It deeply inspired me for a moment, despite me not being a kid and not having any kids to help with a project.

Then I suddenly felt quite bitter. There’s *a lot* of rhetoric these days about increasing math and science education, and getting kids interested so we can train more US scientists. Yet once they get into college and start studying science, the process seems to reverse – everything past the point of deciding to major in science does nothing to encourage you, it instead pushes you away from science.

The clincher? These days if you’re still in school or a recent graduate, your chances of finding a job related to your chosen field of science are close to zero. Go to graduate school, you say? Good luck, considering everyone else who normally would have gotten a job after getting a BA/BS has also decided to apply to grad school, in a time where science funding is tight and researchers can’t afford to take on grad students. And then if you do go to grad school? You still won’t be able to find a job, either in academia or industry.

Most of the enthusiasm that kids gain for science – partly because of things like this science fair – is burned out of them either as an undergrad or shortly afterward. Well, that’s not right – the enthusiasm is still there. It’s just buried under piles of cynicism and other road blocks, and there’s no one left to encourage them to continue – no support socially or financially, and nothing but a bleak future to look forward to, rather than a future filled with new discoveries.

You can take my message with a grain of salt since I had a bad (professional) experience in grad school, and now after eight or nine months still haven’t found a job. I’m not sure having a job (or an acceptance into another grad program) would change my mind, though – my bitterness is based on experience and observation (both from me and many others) and not emotion.