>Now that all the low-hanging fruit is gone, you need to spend several years in school, climbing a narrow branch before you can reach any fruit.

This idea has bothered me for a long time. I would love to be a rock star of a scientist... It'd be nice not to have to invest inordinate amounts of time to get to the place where I'd have a chance of that happening. Alas the days of doing good research in your garage are probably over.