Earlier quoted context omitted.
Re: the "best and brightest" it's more at the undergraduate level then the PhD level. My brother has tippy-top grades in physics at one of Harvard/Yale/Princeton and legit research experience in nano-tech, and he like many of his friends in similar positions are choosing between going into industry or R&D and going into finance. The lure of $120k the first year out of school and guaranteed admission to a Harvard/Stan…
There aren't the jobs in R&D, it's as simple as that. Not even 1 in 10 physics PhD's goes on to be a professor. It might not even be 1 in 100.
But why would you? If you're a 1 in 100 physicist, you might make a discovery that will net your company tens of millions of dollars, but our laws are such that you won't see any of that money. Anything you invent will automatically belong to your employer. Meanwhile, even a 1 in 10 trader can stick with an investment bank long enough to bring in some $1 million/year paydays until exiting to a cushy corporate finance position.