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Role Models
Jun. 28th, 2004 02:32 pmI've been perusing STATUS today. For once it seems to delve into issues of why women leave astronomy and how to change that, as opposed to just lamenting the fact that there are so few women in the field. And the issues of balancing career and family resonate with me.
While I can't say that I've had to deal with any overt discrimination in my career so far, despite having had two children while in grad school, the one thing I felt I have suffered from is a lack of role models. I know a few men who have had children in grad school, and several women who have had children after landing a professorship. But I don't know any women who have had children as students, and only very few who had children as post-docs.
It makes me feel very alone, and I often worry about my future career prospects. It would be nice to know someone who has been in my position before, just so I can say "she's done this before, so can I." On the flip side, I hope I can become a role model for present and future grad students, and maybe they won't feel quite so lost as I did as a student.
The women whom I have talked with concerning children seem to agree that having children while younger, particularly before the post-doc years, is generally better. You have more energy for kids when you're younger, your fertility is at it's peak, pregnancy is easier on your body, and taking an extra year to finish your PhD is less deterimental than taking time off as a post-doc. The other option is to wait until you've landed a permanent position, by which time you are likely to be over 40. This is why we made the conscious decision to have our children when we did.
Not to say that having kids is ever convenient. It's just that it's easier to deal with a new baby at certain points in your life than others.
While I can't say that I've had to deal with any overt discrimination in my career so far, despite having had two children while in grad school, the one thing I felt I have suffered from is a lack of role models. I know a few men who have had children in grad school, and several women who have had children after landing a professorship. But I don't know any women who have had children as students, and only very few who had children as post-docs.
It makes me feel very alone, and I often worry about my future career prospects. It would be nice to know someone who has been in my position before, just so I can say "she's done this before, so can I." On the flip side, I hope I can become a role model for present and future grad students, and maybe they won't feel quite so lost as I did as a student.
The women whom I have talked with concerning children seem to agree that having children while younger, particularly before the post-doc years, is generally better. You have more energy for kids when you're younger, your fertility is at it's peak, pregnancy is easier on your body, and taking an extra year to finish your PhD is less deterimental than taking time off as a post-doc. The other option is to wait until you've landed a permanent position, by which time you are likely to be over 40. This is why we made the conscious decision to have our children when we did.
Not to say that having kids is ever convenient. It's just that it's easier to deal with a new baby at certain points in your life than others.
