SUBJECT: LIFE OF A UFO RESEARCHER                            FILE: UFO2781





                                  UFO UPDATE:

             UFO researchers say their work involves endless stress
             and deprives their families of time, energy and love.


      To the typical UFO buff,  the daily life of the UFO researcher  seems 
    romantic  indeed.   According  to the common  perception,   this  lucky 
    individual  spends days tracking down spectacular sightings and  nights 
    hypnotically  probing  the psyches of alleged UFO abductees.  When  the 
    researcher  comes  up  for  air,  moreover,   he  tweaks  the  nose  of 
    established science and jousts with the government for classified proof 
    of UFOs. What a life! 
     
      But  the  UFOlogists themselves say their profession  is  costly  and 
    stressful,   exacting an enormous toll on earning capacity  and  family 
    life.  The pain and pressure of the work, they say, is rarely mentioned 
    on  the  talk  show  circuit or in  UFO  magazines.   Stressful  career 
    problems,  for instance,  have plagued investigator Richard Hall,   who 
    worked  with the National Investigations Committee on Aerial  Phenomena 
    during  the  Sixties and Seventies and is now on the board of the  Fund 
    for  UFO Research.  Says Hall,  "UFOs on my resume interfered  with  me 
    getting straight jobs for years." 
     
      UFOlogist David Jacobs,  meanwhile,  says his work takes so much time 
    it  seems  "like  a  bottomless pit."  As an  abduction  expert  and  a 
    historian  at Temple University in Philadelphia,  he can't find  enough 
    hours in the day for either activity.  When push came to shove,  Jacobs 
    says,   he  chose  to  study abductions.  But a senior  member  of  his 
    department  at  Temple informed him that he would have to  go  back  to 
    regular  historical scholarship if he "hoped to advance in his career." 
    His  abduction work has also strained his family life,  though he feels 
    guilty when he takes a break. 
     
      Toronto psychotherapist David Gotlib reports similar strains.  Gotlib 
    spends  hours  providing  therapy for abductees  and  also  produces  a 
    newsletter  for abduction researchers.  Between the newsletter and  UFO 
    conferences,   Gotlib says,  he is "out thousands of dollars  worth  of 
    time."   He  deals with the pressure by reassessing his  commitment  to 
    UFOlogy  every six months.  "I'll close down the  newsletter,"   Goblib 
    says, "when I get a relationship or get married." 
     
      Larry Bryant,  head of the Washington, DC, office of Citizens Against 
    UFO  Secrecy,  says he has literally given up on a social life for  the 
    sake of UFOs. Bryant, a Pentagon employee by day, comes home to a world 
    of unanswered phone messages and UFO correspondence.  "It's a full-time 
    part-time  job,"  he says.  Bryant says he recently received a poor job 
    rating at the Pentagon because of his UFO work. The rating was improved 
    only after he paid a lawyer thousands of dollars and filed a lawsuit. 
     
      Finally, artist and abduction expert Budd Hopkins claims the research 
    has  deprived  his family of "time,  energy and love."  But  even  more 
    disturbing,   he  says,  is a frightening feeling  he  calls  "terminal 
    impotence." This oppressive sensation sets in, he notes, "because there 
    is no way to stop the abductions or ultimately help the abductees." 
     
      Given these drawbacks,  why do the researchers persist?  David Jacobs 
    explains.   The work,  he insists,  is critical because "the  abduction 
    phenomenon is the most important thing that has ever occurred." 
    

                                                            --PAUL McCARTHY 





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