Hi Shana,

Because the Solar Week scientists work in different places and on different topics, I bet you will get different answers from all of us to your question. So far, I have been very lucky compared to many other people I know and have managed to stay employed and pay all of my bills. A few years ago, employees at my university did not receive an annual pay raise due to cuts in state funding. Federal funding for scientific research is also very tight right now, and it could get even tighter next year. You may have heard on TV that Congress must pass a new spending plan with cuts to help reduced the budget deficit by the end of the year, or something called the "sequestration scenario" will go into effect. Congress and the White House passed a "sequestration plan" a while back to keep the federal government running and force the Democrats and Republicans to work together to reach an agreement on the federal budget. If Congress can not pass a new budget before the end of this year, automatic spending cuts across the entire government will go into effect on January 2, 2013. If this happens, NASA could lose nearly $1.5 billion in funding to support its programs, which include research in solar physics and magnetospheric physics.

Kris