144 SCIENTIST 



frequently have to rely on the lushness of their laboratories 

 and freedom from routine teaching duties in order to 

 attract the best investigators. 



No discussion of compensation these days is complete 

 without some remarks on fringe benefits. In this respect 

 most scientists are now clearly better off than lawyers, 

 doctors, or businessmen. In the first place, the academic, 

 and to a large extent the government, scientist has stability 

 of tenure. Once he reaches a certain stage, his job is vir- 

 tually guaranteed until the end of his active life. Opinions 

 differ as to whether or not the tradition of permanent 

 tenure is a good thing, and I do not propose to argue the 

 matter here. It is simply a fact that university professors 

 and, to a somewhat lesser extent, civil servants have it 

 and that it is one of the most jealously guarded of academic 

 perquisites. 



All three categories of scientists also enjoy pension, life 

 insurance, and, to a rapidly increasing degree, medical 

 insurance plans. These cannot be described in detail here 

 since they differ considerably from place to place and are 

 usually so complicated that few people other than a hand- 

 ful of attorneys and controllers really understand all their 

 provisions. However, there are a couple of points of a gen- 

 eral nature which may be worth bearing in mind, although 

 I share the opinion of many old-fashioned people that the 

 current younger generation is far too preoccupied with 

 matters of financial security. Generally speaking, industrial 

 and government pension and insurance plans terminate 

 when the employee takes another job. Academic pension 

 plans, on the other hand, are ordinarily transferable, that 

 is, the balance built up during employment in one insti- 

 tution remains to the credit of the employee when he leaves. 

 This has two salutary effects. Insofar as the individual is 

 concerned, he is less tied down to one job and is free to 



