My future, ladies and gents

[exsequar]

From a purely Darwinian point of view, expecting a young woman to sacrifice her reproductive fitness for the sake of career advancement is simply too much, and yet the structure of academic research, in which one must spend one’s 20s and early 30s as a poorly compensated and minimally empowered graduate student and postdoctoral fellow, and the remainder of one’s 30s and into the low 40s working madly to earn tenure, can demand exactly that.

From The New York Times.

....... ;___;

Comments

[deirdre-c.livejournal.com]

I have two words: SCREW THAT!!

*leans back and points to three bouncing bbs*

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

*laughs* You rock!

I don't know, it's not so much about the kids as what I'm committing my life to. Is it for me? I just don't know! *crisis of confidence, etc etc*

I'm sure I'm going to bounce between elated and terrified for the next few months. Don't mind me!

[deirdre-c.livejournal.com]

Well, that's the beauty of these prospective student visits. You can sit down with other students in the department, sit down with faculty and talk about these kind of issues. Ask them what they feel they give up/gain. Ask how they negotiate their personal lives. A lot of times people (esp. the grad students if you can get them to the coffee shop) will be very candid about any down sides.

Also, *hugs*! Bouncing? You? NO WAY. ;)

[jebbypal]

*nods* Also, if you do talk to female profs or people in the program, you can also ask about if there's any help for soemone who does choose to have a kid during grad school/postdoc. For both, i know you still get maternity leave, but that can be more trouble than it's worth. Some of the society's have started fellowships so that women who choose to start a family as a postdoc can get funding to hire a tech for a year to help them be able to continue their work. It's something that most disciplines are actively trying to address, but as far as monetarily, the men have the same issues w/ enough money to raise a family anyways.

[mona1347.livejournal.com]

And the secretaries! TALK TO DEPARTMENT SECRETARIES.

For thence, the real power lies. :D