End-Game To Where?

I can hardly say that I found "Organic Chemistry Far From The Bench" uplifting (C&EN, July 20, page 57). We have a comparable situation for chemists (and scientists in general) in Canada. A Ph.D. in organic chemistry certainly means that a person has the ability (smarts and/or work ethic) to become a lawyer or an investment banker. Unfortunately, neither of these professions creates new value—they provide services to the creators of value.

Who is going to make the new scientific discoveries and inventions that power new business in the U.S. and Canada? More bankers and lawyers are certainly not the answer. If this is the end-game of a Ph.D. in chemistry, one might best counsel their child to pick a different career path.

Ron Hankewich
Vancouver, British Columbia