>On 13 Oct 1997, Bharathi Jagadeesh wrote:
[snip]
>>>> But in order to produce good experimental science, you
>> have to spend most of your waking hours doing it, and
>> you have to have the infrastructure of a major research
>> institution, and that means you have to get paid for it.
>>>>>> --
Frankly, most people in research after graduate school or postdoc (if they
are lucky enough to have a pure research post-doc) are not spending most of
their waking hours doing science. They are teaching faculty, and even at
"major research institutions", this means that a major portion of their
time is given to teaching (especially if they do more than just read a text
book, and most people I know do give attention to teaching). They also
must do "service" - committee work, etc., as has been discussed already.
Then there are "real life" issues. I absolutely refuse to believe that
because I take the time and effort to spend some time each day with my
toddler, I am less of a scientist. Yes, my productivity is lower since (a)
I must teach 2 courses of non-science majors, with 350 students total, to
support myself as a "temporary" and (b) I feel that I should make sure that
my daughter is not reared by a care-giver (and I have an absolutely
wonderful caregiver). But the fact that my uterus has done something more
than cause me distress once a month should not reduce my standing as a
researcher. If anything, I would argue that the fact that, since her
birth, I have submitted two grant proposals and two manuscripts, and
developed an entirely new course, is an indication that I am a very good
researcher (although I will admit that job search committees seem to not
follow that logic). And no, I do not, nor can I, spend more than 50 hrs /
week at "work" (meaning science + teaching + service).
There is also some need to sleep. Which, with a 14 mo old, means more to
me than it ever did before ;)
Linden
______________________
Linden Higgins
Department of Zoology
University of Texas
Austin, TX 78712
telephone: (512) 471-6905 FAX (512) 471-9651
linden at mail.utexas.edu
