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Hi Amy,
Disclaimer: I don't claim to be a role model, nor do I know you, so take
anything I say with a grain of salt! Now, some comments from someone who made
it out of grad school in one piece:
Assuming that being a herpatologist is still a high priority in your life, can
you chalk up your recent lowered performance to adjusting to the new
circumstances of your life (married, considering kids, etc.)? I think that what
you want is possible, but you must really, really want it. And if you're
planning on having kids in the process, you must be sure your spouse really,
really, really wants a career for you too. All motivation/ambition must come
>From within you, and genuine support must come from him. I think only you can
answer the question, is motivation still there? If you're not sure, what's the
rush? Take enough time to know for sure, and be sure your support system is in
place!
> What thought got you through? How
> did you handle the family vs. career thing? Has anyone else experienced a
> two year rut?
Two things got me through. First, I truely love my field (animal nutrition),
even though I didn't always like the daily grind. I tried to think of what I
was doing as not just school, but a hobby as well - convincing myself it was a
treat to spend all that time in the lab! Find some aspect of grad school you
really love (like research projects, reviewing manuscripts, teaching, whatever)
and plan enough of this activity into your year as the carrot to lead you
through the yucky stuff. Second, I knew I didn't want to spend the rest of my
life attending to other people's research projects. I wanted to be an
independent researcher. Knowing that getting my degree was the only way for
this to happen kept me motivated.
> Tell me straight up, and don't sugar coat it...am I just not cut out for a
> life of academics?
Don't rule out being a herpetologist in the larger world. Have you spoken with
other herpetologists outside of your department? Why not take a local herp to
lunch? NOT to unload your problems on them, but tell them you want to find out
what they're doing, what the field is like, what the major obstacles are/were
for them, why they chose gov't agencies over academia. You may get a very
different perspective on the profession than you've seen from within a
university. And at the very least, you'll make some contacts in your field.
Best of luck,
Laurel
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