October 6, 2010

modern science.

I've been thinking a lot lately about science, what it is and how it's practiced and whether I am a good fit for it or not. I feel like this generation of postdocs and grad students are in a tough situation where jobs in academia are hard to come by in a system that's saturated and jobs outside the academy don't immediately appeal to academics who've been wanting to do science since they were kids (at least that's the case with me). Most of the news I've seen about these topics is depressing, so it's hard to feel optimistic about the future which makes it harder to be motivated in the present. I'm slowly learning to broaden my perspective about my career, but it hasn't come easily. I still love science and by many measures, it's a great time for science, but it seems like it's harder and harder to be a scientist.

1 comment:

  1. Ian, academia is a much tougher environment than people may often assume. Knowing you want to be a part of it somehow is a big step in knowing where you want to be. For me as a child, when I wasn't sure of where I wanted to go, it was most important to know where I DIDN'T want to be. The rest works itself out.

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