An Analysis Of C&EN Articles

Department: Letters

December 17, 2012 Letters

I was nearly overcome with fear reading the Nov. 5 issue of C&EN. On page 11, I read of the “near-retirement ... of more than 6,000 physical scientists employed by DOD.” On page 26 is the statement: “Companies looking for highly skilled workers in the U.S. argue that more visa and green cards slots are needed so they can fill open positions.” Luckily, a short time later, the answer hit me as I read on page 50 that “in the U.S., unemployed chemists are still struggling to find jobs. The unemployment situation is especially dire for mid- to late-career chemists.” There are even tales of those forced to relocate to other parts of the U.S. or the world.

Is a solution taking shape in the minds of C&EN readers? Perhaps something other than “reevaluating the security clearance system to open up more research jobs to foreign-born workers.”

ACS 2011 IRS Form 990 Available

The American Chemical Society’s 2011 Form 990 is now available on ACS’s website. To access the information, go to www.acs.org and follow these instructions: Click on “About Us,” then click on “ACS Financial Information.” Go to the heading “ACS IRS Form 990,” and click on “2011 IRS Form 990.”

Please see also the related “Guide to Schedule J” for explanatory information regarding ACS Executive Compensation. If you have any access problems, contact webmaster@acs.org.

I personally am fortunate enough to not be in the situation of the unemployed—who are so artfully personified on the cover. However, if I were, I would find it quite insulting to read of a “scientist shortage” (page 11) without at least a cursory analysis from the editor.

I haven’t seen this sort of self-contradiction since, well, the articles about the electric-vehicle market (C&EN, Oct. 22, pages 8 and 26). Please pull it together.

Ken Doll
Peoria, Ill.

Comments

Bob Buntrock (February 15, 2013 4:09 PM)

Better late than never? I agree with this letter (and I'm surprised there isn't more comment). US employers in general are trying to cut costs by shedding experience in favor of lower cost inexperience. I took "early retirement" 18 years ago becasue, as a fellow senior scientist observed earlier, "We're getting to be too expensive". He's a wrold renowned expert in his field and had an additional ten+ years with another company. I had a successful consulting career but those fortunate circumstances don't always happen.

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