Survey suggests scientists' job security is suffering as a result of austerity measures.
Just half of UK scientists feel that their jobs are secure, according to a survey out on 20 June. The Higher Education Careers Services Unit (HECSU) in Manchester, UK, published the survey, which polled 22,000 people with undergraduate and advanced degrees across all sectors and disciplines. The poll also found that almost 75% of all science respondents, most of whom are 29 or younger, earn £29,999 (US$48,715) or less. Fewer than 20% earn £30,000–34,999, and 8% earn £35,000 or more. Charlie Ball, an HECSU senior researcher, says job insecurity was found across most sectors, not just science, and results from uncertainty about public funding in Britain owing to recent austerity measures. “The state of public finances is forcing changes in the way research funding is allocated,” he says.
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UK jobs not secure. Nature 474, 669 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7353-669a
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7353-669a