[atmosx]

Actually the vibes I get from world-wide accademia is kind of the opposite direction: Human Sciences, even applied sciences related studies that are not ready to produce money (turning them some way into a small-term investment) are not funded anymore, because states (all over Europe for sure) are cutting down budges and research is one of the main sectors that gets cuts down to fractions. So if a company doesn't fund your research (which will not, if the company doesn't have any substantially imminent gain), no one does.

There are other points that are addressed in the opposite direction. Anyway it's good to have a wide variety of opinions floating around, makes it easier for us outsiders to get closer to 42...