4 ms·

That would contradict "even if she wanted to, France couldn't". If she wanted to, France could make nuclear engineering a highly-paid profession with strong job

That would contradict "even if she wanted to, France couldn't". If she wanted to, France could make nuclear engineering a highly-paid profession with strong job security. It would just cost more money.

ta988 5y ago
I have serious doubts that would ever happen. Everything is gridlocked for programs like that in France.
jltsiren 5y ago
It's impossible to make binding long-term promises in a democracy. Voters are allowed to change their minds, and the risk that they do that and completely destroy nuclear engineering as a career option is always present. Something like software engineering is a much safer career option, because the risk that your country will categorically ban it is pretty low. And because it doesn't tie you to a small number of possible employers or force you to live in a specific location.
- Gare 5y ago
  Austria comes to mind - they built the fully functional nuclear power plant, and never had it started - because the public referendum was narrowly (50.47%) against it. Billions of dollars down the drain, hundreds of careers derailed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwentendorf_Nuclear_Power_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwentendorf_Nuclear_Power_Plan...
- ciabattabread 5y ago
  But somebody has to maintain all those nuclear missiles and nuclear subs. What's the percentage split for civilian vs military employment for nuclear industry jobs?
- jabl 5y ago
  And thus we arrive at today's world, where the best and brightest of our generation are working on optimizing ad clicks instead of solving grand challenges. le sigh
- tablespoon 5y ago
  > It's impossible to make binding long-term promises in a democracy. Voters are allowed to change their minds, and the risk that they do that and completely destroy nuclear engineering as a career option is always present. That's true of any political system, the problem with democracy is more that it's invariably fickle. A dictator may also be fickle, but there's a least a chance he has a long term vision with a late payoff that he pursues for a his lifetime.
- avidiax 5y ago
  > It's impossible to make binding long-term promises in a democracy. We can make binding financial promises at least. It's entirely possible to grant nuclear workers each a personal 60 year annuity managed by a consortium of foreign banks, and requiring the worker to pick between working as an engineer, returning the annuity, or sitting in prison.
  - MichaelZuo 5y ago
    This, it really is just a question of political will and cost.
bayesian_horse 5y ago
It's difficult to ascribe a single will to a nation. It's more of a split-brain issue. And making certain professions high-paying isn't as viable a strategy as you might think. Multiple factors go into that. Nuclear engineering isn't a popular thing, just like animal testing.

ta988 5y ago

I have serious doubts that would ever happen. Everything is gridlocked for programs like that in France.

jltsiren 5y ago

It's impossible to make binding long-term promises in a democracy. Voters are allowed to change their minds, and the risk that they do that and completely destroy nuclear engineering as a career option is always present. Something like software engineering is a much safer career option, because the risk that your country will categorically ban it is pretty low. And because it doesn't tie you to a small number of possible employers or force you to live in a specific location.

Gare 5y ago
Austria comes to mind - they built the fully functional nuclear power plant, and never had it started - because the public referendum was narrowly (50.47%) against it. Billions of dollars down the drain, hundreds of careers derailed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwentendorf_Nuclear_Power_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwentendorf_Nuclear_Power_Plan...
ciabattabread 5y ago
But somebody has to maintain all those nuclear missiles and nuclear subs. What's the percentage split for civilian vs military employment for nuclear industry jobs?
jabl 5y ago
And thus we arrive at today's world, where the best and brightest of our generation are working on optimizing ad clicks instead of solving grand challenges. le sigh
tablespoon 5y ago
> It's impossible to make binding long-term promises in a democracy. Voters are allowed to change their minds, and the risk that they do that and completely destroy nuclear engineering as a career option is always present. That's true of any political system, the problem with democracy is more that it's invariably fickle. A dictator may also be fickle, but there's a least a chance he has a long term vision with a late payoff that he pursues for a his lifetime.
avidiax 5y ago
> It's impossible to make binding long-term promises in a democracy. We can make binding financial promises at least. It's entirely possible to grant nuclear workers each a personal 60 year annuity managed by a consortium of foreign banks, and requiring the worker to pick between working as an engineer, returning the annuity, or sitting in prison.
- MichaelZuo 5y ago
  This, it really is just a question of political will and cost.

bayesian_horse 5y ago

It's difficult to ascribe a single will to a nation. It's more of a split-brain issue. And making certain professions high-paying isn't as viable a strategy as you might think. Multiple factors go into that. Nuclear engineering isn't a popular thing, just like animal testing.