来源：《自然》
原文刊登日期：2021年12月1日
How does being a researcher in industry compare with being an academic? That’s a question explored in a series of articles based on Nature’s latest survey of salaries and job satisfaction. The results make for sobering reading for academics.
作为一名工业界研究人员与作为一名学者相比如何？根据《自然》杂志最新的工资和工作满意度调查，一系列文章探讨了这个问题。研究结果对学者来说发人深省。
Scientists who work in industry are more satisfied and better paid than are colleagues in academia, according to the respondents, which comprised more than 3,200 working scientists, mostly from high-income countries.
受访者表示，在工业界工作的科学家比在学术界工作的科学家工作满意度更高，收入也更高。受访者包括3200多名在职科学家，大部分来自高收入国家。
The survey findings also suggest lots of academics are looking to leave academia. One research director at a global bioscience company said that about 60% of job applications come from people in academia. A small proportion of those hired do later return to academia. The director says the company is keen to keep a path for return open, for example by permitting research staff to publish in scientific journals.
调查结果还表明，许多学者希望离开学术界。一家全球生命科学公司的研究负责人表示：“申请工作的人当中，有60%是学术界人士。”一小部分被聘用的学者后来又回到学术界。这位负责人表示，该公司热切希望保持一条开放的回归学术界之路，例如允许研究人员在科学期刊上发表论文。
Labour-market economics offers one explanation for the better pay and greater satisfaction reported by respondents in industry. New companies are popping up every week, and they can struggle to fill vacancies, so will offer higher salaries and additional benefits to attract good candidates. In a number of high-income countries, this is essentially the reverse of the situation in academia, in which postdoctoral researchers greatly outnumber tenure-track positions. In these countries, industry contributes around two-thirds of all research and development (R&D) funding. All in all, public institutions (including universities) have less money to spend and more researchers chasing every job.
劳动力市场经济学为工业界受访者报告的更高薪酬和更高工作满意度提供了一种解释。每周都有新公司出现，他们很难找到合适的人选，所以他们会提供更高的薪水和额外的福利来吸引优秀的候选人。在一些高收入国家，这基本上与学术界的情况相反，在学术界，博士后研究人员的数量大大超过终身职位。在这些国家，工业界贡献了大约三分之二的研发资金。总而言之，公共机构（包括大学）可花的钱越来越少，而每一份学术界工作都有越来越多的研究人员在竞争。
However, corporate life comes with its own challenges. One head of R&D with experience of working at large pharmaceutical companies said corporate politics and the slow pace of executive decision-making can be frustrating for a researcher who is used to a more hands-on scientific role in an academic lab.
然而，企业生活也有其自身的挑战。一位曾在大型制药公司工作过的研发主管说，公司政治和执行决策的缓慢节奏，可能会让习惯于在学术实验室中更注重实际操作的研究人员感到沮丧。
So, these two employment destinations need to learn from each other. Researchers looking to switch from academia to industry often have to contend with a supervisor’s disapproval of the move. Such attitudes can discourage researchers from returning to academia, where the perspectives gained in industry could help to re-energize and diversify teams.
所以，学术界和工业界这两个就业目的地需要互相学习。想要从学术界转到工业界的研究人员常常要面对导师的反对。这种态度可能会阻止研究人员重返学术界，而在工业界获得的观点可以帮助重振团队并使团队多样化。
Of course, many do find a career in academia hugely rewarding. One academic bioinformatician in the United States who responded to the survey reported earning around 50% of what she was offered for industry positions. She said: “It would be nice if academia could be more competitive with industry, but I love what I do and where I live so I can’t really complain.”
当然，许多人确实发现在学术界工作是非常有益的。一名接受调查的美国学术型生物信息学家报告称，自己的收入约为工业界职位收入的50%。她说：“如果学术界的报酬能比得上工业界，那就太好了，但我喜欢我所做的事情和我住的地方，所以我真的没有什么可抱怨的。”
But as competition for scientific talent increases, academic leaders must not assume that that sentiment will prevail. If they want current and future generations of academics to thrive, they need to learn how other sectors succeed in recruiting, retaining and rewarding staff, and consider how to ensure that they are still attractive to the top talent.
但随着对科学人才的竞争加剧，学术领袖们不能想当然地认为这种热爱学术而甘愿少挣钱的看法会占上风。如果他们希望当前和未来几代的学者茁壮成长，他们需要了解其他行业在招聘、留住和奖励员工方面是如何成功的，并考虑如何确保学术机构仍然对顶尖人才有吸引力。