Quote:
Originally Posted by multiweb
To spend that much on your education you'd think there is a good paying job worth that much on the other end, not like research on the color of feathers on a T Rex's arse during the Jurassic period, so you can pay the money back when you're in the work force. If you're not sure about it don't make the commitment.  |
T-Rex's arse feathers were obviously brown - no great mystery there. The colour of the rest of them is harder to guess. Oh .. and it didn't live during the Jurassic - it was late Cretaceous.
Seriously though, I think if research was limited to the certainty of a good job at the end of it the world would be a much poorer place, both culturally and scientifically. Certainly there would be much less astronomy research. We need that 'blue sky' research both because it has a track record of turning up something useful (eg electricity) and because of the beneficial effect on our consciousness. Yes, we also need practical, directed research but that is happening and is the great majority of the world's research effort.
It is also possible to do a good solid research project and still not find a job. Geologists find this all the time. One year the companies are recruiting second year students who still know jack and the next they are sacking people with PhDs and decades of experience. About 10 years ago ecologists were a dime a dozen. Many committed souls wanted to help 'save the planet' and it looked as though there would be jobs for them, but by the time they graduated the situation had changed. The problem they all face is the irrational anarchic society we have inherited. It's a constant wonder to me that we tolerate it.