It used to be that a university degree was not only a rarity but a ticket to job security. Not anymore.

In a world in which more and more of what we use is a product of science, should we be training more scientists? I don’t think so.

Richard Harris from NPR reports on scientists who left their field when finding research money became too difficult. It’s a poignant story, one all-too familiar to me. I saw Ph.D. graduates working as research assistants in laboratories; I also saw someone with a Ph.D. and a postdoctoral fellowship under his belt apply and be interviewed for a position which required him to do cell culture and place orders for the lab.

The NPR story is interesting, but the comments are even more arresting. Here are a few excerpts:

“Me? I’m on SNAP and on Medicaid, without a dime to my name. And…