I've been thinking of chiming in before and will do so now. As someone who is now a grandmother, I can say yes - you can do it all, but not exactly all at the same time. Kids do not stay babies that long. You can cut back when they are, and when your kids are a bit older, you can plunge back into field work and career. It's also vital to have a spouse who does his 50% of the child rearing. I advise anyone wishing a balanced career and family life to choose your spouse carefully with this in mind!
> I've been following the debate Simone Whitecloud inspired concerning > babies in the field. This brought to mind something I was told when I was > pursuing my B.S. in Wildlife Ecology: > > "You can be a scientist, a spouse or a parent. Two of these things you > can be simultaneously great at doing, while the third will suffer." I'm > not sure I entirely agree with this statement, but I have seen personal > relationships tried by professional obligations and professional > obligations tried by personal obligations. Particularly in a field that > often demands long absences and irregular hours, I can see how this would > particularly be true. Though, I have also seen faculty and research > scientists with families that seem pretty stable and happy. Is there any > substance to this paradigm, and if so, are there realistic ways in which > we can change them? I'd love to hear the communities' thoughts on this as > it is something that I have often reflected on as I've progressed through > my career. Can we have it all? What are the key differences between the > ones that are seemingly able to do it and the one's where the challenges > become too great? > > Rachel Guy > Project Coordinator, Research Assistant > > > >
