Not rocket science

Look through the pages of the average science or engineering recruitment magazine, and you'll be bombarded with ads from military engineering firms, fossil fuel corporations and biotechnology companies. Ethical concerns, like preventing war or environmental damage, just don't seem to be a priority in the science and technology world.

Statistics on how government and business spends money on research and development, the bread and butter of science and technology careers, do give cause for ethical concern.

Opportunities for ethical scientists

The military accounts for about one third of government spending. In the business sector, pharmaceuticals are the dominant force. With more than 60% of science and technology jobs with the private sector or military, compared with 3% in the charity world, the outlook does not look good for the ethically minded scientist.

But dividing science careers into goodies and baddies is often too crude. Usually, it's not about who you work for, but how you go about it. As a pharmaceutical scientist, for example, you may need to question whether a drug is being tested reliably, or whether bias is creeping in because of the potential for big profits.

Research bias

Studies have investigated the relationship between the results of drugs safety tests and who funds them. Unsurprisingly the evidence showed a clear bias in the industry funded research.

But there are plenty of areas where the ethical choices are more straightforward. Academic scientific research is one. The UK Government has substantially increased funding for the seven Research Councils which fund research into understanding and tackling health, social or environmental problems.

Ethical scientific research

The Natural Environment Research Council, for example, funds research into environmental processes and how human activities affect them. A new joint research programme, called "Towards a sustainable energy economy", funds the development of cleaner energy technologies, and research on how to encourage social change to reduce energy use.

Outside of academic research, there are a growing number of businesses that do give a high priority to ethical concerns.

Renewable energy

There are a range of scientific and engineering opportunities in developing renewable energy technologies, especially wind, solar and biomass, as a way of tackling climate change. Environmental consultancy is also expanding, at about 10% a year.

The opportunities for an ethical career in science and technology are growing and new funding continues to come on stream. But every new development brings with it new ethical dilemmas. At Scientists for Global Responsibility, our introductory guide and in-depth briefings will help you tackle them.


Scientists for Global Responsibility
www.sgr.org.uk