Working for Government

I am very glad Dr. Chen came in to speak with us. I will actually be starting at the Army Research Institute (where she started) this summer, so it was nice to hear someone's opinions who had worked there for years. I am really looking forward to getting away from the stress and politics of grant-based research and instead working on research directly funded by the government. By removing the pressure of winning grants it seems like researchers can focus more on the science, rather than trying to "sell" it. Although it does seem to potentially limit the scope of the research you could do, Dr. Chen seemed satisfied by her options, and said that it was actually relatively easy to switch from one focus area to another. I am really looking forward to working on science for the sake of science, rather than for the sake of pleasing a funding agency with a shiny deliverable.