Who is being a good Scientist?

I've been thinking a lot this week about science and in particular evolution.

It seems to me that apart from a (relatively) few people who are experts, the rest of us place a great deal of trust in the white coated, Doctorated up few who have set out the case for evolution with such firm conviction. I'm sure they are ethical, knowledgeable and honest but who is subjecting them to scrutiny?

Any self respecting scientist who wants to take a look at the gaping holes in the theory would be subject to ridicule and accusation and loss of standing in the academic community, they'd be accused of pandering to Christian hankerings keen to disprove the theory.

Also, while I'm on it, everyone clumps evolution and the origin of life together, one is actually only a tiny part of the other, evolutionists are mostly concerned about what happened to life immediately after it started.

Intelligent design, probably not a legitimate alternative, but is anyone looking at a credible alternative? Not me. A BSc in Geology wont give me in a basic grounding, and I'm willing to guess their wouldn't be an academic institution who'd be willing to support such research and no one at all to stump up the money.