Hi Julia,
I've also been sitting on the sidelines here, but your call for those
taking the road less travel prompted me to respond. I am currently a
post-doc having just finished three years of NSF support on a
postdoctoral fellowship. I would go to the mentor-fellow get togethers
held by NSF and feel the pressure to pursue a career at a large
University. However, I kept my dream of teaching in sight. I love my
research but sometimes molecular biology doesn't provide a high enough
ratio of reward to effort. That's where teaching comes in. I have
always loved teaching and so I new that if an academic career was in my
future it would be at a small liberal arts college. I recently secured a
position at just such a place (Macalester College, St. Paul, MN). I
can't wait to get started. To me that kind of position gives the best of
both worlds, teaching in a setting where it's respected and the
opportunity to do research (also respected, my startup funds were excellent).
No it will not be a cakewalk. I am married with two children and I
already feel that I am pushing the lower limit with time spent at work,
and the maximum with time spent away from home. But this is what I have
worked for, and I can't help but feel that the selfrespect and confidence
that I have gained from attaining some of my goals will be beneficial for
my children.
Daphne Foreman
(currently) University of Michigan
Department of Biology
Ann Arbor, MI
