Go West … Or East … Anywhere but Here

Two of the UK's most influential scientists — astrophysicist Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell and researcher Keith Campbell, who was one of the scientists on the team that created Dolly the cloned sheep — are urging recent science grads in the UK to seek work away from home, reports the Guardian's Michael MacLeod. The two researchers, who spoke at an Edinburgh International Book Festival debate on the future of science, said that decreased science funding in the UK means that young researchers just starting out might have a better chance of finding work in places like the US or Singapore, MacLeod adds. Bell Burnell said that the job market in the sciences is even harder on women, and that going abroad is very useful not only to widen one's chances of finding work, but also to broaden one's horizons and gain a different perspective. "For a young woman you probably have to go abroad while you're young and before you get attached to somebody and a family. Or, as I did, you go abroad about 50 when your family's left home," she added. "I positively encourage time abroad to anybody. It's worth taking the time to suss out which countries in the world are well funded for your subject and look for opportunities there."