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When I grow up I want to be…
01 March 2010
By Elizabeth Dodson
The short term nature of most research contracts has been discussed a number of times on this blog. The transient nature of the work, means that I am often left considering what else I could do if I wasn’t able to secure that next research contract. Even since I was transferred onto open-ended terms, I am still in reality vulnerable to shifts in funding.
It is a long way from the ‘job for life’ expectation of my parents and grandparents, and leaves me wondering whether I will ever have a job with that level of long term security (I’m not sure many people do these days).
My job now feels similar to the time I spent doing my PhD – I work very independently (largely choosing the direction of my research), I live in jeans and walking boots (unless I have meetings that warrant something smarter), I am not tied to an office (but feel like I’m surgically attached to my laptop) and I keep fairly strange hours (I’ve just finished two project reports this Sunday night and I will have a well deserved lie in on Monday morning).
I rather like the idea of a lifelong career in research but sometimes feel like it can’t possibly be a proper grown up job! The question is whether I should ultimately be looking for a career change, whether I should focus my energy on making academic research work as a long-term career, or whether I should simply be thankful that today at least, I have an interesting job that I’m trusted to fulfil on my own terms…
...but then maybe when I grow up I could be an astronaut :-)
Tennie Videler02 March 2010 at 05:04 PM
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A professor friend of mine always says she wants to be independently wealthy when she grows up! I think there's a lot to be said for both options- trying to make the research work long-term and keeping an open mind about jobs outside academia. Where you end up will be a result of personal preferences, circumstances, responsibilities and a bit of luck, I guess. But I never thought 'when I grow up I want to be a programme manager'... just shows how narrow one's horizons can be.
Hannah Dee02 March 2010 at 10:50 PM
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So, Tennie, are you grown up now? What's it like? :-)
Chris Thomson03 March 2010 at 09:49 AM
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I'm fairly confident that if I ever grow up, I'll be useless at research. Whilst I'd like to say that most of the really good stuff that I do is methodically planned and undertaken, much of it is the result of serendipitous playing about... Of course I work in a Business school now so I feel obligated to shave and wear a shirt now (I may graduate to a tie if I get a permanent job)... ...I still work odd hours though I'm an early morning person.
Tennie Videler03 March 2010 at 10:20 AM
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Hihi, Hannah, I feel like I ought to be grown up now, mother (and my oldest has just found out which secondary school she is going to) and a proper job- but can't say I feel any different! So I guess the good news is that you don't have to grow up really, even if you do leave academia. Regarding office dress: I found that difficult at first, but it all got put into perspective when my daughters commented that it looked more like school uniform!
Lucy Rackliff05 March 2010 at 02:40 PM
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Truthfully Liz? Nah. It's not a grown up job. At least it isn't for me. It probably depends on where you work & who for, but I feel that whilst you can decide (in the main) when you do the work, whether to do it in the office or at home, & whether to wear jeans & walking boots or a flowery dress & Boden boots, not getting any say in what that work is is something I can't live with for the rest of my career. Some of the stuff I've found myself working on has actually been quite dull (though I'm passionate about the area in general). There have been times when I could have wept with frustration at having no say in how things were done, or having my opinion ignored, or having my work claimed by someone else. There are lots of great things about being a researcher, but when I grow up I want to be vice chancellor.