<p>A general question because I get endless complaints about this from my doctoral advisor....He says "It's so much worse (getting funding for grad students and post-docs) than in was 5 or 10 years ago" </p>
<p>I sometimes wonder if he just not looking really hard for funding.</p>
<p>What do people feel who have been in the academic environment for a while?</p>
<p>Has funding changed in someway in last 5 years, so that it may appear to be harder to find funding, but really isn't? For example, I've heard complaints from profs that it is much harder to find funding for international students.</p>
<p>No, it’s actually significantly harder to get funding (for projects as well as people) compared to five or ten years ago.</p>
<p>NIH funding underwent a doubling during the Clinton years, but has been stagnant ever since, and during the budget crises of recent years, has actually been declining significantly. Even before sequestration went into effect last spring, funded NIH grants had been receiving 10-15% haircuts every year that the US was under a continuing resolution. Sequestration only made this worse. So even funded grants are worth less than they used to be, and the declining pool of money means that fewer people are able to be funded. The same general trend has been true for NSF grants.</p>
<p>If you are interested in following an academic path, there is no excuse for you not to follow these budget developments. You should be just as familiar with the vagaries of funding practices as your advisor is, and you should be helping by writing your own fellowship applications and possibly your own research grant applications.</p>
<p>No, it is harder than it was 5-10 years ago. Even 10 years ago was the beginning of the Bush era, and NIH funding levels were still kind of on the highs from the Clinton era. But like molliebatmit said - after sequestration, budget cuts from a GOP-controlled Congress and increased scrutiny on certain types of projects - NIH and NSF funding is very difficult to get. Even accomplished professors are posting like 10-20% success rates with new funding.</p>
<p>I agree, too, that you need to do some of your own legwork to find external funding. There are lots of awards out there for graduate students, especially if you are in a STEM field. It is harder if you are international, but if you’re a U.S. citizen there are quite a few fellowships. Or you could write a full grant with your advisor.</p>