[arcanus]

> Dismiss its wage problems at your own peril.

It's far worse than this. In my field, even in industry I have had far more lucrative offers from quantitative hedge funds than any industrial research labor. Let alone staying in academia, where it literally starts to become a factor of four (or more) difference in salary between a postdoc and finance.

The only reason I did not bite is because I am fortunate enough to have no college debt even after undergrad and phd. Most are not in a position to be so picky.

[jostmey]

Don't count on your research job in industry remaining stable if it can be outsourced to a university lab. The ceiling on your pay is that of a postdoc's plus university overhead.

[arcanus]

> if it can be outsourced to a university lab

Thankfully, my work is sufficiently specialized and my background is strong enough I am not easily replaced. However, like many on HN I'm not representative of the general population and am certainly in a fortunate position. I am on a 'tenure track' in an organization where proprietary work and intellectual property I develop is legitimately valued.

But broadly, I agree. And I've seen some pretty horrific results along the lines you alluded occur to several of my colleagues.