Another insightful, forward-thinking article from The Transmitter. I'll go even further. As someone with experience in both academia and industry, I think that academia's inability to create meaningful careers beyond principal investigator roles is significantly holding it back. The concept of research software engineers sounds like a dream. The reality is that even accomplished neuroscientists have to leave academia if they don't aspire to become PIs or aren't willing to accept second-class status. This narrow career path structure is limiting the potential of academic research in today's highly interdisciplinary, large-project neuroscience.