dential appointment means living in a public fishbowl. For those not already living in the Washington area, a move can be disruptive to families with children in school, and it is costly to find a home in the expensive Washington housing market.

Public esteem for government, especially the federal government, has declined in recent years, which has reduced the prestige of the public service and lowered its morale (National Commission on the Public Service, 1989a,c). This stems in part from perceptions that the government is less effective. While the problems government faces are more complex and difficult to solve—which is why the government's need for highly qualified dedicated scientists, engineers, and other experts in leadership positions is greater than ever—Congress and the executive have become more fragmented and divided and therefore less able to agree on decisive action. This in turn reduces one of the major incentives for public service—the opportunity to make a contribution.

Although these factors affect all potential recruits for presidential appointments, the consequences are especially serious in the case of technical personnel because of the critical importance of S&T judgment and advice in national policymaking and program management. Some of the factors discouraging potential recruits for presidentially appointed positions may affect scientists and engineers to a greater degree than candidates from the legal or other professions, or from the business sector.

For many scientific and technical positions, the people most needed to be effective are those who are at the peak of their technical expertise, at the cutting edge of technology. These professionals are likely to be at midcareer, earning somewhat higher salaries than the government pays. They are less likely to have accumulated wealth that would allow them more easily to forgo a higher salary to take a government appointment, and they are more likely to have children in college. While mid-career scientists and engineers may be the most desirable from the perspective of the government because they are energetic, creative, and on top of the latest research developments, they are among the hardest to recruit. Past presidential personnel directors have often written them off as impossible to recruit. Thus the career-stage factor makes the pool of scientists smaller than other professions.

Also, presidential appointment to a policy position will not necessarily enhance scientists in their scientific careers in the same way that it would help lawyers or business professionals who gain from the prestige, contacts, and experience of a presidential appointment. In a time of rapid scientific and technological change and progress, time away