trial by fire

[Karen Wheless]

In reading this discussion, I'm reminded of my last set of job
interviews.  My graduate advisor was known for his abrasive personality,
and for tearing down students at seminars and group meetings.  Several
of the people I talked to told me during interviews that "that kind of
behavior" wouldn't be tolerated in an industry setting.  I'm not an
expert, since I've only worked for one company, but it seems to be true.
There are a lot of diverse personalities, but the aggressive and public
"old boy" style is noticeably absent.   Maybe it's because there isn't
the "captive audience" that there is in grad school - the few people who
do act that way quickly find that the people who work for them transfer
to other groups or find other jobs, which is much easier here than in
the academic world.  They either change or end up quite isolated.  Many
younger scientists, both women and men, have mentioned that this is one
reason that they are happier working in industry than they were in
academia.  I think that this shows that the idea that "this is the way
science has to be" isn't true, and that if there is motivation for it to
change, it will, without ending quality scientific research.

Karen Wheless

-- 
__________________________________
Karen Wheless                 kwheless at rockland.net
 When you have only two pennies left in the world,
 buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other