Academic STEM is miserable. How much are DEI and COVID policies to blame?

from Heterodox STEM, by Daniel Nuccio

Graduate programs in the various STEM fields are often populated by young, ambitious individuals who will spend much of their twenties and part of their thirties learning the finer details of some niche topic and honing specialized skills in order to become true masters of their craft. With a commitment to objectivity and rationality, they work for little money, as they attempt to prove themselves by racking up a high tally of peer-reviewed journal articles. Then, after a period of eight or twelve or fifteen years, if they they have yet to burn themselves out or opt for a job in industry or with some government agency that promises more money, or at least more reasonable hours, they pursue their final reward for their years of dedication: a tenure track position at a university with lab to call their own. Yet, for many, if they attain that final reward, doing so will often mark the beginning of the end of their career as a researcher (or at least an in-lab researcher), as their new po…