Taken for Granted Index

Beryl Lieff Benderly has been a regular contributor to Science Careers since 2003, writing on postdoc matters and other scientific workforce issues. She writes from Washington, DC.

A Big Idea about Fostering Innovation

3 October 2008

An unorthodox program helps young innovators turn inspiration into reality and suggests an intriguing approach to encouraging new ideas.

Fitting the Job Market to a T

5 September 2008

Former postdoc-activist Laure Haak has learned firsthand why, despite an abundance of impeccably trained postdocs, good help in industry is hard to find.

University of California Postdoc Union Wins Official Recognition

29 August 2008

The state employment board count of cards confirms a majority, officially unionizing the nation's largest group of postdocs.

The Fat Lady Sings

1 August 2008

After the latest chapter in a long battle, employee postdocs on University of California campuses have voted to join the United Auto Workers union.

By the Numbers

4 July 2008

A committee calls on government to do a much better job collecting data about scientists.

Over Here

6 June 2008

Science and technology fields offer professional opportunities for veterans who choose wisely.

Lost in Space

2 May 2008

A severe disconnect separates some policymakers from scientists' lived reality.

Help Is on the Way (for Some)

4 April 2008

A flurry of activity in early March, intended to ease the problems of young scientists, did little to address America's most fundamental science-workforce issues.

Earlier articles for Science Careers:

Mastering the Job Market

7 March 2008

Professional science master's degree graduates find themselves in demand for a variety of jobs.

What's Ahead for Early-Career Scientists?

1 February 2008

A comprehensive biennial examination finds opportunities far brighter in industry than in academe.

Feeling the Elephant

4 January 2008

Why does the perception of a scientist shortage persist despite ample evidence to the contrary?

Rising Above "The Gathering Storm"

14 December 2007

A report from the Urban Institute casts doubt on claims that America suffers from poor science education and a shortage of qualified scientists.

GREAT Expectations

30 November 2007

A new organization aims to focus national attention on issues facing medical postdocs.

Making Mentoring Mandatory

5 October 2007

The America COMPETES Act makes mentoring a standard part of the grant-application--and evaluation--process at NSF. Mentoring on NIH grants, on the other hand, is tolerated if not condoned.

Capital Losses

7 September 2007

Programs are succeeding in attracting able young people into careers as physician-scientists. The harder challenge is keeping them there.

The Curt Flood Effect

3 August 2007

Standing up for your rights--like those related to pregnancy and childbirth--is especially perilous for people, like postdocs, whose prospects depend on the subjective recommendations of supervisors.

Be Careful What You Wish For

13 July 2007

The doubling of NIH research funding left some early-career life scientists worse off than before. Will the planned doubling for physical science repeat the same mistakes?

Living the Issue

8 June 2007

A family health crisis led lab scientist Adil Shamoo to a new passion and a new career in bioethics.

Who Speaks for Early-Career Scientists?

1 June 2007

In the current discussion about raising the cap on the number of foreign technical and scientific workers, the voices of the Americans most directly affected are going largely unheard.

A Tunnel to Atlanta

4 May 2007

Ethnic networks are influential in channeling international graduate students and postdocs to American labs, research shows.

Huddled Masses

13 April 2007

Today's large influx of international postdocs may be good for American society at large, but not, research suggests, for the incomes of America's young scientists.

A "Hippocratic Oath" for Scientists?

2 March 2007

Explicit ethical commitments could improve the practice of science--and the treatment of early-career scientists.

Contemptuous Irresolution

2 February 2007

After the Senate's failure to do its job threatened scientists with a very bleak year ahead, Congress comes through with a last-minute reprieve.

Dealing With Deception

19 January 2007

As incentives for scientific cheating increase, early-career researchers need ways of protecting their own careers while safeguarding the integrity of science.

It Ain't Over Till It's Over

1 December 2006

A bureaucratic snag--not postdoc resistance--has stalled a California unionization drive. But both UAW and its opponents vow to keep up their efforts.

Betting the Farm

3 November 2006

Howard Hughes Medical Institute's lavish new venture offers unprecedented opportunities for a small number of early-career scientists willing to take a big gamble.

Who We Are As Scientists

6 October 2006

Spurred by the stem-cell scandal, a group of Korean early-career scientists organized an international conference on ethical issues in science.

Postdoc Unionization Drive Reaches a Climax in California

1 September 2006

As pro- and antiunion sides exchange accusations of unfairness, California's state labor board weighs the union's petition.

NIH Urges Career Training and Tracking

4 August 2006

New provisions of NIH's T32 institutional training grants may foster changes that help postdocs.

A Pressure Cooker for Postdocs?

7 July 2006

In the wake of the Korean stem cell scandal, postdocs report widespread pressure to "cook" research results.

Northern Exposure

2 June 2006

At the University of Ottawa, postdocs are getting the recognition they deserve thanks to several measures, including renaming of the graduate faculty the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

A Novel Look at Postdocs

5 May 2006

The researchers in Allegra Goodman's fictional lab put mentoring, apprenticeship, ambition, loyalty, competition, deception, and integrity under the microscope.

Two Problems in Need of One Solution

7 April 2006

America needs science teachers. Postdocs need permanent jobs. Can new incentives lure postdocs into the pre-college classroom?

The State of the Union

3 March 2006

Two years after the ratification of the first postdoc union contact, things continue to go well at the University of Connecticut Health Center. But outside UCHC, few postdocs seem interested in unionization.

A Bridge to Independence

3 February 2006

Despite a tight budget, NIH is moving forward with a plan to help as many as 200 postdocs each year establish their own labs. But for the majority of postdocs, the most positive effect may well be a sobering dose of reality.

The Intramural Alternative

6 January 2006

On the Bethesda campus of NIH, postdocs find opportunities for great science amid a baffling bureaucracy.

What's Wrong With American Science?

9 December 2005

A 2005 U.S. National Academies report recommended increasing the number of scientists America produces, but not everyone agreed with their assessment.

Too Much of a Good Thing?

4 November 2005

A National Academies report examines the benefits and costs of the nation's heavy dependence on foreign postdocs

What a Difference Ten Years Makes

7 October 2005

Several early contributors to Science's Next Wave share the lessons of their first post-postdoc decade.

A Cloudy Crystal Ball

2 September 2005

Studies paint divergent pictures of the future for America's scientific labor market

Making it Great for Everybody

5 August 2005

When institutions try to improve conditions for their postdocs, the initiative often comes from the top. But, as one pioneering department is showing, efforts at the departmental level can also make a big difference for postdocs.

Hughes, Burroughs-Wellcome Course Launches Initiative in Career-Skills Education

1 July 2005

Management, project planning, grantsmanship, and teaching rank high on the fields considered useful--even essential--for aspiring scientists. Two leading research funders launched an initiative to bring training in these and other skills to postdocs and junior faculty.

American Scientists Face Challenges at Home and Abroad

27 May 2005

A generally pessimistic picture emerged at the 30th annual Forum on Science and Technology of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. But experts examining budgetary, workforce and globalization issues related to science also suggested some sources of hope.

Looking for Jobs in All the Right Places

14 May 2004

A wide range of interesting and significant science careers other than academic research beckons postdocs

Three Reports Tackle the Postdoc Mess

6 May 2005

The plight of early-career scientists has come in for exceptional scrutiny in recent weeks as three major scientific institutions each released a report on the postdoc system. Their appearance suggests that the postdoc issue may finally be reaching critical mass among the nation's science policy elite.

Not Your Father's Postdoc

29 April 2005

In today's scientific labor market, just doing good science is no longer enough. Postdocs need realistic expectations, good information and an entrepreneurial attitude toward their careers. [Joint Next Wave/Science Careers special, reposted from Science]

A Taxing Question on Postdoc Pay

1 April 2005

Starting on 1 April, the day traditionally devoted to clowning and practical jokes, many holders of federal fellowships find themselves caught between two conflicting governmental definitions of their professional status--and suffering the disadvantages of both.

Gender and Scientific Achievement - Views From the Bench

4 March 2005

Harvard president Lawrence Summers' recent comments about women in academic science made headlines. But, early-career scientists told Next Wave, the two less-publicized possibilities that Summers mentioned, motherhood and discrimination, are more plausible explanations.

New Multiple PI Policy May Help Postdocs

4 February 2005

On 11 January, President Bush's science advisor instructed the heads of all government research organizations to establish policies to acknowledge more than one principal investigator (PI) when appropriate. This change in science policy may improve the status of some postdocs.

California Comes Through!

7 January 2005

If, as the saying goes, the future begins in California, then health coverage for postdocs across the country may be in for some real improvement. On 1 January, the University of California inaugurated its much-heralded unified health plan for the estimated 6000 postdocs in the 10-campus system.

NSF Workshop on the Postdoc Experience Calls for "Culture Change"

3 December 2004

Correcting the problems and inequities that bedevil postdocs will require "changing the culture" of labs and universities across the country.

NSF Employee Postdocs: An Unknown Quantity

5 November 2004

NSF differs from NIH in important respects other than size and the differences can have a significant impact on postdocs' lives.

Tough Times Ahead No Matter Who Wins

1 October 2004

Hard times lie ahead for scientists regardless of who wins the 2004 presidential election.

Visa Rules Still Complicate Postdocs' Lives

3 September 2004

It remains to be seen how much recent developments will help international postdocs with the often complicated task of staying "in status" in the United States.

Unionized Postdocs Unaffected by Decision Denying Union Right to Brown University Grad Assistants

6 August 2004

A recent NLRB ruling against postdoc unions has no effect on the nation's first--and, as yet, only--postdoc union

The Incredible Shrinking Tenure Track

2 July 2004

The fastest growing category of post-postdoc academic scientists is the array of non-tenure-track jobs.

Turning Dumb Luck Into Smart Luck

4 June 2004

A few postdocs make their own jobs.

Looking Forward, Looking Backward

7 May 2004

People from across the country gathered on three consecutive days at two of the capital's most prestigious scientific venues to discuss the past, present, and future of America's postdocs.

A Union Contract Aimed at Preserving the Postdoc Experience

2 April 2004

The postdocs at the University of Connecticut Health Center voted narrowly to join a labor union.

President's Budget: Bleak Prospects for Postdocs

5 March 2004

When President George W. Bush sent Congress his fiscal year 2005 budget proposal, it contained no money for any increase in postdoc pay.

The State of Public University Funding

6 February 2004

Fiscal year 2004 saw total state higher education funding fall by 2.1percent, the first overall decline in more than a decade.

Unionization and Education: A Faculty View

16 January 2004

University unions are much in the news these days.

The "Other" Postdoc Curriculum

5 December 2003

Writing, public speaking, job hunting, and ethical reasoning top the list of essential skills for postdocs.

Mentoring and PI Productivity

7 November 2003

Both the quantity of publications produced and the quality of mentoring provided--especially to postdocs--should count in the evaluation of a lab chief's suitability for future funding.

Living a Double Life

24 October 2003

MD/PhD programs give students two markedly different perspectives on human biology, and then launch them on two separate, simultaneous careers.

Can Labor Unions Work for Postdocs?

3 October 2003

How well does the labor union model suit the needs of aspiring research scientists?

New Models for Health Insurance

5 September 2003

Postdocs across the country may be witnessing the dawn of a new era of health insurance opportunities.

The California Plan

1 August 2003

Americans with health insurance generally get it where they work, and people doing the same job at the same organization usually get the same benefits. But not postdocs.

NSF to Seek Increase in Postdoc Salaries

20 June 2003

NSF-supported postdocs may get bigger paychecks starting in federal fiscal year 2005.

10.1126/science.caredit.a0800052