OK, after a couple of days of thought, I'll take up the gauntlet. Academia is extremely competitive. That's because there are a lot of really smart people out there who want to do this work and not a lot of positions available for them. That's a fact we can't get around. If you want to survive in the ecology pond, you either need to be a big, fast fish, or you need to be a fish that doesn't eat much. Or you leave, and ecology becomes a hobby or side interest while you make a living doing something else. But in the pond, we can still be good to each other. During my time in grad school, I had a life. I got married and started a family. It took me 8 years to get my PhD. But at no time did anyone say I should be working more instead of being with my family. And I did not work nights and weekends. I always had the full support of my advisors, committee and department. (Some of whom are on this list - you know who you are, and thank you!) I was on the verge of crawling out of the pond, but someone decided to give me a chance, despite my unwillingness to commit to more than 40 hours a week. I now have a (non-tenure track) faculty position, which is perfect for me right now because I STILL don't work nights and weekends (usually anyway). I am not a big fish, but I'm in the pond, well, a neighboring pond. And now as I work with grad students, I support them in pursuing their own research interests and in their desire to have a life outside of school (sometimes I need to remind them). I can't change the competitiveness of academia, but academia is made up of individuals. As one individual in the system, I can affect my own little sphere of it, and I don't think, based on other individuals that I know, that I'm particularly unusual. Not every fish will be able to stay in the pond, but I personally will do what I can to help the fish around me. I wish the writer of the original blog every success in his new endeavor, and I am happy he has found a supportive community. Hurray for beer! Sarah
Sarah Jack Hinners, PhD Assistant Professor - Research Metropolitan Research Center City and Metropolitan Planning University of Utah 375 S 1530 E rm 226 Salt Lake City, UT 84112 ________________________________ From: Aaron T. Dossey <bugoc...@gmail.com> To: ECOLOG-L@LISTSERV.UMD.EDU Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 9:31 AM Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] how we lose good scientists - silence? "Nature intended me for the tranquil pursuits of science, by rendering them my supreme delight. But the enormities of the times in which I have lived, have forced me to take a part in resisting them, and to commit myself on the boisterous ocean of political passions." -- Thomas Jefferson “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” ― Martin Luther King Jr. "If you see something, SAY SOMETHING." -- <origin unknown> On 2/13/2013 11:27 AM, malcolm McCallum wrote: > If scientists and academia are not willing to stand up for themselves, who > will? > > > > On Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 9:52 AM, Aaron T. Dossey <bugoc...@gmail.com> wrote: >> Complete silence. Could academia be feeling some shame here? ..... nah.... >> >> The article has a few new comments on the article itself though, check them >> out! >> >> http://deepseanews.com/2013/02/19294/ >> >> https://www.facebook.com/notes/national-postdoc-union/ideas-for-expanding-opportunity-and-innovation-in-science-careers/279532325495663 >> >> >> >> On 2/11/2013 10:24 AM, Jarrett Byrnes wrote: >>> Colleagues, >>> >>> I just read a piece that describes how one young bright and very talented >>> scientist was lost to our profession. It's an open and honest discussion of >>> one man's struggles with the way modern academia works, and how it can make >>> use eat our young, as it were. I think it points out a lot of the hidden >>> corners and the darker sides of how academic science currently works - >>> things we make jokes about or shake our heads at, and sometimes, in moments >>> of bravery, we confront and try to change. Heck, I'd like to think that we >>> Ecologists are better than most other fields, but I know that to not always >>> be the case. >>> >>> The post is at http://deepseanews.com/2013/02/19294/ >>> >>> I think there is a lot in this piece to unpack. I know a some on this list >>> or out in academia who will think that the author _should_ leave science and >>> does not deserve to be here. And I'm sure that there are other sides to the >>> story being told, etc. etc. The specifics, though, are less important than >>> the broad patterns and themes it evinces. >>> >>> Given the conversation is has spawned in comments, other blogs, and >>> Twitter, it is clear this is not an isolated story. It dovetails with many >>> issues that we traditionally relegate to 'leaky pipeline' discussions, but >>> are true regardless of gender - indeed, gender, race, class, and lack >>> privileged background often only amplify them. >>> >>> The piece is worth reading, and then asking, what effect does driving out >>> voices like this have on science as a whole? Are we better or poorer for >>> such losses? Is this acceptable? >>> >>> Food for thought. >>> >>> -Jarrett >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ---------------------------------------- >>> >>> Jarrett Byrnes >>> Assistant Professor >>> Department of Biology >>> University of Massachusetts Boston >>> 100 Morrissey Blvd. >>> Boston, MA 02125 >>> 617-287-3145 >>> >>> http://jarrettbyrnes.info >>> b: http://imachordata.com >>> t: @jebyrnes >>> g+: http://gplus.to/jebyrnes >> >> >> -- >> Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. >> Biochemistry and Molecular Biology >> Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs >> Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation >> http://allthingsbugs.com/about/people/ >> http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs >> 1-352-281-3643 > > -- Aaron T. Dossey, Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Founder/Owner: All Things Bugs Capitalizing on Low-Crawling Fruit from Insect-Based Innovation http://allthingsbugs.com/about/people/ http://www.facebook.com/Allthingsbugs 1-352-281-3643
