I was chatting with a company manager in mid-career who was being transferred to Brazil for international training. I was amazed at how much his company helped him and his family in the move. This included renting a house, searching for a good school, paying the school fees, finding a job for his wife and arranging to get the family an extra car.

During our talk, I couldn't help drawing parallels with scientists. Many choose to pursue a PhD in a US lab, so they look for a suitable position and relocate. Should they be keen on a postdoctoral position in, say, Spain afterwards, they move again. And so on. Hence, the scenarios for those in business and science seem similar, except of course for how much help they're likely to get from an employer. Although some universities do their best to help find housing, a spouse's job and childcare, the level of help depends on the institution and country. Rarely does a university provide all the assistance of a large company.

Why do business managers require an economic incentive to move, whereas researchers are left to make do mostly on their own? Is it supply and demand? Are there many scientists but a dearth of qualified businesspeople to tap for international experience? I doubt it: the business world is just as competitive as that of science. But traditionally, each world emphasizes different rewards. Also, of course, public universities just don't have the money.