curiosity and get their questions answered, not in bundles of cash.