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Biologist quits research, earns more money fitting gas boilers

Wed, 2004-02-25 11:25 — Greg

Via the always very very good snowdeal: Biologist quits research laboratory to earn more money fitting gas boilers. Karl Gensberg, 41, has been a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Birmingham for 13 years discovered his plumber earned more money. So he retrained as a boiler fitter, so what is everyone planing to retrain as ? Janitor, carpenter, wine maker ?


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Wed, 2004-04-14 00:10 — Anonymous

Biologist regresses

Life for biologists with computing experience is not so good in the USA under the current government. I went from working in general biology to doing a degree in Marine Mammalogy. With no job prospects there I worked as an IT manager and got a degree in Bioinformatics. Without a job for more than 6 months , I am returning to house painting, in which I can average per hour in my own time. Being well schooled is not always beneficial. Being well educated and articulate in the USA is a dis-advantage. I have learned that, in general, Americans appear to be afraid of intellectuals. D. Job


Thu, 2004-02-26 08:46 — snowdeal@jabber.org

given my "bad lab hands"...

...i probably should have retrained in the "demolition arts". although secretly i think i'm in denial regarding my true calling as a librarian :-)


Wed, 2004-02-25 15:28 — chris

When I grow up...

I want to be a chef! I can already mix stuff in the lab, after all....


Wed, 2004-02-25 12:32 — Neil

depressing but...

A familiar tale - but I'd be wary of reading too much into one person's story. A 41 year old postdoc who started aged 28? Perhaps not the most dynamic individual - sounds a bit like he's been sat around waiting for jobs to come to him. Disclaimer if he reads this - I don't know you, this may well not be true. Having said that, academic science is pretty unique in having no career structure whatsoever.

Retraining...I've always fancied forensic science. 'CSI' certainly makes it look very cool ;-) Though that would require years of medical education, which I don't fancy at all. I think National Geographic photographer is my ideal non-science job.