Science in the United States is in a time of pain and uncertainty. The pain is felt most acutely by young scientists, who are having great difficulty establishing their careers. The uncertainty about the duration and outcome of the current situation stems from its roots in ponderous events of recent history—the end of the cold war, industrial downsizing, government deficits and demographic trends. Although budget difficulties and lack of jobs plague most of the sciences, the atmosphere of uncertainty about the future is palpably different from one profession to the next. Our concern here is with the profession of physics.