Funding Application Success Percentages

I have previously noted that 10% of the applicants get money for humanities research from the Swedish Research Council, 6% of applicants get general research positions at the University of Linköping, and 4% get jobs at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. Today I've learned that less than 6% of applicants get grants from the Swedish National Bank's Centenary Fund, though 13% are invited to submit an expanded proposal.

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The picture in the sciences isn't exactly wine and roses either. And yet, enough of us keep persisting despite the lousy chances. So far.

/Janne (on his third postdoc, with no advancement in sight)

Is not one definition of insanity to keep doing the same thing but expecting a different result?
I have no idea what kind of madness it is to keep doing the same thing and NOT expect any different result, yet keep on doing it anyway...

Academania perhaps?

The number of stressed out wild-eyed post-docs in the corridors at my department last week was horrifying. Day of the Living Dead.

Were your post-doc colleagues stressed out last week because that's when they got "NO" from the Centenary Fund?

And do you mean people with post-doc jobs or people who chronologically post-date their doctorates?

No, stressed out about the application deadline for the Research Council.
And by post-docs I mean those that have managed to finish their thesis - as for jobs...well some have a few months left on short temporary project. The lucky ones that is. (might be singular rather than plural now that I think about it)
The rest were using the copying machine and imploring the Powers That Be to write them a glowing recommendation. As if that would help...