tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post1655848668616207063..comments2024-03-25T02:33:41.590-05:00Comments on FemaleScienceProfessor: Surrounded By PhD'sFemale Science Professorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-708481296154557732007-12-14T20:23:00.000-06:002007-12-14T20:23:00.000-06:00I remember my father pressuring me to enter comput...I remember my father pressuring me to enter computer science, something I had struggled with in high school. From his perspective, anything non-science related was a waste of time. I failed miserably and struggled the first two years of university, taking mainly computer science and mathmatics course, just to please him. I basically wasted two years of my life, my confidence went down, and I was aimless afterwords. Finally I returned to school and dedicated myself to a subject that I actually liked, and was extremly successful academically. <BR/><BR/>So good on you for not pressuring your daughter to do something other than was she determines is best for her.Anisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00314693022189820655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-54821113702124848702007-12-12T20:07:00.000-06:002007-12-12T20:07:00.000-06:00I am far from obsessing (about this).I am far from obsessing (about this).Female Science Professorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15288567883197987690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-14625390654370406512007-12-12T18:54:00.000-06:002007-12-12T18:54:00.000-06:00"but I don't want my daughter to be an outlier if ...<I>"but I don't want my daughter to be an outlier if she doesn't acquire one."</I><BR/><BR/>And think of times and/or socioeconomic strata where one could apply your same angst to the Bachelor's degree. Look, you've apparently started her down the right path with respect to your non-Bachelor's holding neighbors. Established the basic principle that people shouldn't be judged on credentials. So why obsess any more? If you would really rather she get a PhD or other advanced degree, go ahead and make your preferences known. You can do this without being some sort of weird controlling parent you know.Drugmonkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05414353815962084981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-83601204581903323202007-12-10T18:06:00.000-06:002007-12-10T18:06:00.000-06:00When I was growing up, I don't think I had enough ...When I was growing up, I don't think I had enough exposure to adult conversations about careers in general. <BR/><BR/>I think the attitude at school was that we should be sheltered from the ugliness of work as long as possible, and I think this was really unhealthy. <BR/><BR/>There was this idealistic optimism that if you just found something you loved, you'd be good at it- and vice versa, if you were good enough at something, you'd inevitably be happy doing it. <BR/><BR/>Really flawed logic. <BR/><BR/>Anyway I think it's great that you even think about these things and that your daughter is getting a broader exposure. <BR/><BR/>My family is very odd that way. They have a very narrow view of what jobs are acceptable, respectable, and worth doing. Much of this relates to salary! <BR/><BR/>Liking it was sort of a separate issue- if you got lucky, you liked doing what you were good at and got paid for, but most people aren't that lucky.Ms.PhDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06542602867472447035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-78248658595386015842007-12-10T17:52:00.000-06:002007-12-10T17:52:00.000-06:00A lot of people just do work because they have to ...A lot of people just do work because they have to do work. When I was younger, someone I worked with said something interesting to me about what we did: you can work for less pay and usually longer hours because you love what you do, or you can work shorter hours doing something you don't like to have more money that lets you do what you love outside of your job. At the time, we were far on the end of the first scale. However, I think misery may lie in the middle--doing the rote work because it has to be done to get by, not loving it, not getting paid that much for it (which doesn't allow you to do that much of what you might want to do) and then, starting to just really hate the boring routine of it. I can't imagine being stuck there--but everyone can get out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-59038923457264553652007-12-10T14:19:00.000-06:002007-12-10T14:19:00.000-06:00I think successful academic get a pretty good deal...I think successful academic get a pretty good deal (though getting a Ph.D. doesn't make you a successful academic). Academics is also enhanced by the relative lack of short term deadlines. <BR/><BR/>But, I know lots of folks in other fields who love their jobs, too. Including even the ones people don't think about, like law and programming and even retail. I think it's the autonomy & variety that people like.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-71197463160150296942007-12-10T13:55:00.000-06:002007-12-10T13:55:00.000-06:00When I was in grad school, a friend of one of my f...When I was in grad school, a friend of one of my fellow students, [who had a business degree and went straight into a career from undergrad], said something that really shocked me. "You guys have such an INTEREST in your work, as opposed to me who basically likes what I do, but my passions lie outside of work". I've taken that to heart often when things (often the male-ness of my environment) get me down. 90% of the time working here isn't just a job, but something I find fulfillment and enjoyment in.Carriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01261116167144348387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-74653237975380238162007-12-10T12:05:00.000-06:002007-12-10T12:05:00.000-06:00Not sure why this reminded me of my mother's stori...Not sure why this reminded me of my mother's stories about being the only woman at a party where the other women were shocked that she even had a job--much less that she was a professor.Jamyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17328884172511150275noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29059245.post-78103353745322797752007-12-10T11:31:00.000-06:002007-12-10T11:31:00.000-06:00FSP, Your excellent (as always) post reminds me of...FSP, Your excellent (as always) post reminds me of some of the issues I've been facing as a single fsp trying to date outside the academic scene. I always find that nonacademic nonscientists find it difficult to understand why I love what I do and why I spend so much of my time doing it. Academic nonscientists understand and nonacademic scientists generally do too. Although by no stretch of the imagination do I require a b/f to be a PhD or be a scientist, trying to explain to somebody in corporate finance (no offense intended towards those in that field) why I spend 1.5 months every year in the field looking at rocks seems nearly impossible...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com