In the early 1990s, the word alternative was frequently used to describe angst-ridden pop music that existed on the fringes of culture. The word also became associated with the young and disenfranchised who were pessimistic about their future — whether they were avid followers of the 'alternative music scene' or not.

Soon after, another disgruntled group — the growing masses of postdocs trapped in the perpetual fellowship cycle, with no hopes of permanent academic appointment — co-opted the term. Alternative, to them, suggested any non-university job, from science writing to marketing. To some, those types of jobs meant a failure to secure a position in the esteemed research hierarchy. To others, it meant a scientific sell-out.

One 'alternative' pioneer, Ian Smith, managing director of Lehman Brothers Pharmaceuticals Research in London, can certainly attest to those sentiments. He recalls that some colleagues considered his mid-1980s, 'pre-alternative era' switch from bench to bank as “traitorous”. Those sentiments have since shifted, and more of his basic-research colleagues have joined him in the investment world (see Special Report page 4).

Beyond slowly gaining acceptance, the world of alternative careers has also broadened. The World Technology Network (http://www.wtn.net), in an event co-sponsored by Nature, will next month give out awards for excellence in 23 categories, including law, policy and finance. “Scientists are scattered throughout all 23 categories,” says James Clark, the network's chairman.

Alternative music is now the norm, with no stigma attached. The same could be said for alternative careers, which are clearly no longer on the fringes, or only for the disenfranchised.