f**c
发帖数: 192 | 1 现在学化学的，大概80%的祖孙三代要倒霉。2007年以后才开始读博士的，如果学有机
，已经是白痴。90%的祖宗八代子孙后代都倒了血霉。
2014年还在学有机合成的，99.9%的祖宗八代子孙后代都要倒血霉。80年代的有机土博美
国制药工作N年，55岁回国挣大钱操小妞的（张江药谷的听说过没有？）不算，人家那
是80年代学的化学。
中国的稀土官司又输了，无非是技术控制在别人手里。出口低端进口高端产品。这无妨
北大稀土严纯华高松之流的院士继续坑蒙拐骗。严纯华之流，甚至他的同学，假设在美
国，也是下岗失业回国的命运吧。
http://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i45/Barely-Hanging.html
Home > Volume 90 Issue 45 > Barely Hanging
Job loss can feel like a lonely journey.
Credit: Shutterstock/C&EN
Five years after the economic collapse began in the U.S., unemployed
chemists are still struggling to find jobs. The unemployment situation is
especially dire for mid- to late-career chemists who, instead of
anticipating a comfortable retirement, now face the possibility of
bankruptcy and financial ruin.
As their life savings evaporate, and their hope turns to desperation, these
chemists are beginning to question whether they can continue supporting a
field that can no longer support them.
In agreeing to share their stories with C&EN, chemists in these dire
circumstances requested anonymity to protect their job search prospects;
their names have been changed and some details about their situations have
been generalized. This article focuses on chemists who were laid off from
the pharmaceutical industry, because that’s one of the sectors where the
fallout from the Great Recession has been severe.
The impact of this recession has been unlike that of previous recessions. “
The fact is that the number of jobs has declined,” says Bassam Z.
Shakhashiri, president of the American Chemical Society. And the usual
methods for obtaining a new job aren’t working. “If the jobs aren’t
there
,” Shakhashiri says, “no matter how much you network, you’re not going
to
find them.”
“The situation today is a tragedy of national proportions,” says
Madeleine
Jacobs, ACS executive director and chief executive officer. “It’s
devastating to individual lives, and it’s devastating to this country.”
According to the 2012 Comprehensive Salary & Employment Survey of ACS
members, 4.2% of members in the U.S. are unemployed. Although this
percentage may seem small compared with the national unemployment rate of 7.
8%, there’s more to this statistic than meets the eye.
“I’m listed as employed,” says “Eric,” 46, who was laid off in 2007
from his position as a senior chemist at Johnson & Johnson and is now an
adjunct professor at three different colleges and universities. “I got
reemployed, but is this what employment should be like for someone at my
level?”
“The data that ACS has is for the most part self-reported, and that’s
always going to underreport the truth,” says Lee H. Latimer, a consultant
and longtime ACS volunteer, who was laid off from Elan in 2011. “Many may
have a job, which keeps them from collecting unemployment, but they’re not
working either in their field or in a position that comes anywhere close to
matching their previous income”—meaning, he says, that they’re
effectively underemployed.
“Jeff,” 59, a Ph.D. chemist in New Jersey, is in that boat. He was laid
off in 2008 from his position as an associate director for a major
pharmaceutical company, where he had worked for 22 years. He thought it
would only be a matter of months before he found a new job. “Normally you
figure three months, and with the economy going bad, I figured six months,”
he says. “I did not expect it would take this long.”
Although he’s had several adjunct teaching positions and temporary contract
jobs, Jeff has not had a permanent, full-time position since 2008. “It’s
frustrating at this point in a career when you’re at your highest earning
potential to suddenly not be earning or have greatly reduced earnings,” he
says. “You’ve put all this time and effort into an advanced degree, a
good
career, and worked hard for your company, and to suddenly be tossed out, it
’s disheartening.”
Read about chemists who found new careers, and member benefits for the
unemployed.
Since Jeff is the sole provider for his wife and their 12-year-old daughter
who is being homeschooled, he has had to tap into his savings and 401(k) to
make ends meet.
His family has had to cut back dramatically on expenses. They’ve canceled
their cable and lawn service, they’ve scaled back on their cell phone plan,
and they don’t eat out or take vacations. “At one point, we had a boat.
We’ve had to get rid of that,” Jeff says. “And there are repairs on the
house that really should be done that have been put off.
“I don’t think there’s a whole lot else that we can really do. You need
the phone, you need electricity, and you need health insurance,” he says.
“We’ve got to have the trash picked up, and we have to pay taxes.”
Jeff has considered selling his home, but in his neighborhood, “houses
simply aren’t selling, or if they do sell, prices are quite depressed,”
he
says.
“Alice,” 52, a Ph.D. organic chemist, had to make that trade-off when she
and her family downsized their home. Alice was laid off from Pharmacopeia
in
2008 and then from Merck & Co. in 2010. Her husband also lost his job at
Merck.
With their savings disappearing, the couple, who have a 12-year-old
daughter
, sold their home in an affluent suburb in New Jersey at a loss and bought
a
home half the size in another community. “We had to take money out of our
401(k)s to buy a smaller home,” she says.
file
Because she had to pay a hefty fine for tapping into her retirement account,
her savings have taken a big hit. “I used to have a lot of money in my 401
(k), and now I practically have nothing,” she says. “I went from $220,000
down to $30,000 in my 401(k).”
Eric has also had to make tough choices. He teaches as an adjunct professor
on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, splitting his time among three
colleges
and universities that are 50 to 70 miles apart. He leaves around 10 AM and
doesn’t get home until after 11 PM, leaving little time to spend with his
twin daughters, who are nine years old.
Because of the length of his commute and the high cost of gas, Eric sold
his
car and bought a used Suzuki with better gas mileage. “The previous car
was costing me about $1,000 a month in gas, and that was not sustainable,”
he says.
He has roughly $400 left in his 401(k). “Four hundred bucks is no 401(k);
it won’t buy you a plane ticket anywhere,” he says. But he’s not one to
dwell on his difficulties. “It’s tight financially, but the fact is we’
re
still surviving. It’s just a little harder, that’s all.”
Alice says that what’s more painful than losing her retirement savings is
having no money to send her daughter to college. Alice, who came to the U.S.
from Southeast Asia, says that getting an education was her ticket to a
better life. “I feel very sad. I went for a Ph.D. because I thought that
with a Ph.D., I should be able to have a good life and be able to give my
daughter a good life,” she says. “I never thought this would happen.”
Jeff is in a similar predicament. “There’s no way we can afford to put my
daughter through college now,” he says. “It’s discouraging, it’s
disheartening, it’s frustrating. You start to feel like a failure.”
For unemployed and underemployed chemists, life can be an emotional roller
coaster. “Some days you’re on top of the world. You’ve got interviews,
and something looks promising,” says Jeff. “The next day, the interview
fails and the world looks darker than the inside of a cave.”
“Michael,” a Ph.D. organic chemist in his 50s, living in California,
knows
just how unsettling this roller-coaster ride can be. Since he was laid off
from a biotech company in 2008, he has applied for more than 10,000 jobs,
some 7,000 related to the chemical sciences and 3,000 outside of science.
He has had 10 interviews and was offered three jobs. The first offer came
less than a year after he was laid off. The position was with a small start-
up company in California. But after he received the offer, the company was
bought out, and the offer fell through. “The person who was going to hire
me lost his own job the next day,” he says.
The second offer was in 2009 for a contract position at a large
pharmaceutical company in California, but the company notified him four
days
before his starting date that it had instituted a hiring freeze, “so they
stopped everything,” he says. “According to them, they had a computer for
me, a phone number, and everything was ready.”
The third offer came in 2010, and it was with a government agency near
Washington, D.C. “I was supposed to start working with them on Sept. 27,
2010, but because of the budget issue going on in Congress, they froze
everything,” he says.
Michael sold his condo in preparation for the move. “I put everything that
I had in storage, and I was in the process of moving, and I had a couple
days before I moved, so I said, ‘I’ll go stay with my friend in L.A.’&#
8201;”
It’s been two years, and Michael is still living with his friend, and his
belongings are still in storage. He can’t afford to pay for health
insurance, so he’s uninsured.
“I’m nearing retirement, and that’s very scary because as time goes by,
it’s difficult for me to get a job. And at the same time, I’m not earning
anything, so I’m not contributing to retirement,” he says.
Meanwhile, Michael has earned certifications in clinical trial design and
management, regulatory affairs, quality assurance and control, and project
management. But “by the time that I finished, not only did the number of
these jobs decrease, employers weren’t going to take anybody who doesn’t
have experience. The training is not enough for them,” he says. “I went
and retrained myself, but I still cannot get a job.
file
“I have applied to work for free just to be working, and I can’t do it,”
Michael says, noting liability issues in industry can prevent employers from
using workers not on the payroll. Even in academia, he’s approached
professors to work as a postdoc to get some experience in a new area. “But
they can’t do that because they hire postdocs and graduate students, and I
wouldn’t technically be considered a postdoc because I have more than 15
years of experience,” he says.
He’s even been turned down for jobs at local grocery stores, for positions
that pay less than $10 an hour. “When I was an undergraduate, I worked in
a
supermarket, so I have some experience,” he says. “But I can’t even get
a job in a supermarket. They say, ‘You don’t have the right skills.’ Or
they think, ‘Tomorrow he’s going to get a job, and he’s going to leave.’
”
The ups and downs of job searching can bring life to a screeching halt, as
“Tom,” who was laid off from Sanofi in 2011, has discovered. “I’m 50
years old, and I can’t make any long-term plans,” he says. “I can’t
look
at a new car, I can’t get the latest big-screen TV, I can’t get the
latest iPhone. I can’t look at that stuff because I just don’t know where
my next paycheck is coming from. I’m not starving, but I’m not advancing
either.”
Michael, who is single, has an even more pressing issue. “I can’t even ask
a woman out, because I’m unemployed and I don’t have a place,” he says.
“You can’t do very simple fundamental things in life. Your life is
completely on hold.”
Even everyday interactions can be awkward. At the exposition at an ACS
meeting, for instance, “when you walk around all those booths, people say
hi to you and ask you where you work. I say, ‘I’m unemployed,’ and the
person doesn’t know what to do with me,” says Michael.
The constant uphill battle can take a mental toll. “I think it’s cut me
down a couple of notches,” Jeff says. “The group I was part of for so
many
years was considered one of the top in the industry, so certainly it
impacts your pride.”
Tom, who has a master’s degree in chemistry, says he has come to terms with
his new reality. “There’s no room for pride here,” he says. “If I have
to stack lumber at Home Depot, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
In this unstable job market, even the elation of starting a new job can be
short-lived. Two-and-a-half years after being laid off from his previous
position, Jeff was offered a temporary contract position at Roche, in
Nutley
, N.J., that had potential to become permanent. Although the position pays
less than half of his previous salary, and he does not get any vacation
days
, sick time, or health benefits, Jeff says that was a godsend for him and
his family. But 11 months after he started, the company announced that the
entire facility would be shut down; he will be out of a job again in
December.
“I’m working at Roche, and there are people who mop the floors, and as I
walk by, I always say hello to them,” Jeff says. “But I’m thinking in
the
back of my mind, ‘In a few months, I may have to be doing this too.’&#
8201;”
This extreme hardship is causing chemists to question their faith in
chemistry. “My passion for chemistry is gone,” Tom says. “I used to read
C&EN for the newest trends and discoveries. I’ve lost interest in all that
because I don’t see a future in it.”
“I’m a chemist, I love chemistry, and I want to tell other people to go
ahead and study chemistry,” adds Michael. “But then I think about it—and
what kind of a future will they have?”
Alice says she worries about the next generation of students, who are losing
their interest in science. “I can see it in my daughter,” she says. “She
used to love chemistry, and she went to all the ACS meetings with me. Now,
I tell her to put her poster in the science fair, and it’s like pulling
teeth.”
Jeff, who volunteers as an ACS career consultant, says he’s conflicted as
to what to tell job seekers: “I’m looking at other chemists’ résumés,
with many people wanting to go into the pharmaceutical industry—which is
going through a major downsizing—and I’m wondering, ‘Is it fair to
encourage people to go into chemistry, and what do I tell people who are
looking for jobs?’
“I’d love to be able to wholeheartedly encourage people to go into
science
, to go into chemistry. It’s fascinating, it’s interesting, it used to be
a great career,” Jeff continues. “But now, I can’t promise that there
will be a reward for their hard work.”
Despite the lack of jobs, ACS’s Jacobs maintains that chemists and
chemistry are critical to the U.S.’s advancement. “I don’t want to
discourage the best and brightest students from entering the chemical
sciences, because there is no way to solve these great global challenges—
providing clean water, providing sustainable energy, providing enough food,
curing disease, protecting the homeland, and protecting the environment—
without chemists and chemical engineers.” | f**c
发帖数: 192 | 2 发信人: fjpc (haha), 信区: PKU
标 题: 佩服谢晓亮张益唐 藐视施一公 鄙视颜宁
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Thu Jul 10 16:08:08 2014, 美东)
做科学，要顶天立地。张益唐没大量占用经费，没压榨科研民工，这是顶天。
谢晓亮做的难度极大，又有实际价值，可以做仪器，这是顶天立地。
中国的很多科学家，其实是骗子，祸国殃民。巨额经费买国外仪器耗材---压榨科研民
工发paper---国家给名声给地位----实际工业问题根本无法解决，这样的模式，中国一
个发展中国家，怎么能翻身？
就拿稀土，现在的手机玻璃来说，北大的无机化学规模师资巨大，徐光宪也获得了国家
最高科技奖，科学院院士一堆，老的不说了，文革后上大学的有高松严纯华。他们自己
干什么了？
他们培养的学生，在国内工业中发挥了什么作用？中国的稀土什么地位？
现在不是计划经济时代，国家不会指令高松严纯华研究手机玻璃，他们可以继续重复：
巨额经费买国外仪器耗材---压榨科研民工发paper---成院士--进政协人大。
这样的院士太多了，北大那个刘忠范，也是这样。
院士不解决工业问题，国家继续进口手机玻璃，富士康继续做低端组装。
这样的模式继续，中国何日翻身？
北大清华作为高校的领头羊，有没有责任感？北大清华的理工科毕业生，应该多数去工
业中解决问题，而不是实际中的废物。
现在科研评价，必须改变。施一共这样的典型，绝对不应该宣传。中央领导要知道，钱
学森跟施一共不一样。颜宁演讲思想浅薄，视野狭隘，最多在生物系内做个报告可以，
毕业典礼演讲？
反应清华教育的失败。
哈佛教授做的到！第一，哈佛教授本身就有开公司的。第二，哈佛教授的学生，必须接
受市场检验，多数人去公司做技术创造财富，培养这样的学生，就是哈佛教授的贡献。
第三，哈佛教授的学生如果找不到工作，很快就没美国人进组。在中国，完全不一样，
很多人继续当老师，靠国家财政供养。中国人多，北大清华有特殊地位，不用担心忽悠
不到人来学！
北大清华自己的本科生忽悠不到，外校的一堆！
====================
清华的责任是什么？中国是什么样的国家？中国是发展中国家，要把钱用在刀刃上，
清华作为培养理，工，经管，人文人才的高等学府，培养的人才要适应国家需要，
社会在发展，对人才的需要也变化。所以一切都要改革。清华学科设置，毕业生的知识
结构，
根本就不符合国家的急需。
清华培养的学生，应该有完整，广阔的视野，不应该是埋头理科实验室发paper的书呆
子。
当代中国的落后，不在于几篇生物结构的paper。现在中国首先要解决发展问题，
工程，经管人才尤其重要。作为结构生物学，解再多的蛋白结构，也没有直接的效益。
靠国家经费养---出paper拿经费捞名声，不顾实际效益---成院士----老了成人大政协
常委---国家养一辈子，
这样的模式，只适用于极少数人。颜教授或许是这样的人之一。多数清华学生，没有机
会进第一流的实验室读博士。读了生物博士，个人知识结构极其不合理，对计算机，经
济金融一窍不通，
没能力创业，没能力创造财富，继续找个大学教书，靠国家财政养着，这是国家的悲哀
，清华的耻辱。
在美国，由市场检验，找不到工作的生物博士，还不如计算机的本科吃香。
公司是要创造效益的，做科研不高人一等，能促进生产力的科研对社会促进；没有实际
意义的科研，纯粹浪费经费，学生靠国家养，毕业后只能找学校教书，没能力没勇气在
企业真刀实枪。
这是对人才的浪费，对国家经费的浪费。这样的“科研”，是祸国殃民。
为一实验室一私，为清华一私，让一个包工头做毕业演讲，清华是何用心？
中国最需要的是技术，是有竞争力的公司，不是没有用处的paper, 严教授不适应给清
华毕业生演讲。其演讲思想浅薄，视野狭隘，反应清华教育的失败。
林毅夫说过：求名求万世名，逐利逐万世利。中国是发展中国家，记着。
张益唐可以做毕业演讲，因为他没糟蹋多少经费，花钱赚吆喝，休矣。
博美
【在 f**c 的大作中提到】
: 现在学化学的，大概80%的祖孙三代要倒霉。2007年以后才开始读博士的，如果学有机
: ，已经是白痴。90%的祖宗八代子孙后代都倒了血霉。
: 2014年还在学有机合成的，99.9%的祖宗八代子孙后代都要倒血霉。80年代的有机土博美
: 国制药工作N年，55岁回国挣大钱操小妞的（张江药谷的听说过没有？）不算，人家那
: 是80年代学的化学。
: 中国的稀土官司又输了，无非是技术控制在别人手里。出口低端进口高端产品。这无妨
: 北大稀土严纯华高松之流的院士继续坑蒙拐骗。严纯华之流，甚至他的同学，假设在美
: 国，也是下岗失业回国的命运吧。
: http://cen.acs.org/articles/90/i45/Barely-Hanging.html
: Home > Volume 90 Issue 45 > Barely Hanging
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