Greetings Kristina :
I'm a childless (by my own perception of necessity) 40-year old female 7
years out of my PhD - I just recently got a permanent position after a
series of post-docs. My take is that a PhD program probably would not
discriminate against age - in fact, older more mature graduate students are
often very stable and focused. You would probably have more flexibility
and freedom to deal with your family while in grad school that when you
were in a job. My concern would be that you would experience subtle
discrimination when the PhD was finished and you are older and looking for
work. On the other hand, if you already have your family established,
maybe this would be a benefit as your employer would not have to worry
about you "suddenly" leaving and burdening the work place with your
absence. In regards to an earlier email, I have repeatedly seen that men
with families not only receive higher pay, but the best and more permanent
positions with benefits, and more flexibility regarding where they want to
work, taking time off, etc. This is totally illegal, but is the norm.
Good luck - Becky Kerns
Kristina
Pendergrass
<[EMAIL PROTECTED] To
UBURN.EDU> [email protected]
Sent by: cc
"Ecological
Society of Subject
America: grants, Re: gender issues in ecology
jobs, news"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]
V.UMD.EDU>
11/02/2006 06:21
AM
Please respond to
Kristina
Pendergrass
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]
UBURN.EDU>
As someone with an MS, who hopes to still get her doctorate, I find there
is either a real or perceived stigma against women with regard to
beginning a family. Since a woman has to spend some number of months
incapacitated due to the late stages of pregnancy and the early stages of
childcare, it seems her only choice is to pursue a doctorate first (and
have kids possibly late in life) or to begin a family before beginning a
doctorate.
Because my husband is 7 years older than I am, and because I finished my
MS when I was 26, I am opting to start a family now, when the risk of
Down's syndrome and other age-related complications is reduced.
What I would like to ask the group is whether, in your experience, older
women (e.g. age 40) are less likely to be accepted into PhD programs than
students having just finished their BS or MS? I would dearly like to
pursue a PhD (ecology is my passion!!), but I worry that my age at the
time will prove a hindrance.
Please feel free to email me at my email address (vs. replies to the
group); I can compile results for anyone interested.
Thank you. Sincerely,
Kristina Pendergrass
Research Associate,
Scott-Ritchey Research Center
College of Veterinary Medicine
Auburn University, AL 36849
334.844.5574
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Inouye" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Career advice for scientists: the X-gals alliance
> Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2006 17:36:07 -0500
>
>
> I'm hoping that women in ecology aren't facing all the
> gender-specific barriers mentioned here:
>
> http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2006/10/2006100201c/careers.html
>
