An open letter from Alan Hale

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This open letter has been making the rounds on science listservers of late.
I can sympathize with the sentiments it expresses personally, as I'm sure
many other PaleoNet subscribers do. Although we've discussed the current
job situation several times on PaleoNet, it is an issue of perennial
concern to a large percentage of our community. Does anyone have any
current figures for employment in paleontology in particular and/or science
in general available? On a recent trip to the US I was told that some of
the major oil companies are beginning to hire again (at least they are
interviewing on campuses where they have been notably absent for several
years). What are the reasons for this? Has anything been learned by the
last boom-bust cycle by the managers in this industry or are we headed for
another roller-coaster ride? And what's the long-term forecast. Is (our)
science going to progressively eaten away through lack of new jobs for the
young and unreplaced attrition of the old? Are there any
initiatives/experiments going on involving new sources of funding for
paleontology/paleontologists of which the community at large should be more
aware? Finally, what are the best strategies for publicizing the plight of
science? Hale is taking his story to the media (or at least using the media
to get the word out). My own recent excursion through the media here in the
UK suggests that, while Hale's is a noble gesture, something more is
needed. What is it about so many people that makes them fascinated by, but
at the same time scared of science? Why is science something that is OK to
be interested in while you're a very young child (approximately 5-10), but
not when you "grow up?"

Norm MacLeod



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An open letter to the scientists of my generation:

I am Alan Hale, the co-discoverer of Comet Hale-Bopp which, as I'm
sure you're aware, is getting a tremendous amount of media attention
at this time. Like I'm sure is true for many of you, I was inspired
by the scientific discoveries and events taking place during my
childhood to pursue a career in science only to find, after completing
the rigors of undergraduate and graduate school, that the
opportunities for us to have a career in science are limited at best
and are which I usually describe as "abysmal." Based upon my own
experiences, and those of you with whom I have discussed this
issue, my personal feeling is that, unless there are some pretty drastic
changes in the way that our society approaches science and treats
those of us who have devoted our lives to making some of our own
contributions, there is no way that I can, with a clear conscience,
encourage present-day students to pursue a career in science. It
really pains me a great deal to say something like that, but I feel so
strongly about this that I have publicly made this statement at almost
every opportunity I have been given.

I am trying to use the media attention that is currently being focused
upon me to raise awareness of this state of affairs, and perhaps start
to effect those changes that will allow me to convey a more positive
message to the next generation. So far, I'm sensing a certain
reluctance among the media to discuss this issue, as they seem far
more interested in items which I consider to be irrelevant and
unimportant. But I intend to keep hammering away at this, and I'd like
to believe that eventually some are going to sit up and take notice. I
am also attempting to schedule meetings with some of our
government leaders, to see if I can at least get some
acknowledgement from Washington that this is a problem that needs
to be dealt with.

My reason for writing to you is to ask your help. I know that I'm not
alone in being frustrated about the current prospects for pursuing any
kind of decent career within science, and I'm quite sure that many of
you have "horror stories" about your searches for decent
employment that are quite similar to my own. I'd like to hear them. I'd
especially like to hear from those of you who are on your second or
third or fourth post-doc, or who have left the field as a result of the
employment situation, or who have experienced severe personal
difficulties (e.g., break-up of a marriage, etc.). I realize that some
of these might be painful to discuss, but I'd like to show that we are
not a bunch of impersonal statistics, but that we're human beings
trying to make an honest living and perhaps make a contribution or
two to society while we're at it. Speaking of statistics, though, if you
received any information about the numbers of applicants to some of
the positions you applied to -- which was often a 3-digit number in my
case -- I'd like to hear that, too.

Please e-mail your stories to me at ahale@nmsu.edu, with a subject
line of "horror stories" or something like that. Please let me know if
you would prefer to remain anonymous when I share these stories
with the press and the government. Also, please pass this message
on to any of your friends and colleagues who might be interested in
sharing their stories with me, and keep in mind that I would like to
receive stories from as many scientific disciplines as possible.
(Because of the amount of e-mail traffic I'm receiving these days,
along with everything else that's going on, I probably won't be able to
acknowledge each message individually.)

Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear from you. Perhaps, with
the opportunity we have before us right now, we have the chance to
make a difference.

Sincerely,

Alan Hale (ahale@nmsu.edu)







___________________________________________________________________

Dr. Norman MacLeod
Micropalaeontological Research
N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk (E-mail)

Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum,
Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD

Office Phone: 0171-938-9006
Dept. FAX: 0171-938-9277
E-mail: N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk
___________________________________________________________________