Conclusion

Abstract

Scientific consulting, especially in the currently dominant area of environmental affairs, can be a volatile enterprise, with drastic fluctuations in demand for services. This selective force has led to the evolution of a cadre of professionals with high survival capabilities in times of economic stress in the consulting industry The survivors have been aptly characterized as “being able to perform a variety of functions. They write lucid reports, supervise personnel, manage complex mul-tidisciplinary projects, and wrestle with budgets. These employed scientists also communicate well, and they have demonstrated an ability to acquire new work for their company. Most importantly, they have shown an ability to apply their basic training to scientific inquiries in new issue areas.”²⁸