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A friend who heads a well-funded research group here in Denmark says the recent change is not so much in the number of Americans applying, but the quality/prest

A friend who heads a well-funded research group here in Denmark says the recent change is not so much in the number of Americans applying, but the quality/prestige. He's now receiving serious enquiries from graduates of Stanford, MIT etc, who previously were unlikely to leave the USA.

FirmwareBurner 1y ago
I don't doubt that, but researchers and post-docs always tend to move around he world, especially in niche fields, where you can't usually find an opportunity in your area of expertise right in your back yard in a timely manner(some PhD friends had to move from the EU to Korea because of that), but my main point is whether that will dethrone the US economically and boost the EU in the same way, or if the end result will be negligeable in practice. I suspect as long as the US pays the highest wages in the world by a long shot, and hosts the world's top companies, both civilian and military, it will not run out of brains willing to move there. Because for every American leaving to Copenhagen because of Trump, the US might get 10 new brains in return from China, India, Vietnam, Korea, Turkey, Serbia, etc. for the wages. Plus, Trump is a passing event that will be replaced in 3,5 years with someone else who could turn things around. You'd probably need 10-20 Trumps in a row to cause any lasting damage to the US. And also, no matter how moronic Trump or a US president can be, corporations like Apple, Nvidia, AMD, SpaceX, etc are not, and will always lobby Trump or whoever will be president to maintain policies that will keep the US attractive to brains for them so they can get the best talent in the world. Do you see where I'm coming from when I say I doubt the US will suffer much or at all?
- aqme28 1y ago
  > I suspect as long as the US pays the highest wages in the world by a long shot, and hosts the world's top companies, both civilian and military, it will not run out of brains willing to move there. If fewer of the world's smartest people are willing or able to move to the US, then competition for labor will shrink and so will wages.
  - FirmwareBurner 1y ago
    >If ... Yes, if. I addressed that in my previous comment. It's unlikely that "if" will happen.
- birn559 1y ago
  That's true for tech R&D, but researchers are not necessarily driven by money, but by prestige and research opportunities.
- seanmcdirmid 1y ago
  > You'd probably need 10-20 Trumps in a row to cause any lasting damage to the US. That is way too optimistic. One Trump can do plenty of long lasting damage to the USA. Will the world ever trust us again? We are basically quickly burning away goodwill that took a century to build up, and even if Trump is gone, the Trump voters remain, the USA is will no longer be seen as a reliable international partner anymore.

FirmwareBurner 1y ago

I don't doubt that, but researchers and post-docs always tend to move around he world, especially in niche fields, where you can't usually find an opportunity in your area of expertise right in your back yard in a timely manner(some PhD friends had to move from the EU to Korea because of that), but my main point is whether that will dethrone the US economically and boost the EU in the same way, or if the end result will be negligeable in practice. I suspect as long as the US pays the highest wages in the world by a long shot, and hosts the world's top companies, both civilian and military, it will not run out of brains willing to move there. Because for every American leaving to Copenhagen because of Trump, the US might get 10 new brains in return from China, India, Vietnam, Korea, Turkey, Serbia, etc. for the wages. Plus, Trump is a passing event that will be replaced in 3,5 years with someone else who could turn things around. You'd probably need 10-20 Trumps in a row to cause any lasting damage to the US. And also, no matter how moronic Trump or a US president can be, corporations like Apple, Nvidia, AMD, SpaceX, etc are not, and will always lobby Trump or whoever will be president to maintain policies that will keep the US attractive to brains for them so they can get the best talent in the world. Do you see where I'm coming from when I say I doubt the US will suffer much or at all?

aqme28 1y ago
> I suspect as long as the US pays the highest wages in the world by a long shot, and hosts the world's top companies, both civilian and military, it will not run out of brains willing to move there. If fewer of the world's smartest people are willing or able to move to the US, then competition for labor will shrink and so will wages.
- FirmwareBurner 1y ago
  >If ... Yes, if. I addressed that in my previous comment. It's unlikely that "if" will happen.
birn559 1y ago
That's true for tech R&D, but researchers are not necessarily driven by money, but by prestige and research opportunities.
seanmcdirmid 1y ago
> You'd probably need 10-20 Trumps in a row to cause any lasting damage to the US. That is way too optimistic. One Trump can do plenty of long lasting damage to the USA. Will the world ever trust us again? We are basically quickly burning away goodwill that took a century to build up, and even if Trump is gone, the Trump voters remain, the USA is will no longer be seen as a reliable international partner anymore.