I REFER to Wednesday's report, 'PhD holder now a taxi driver', which could not have come at a better time.

As a former science student, I lament the poor research culture in Singapore.

Some PhD students I have observed in the laboratory are there to get an academic qualification and are not interested in the discovery of new knowledge.

The research culture is fraught with many failed experiments but a good researcher will understand that failure is a result in itself. Unfortunately, as millions are spent each year, achieving success is more important than the discovery process. Nothing is more detrimental to a researcher than pressure to deliver results at the end of the financial year.

There is also a lack of monetary incentives to motivate junior researchers. For example, a basic degree holder in life science research may earn $2,200 a month, less than the market rate in other disciplines. Even a PhD does not guarantee a job in the life science research sector, except for A*Star scholarship holders who must serve out their bond.

Research jobs in Singapore are short-lived. In research laboratories, it depends on whether there is enough grant to continue a particular project. Every junior researcher is hired on a contract basis due to the short-lived nature of research grants.

Last but not least, there is a lack of flexibility to allow researchers to toy around with other ideas. Each researcher is supposed to stick to his line of research. As a research student, I was chastised by my supervisor for wasting money on another small project that was not relevant to the main area of focus.

If we all had this mentality that everyone should mind his own turf, penicillin would not have been discovered 80 years ago. Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin, investigated the mould of fungus that had grown on a media culture. Had his supervisor reprimanded him, he would have thrown it away and penicillin would not be the medicine we call antibiotics today.

Please also take note there is nothing wrong with being a taxi driver. I almost became one after I could not find a job. I applied for vocational licence. The reception clerk eyed me suspiciously when she saw I had ticked the box 'Degree'. She did not say a word, perhaps out of courtesy, but it probably became the topic of the day when she lunched with her colleagues later.

Edmund Lim

This article was first published in The Straits Times.