While an anecdotal survey of 'science career horror stories' would
certainly be interesting, and might even be useful, I sense that Alan
Hale is hoping that this could somehow be used to lobby for more
government funding of the sciences.
I can imagine a situation where, with the right type of marketing, a
bumper-crop of astronomer and physicist wanna-be's could be produced
for which there is simply not enough societal need or demand. Is Hale
trying to say that everyone who wants to star-gaze for a living should
have the opportunity to do so?!
After spending several years through my early twenties studying things
on my own, wandering the country and learning several trades, I
realized I should go to school and begin a professional career. Given
my aptitudes and dispositions, I thought there was nothing I'd rather
be than a hydrographer. Well, a little market research soon told me
that there wasn't that great a demand for hydrographers; so, I
switched to 'computers' - actually systems science, as I was always
more interested in software than hardware. Anyway, I don't regret not
becoming a hydrographer...
Mark Crosby
Mark Crosby