22 July 2010
By Matthew Salois
Two things have kept me away from this blog for a few weeks: a nice month long holiday (or vacation as I would say) in the US and no internet access. Perhaps many of us may be delighted to be temporarily ex-communicated from our web-based lives, however I find the whole concept of not being able to check email absolutely traumatic!
Nearly two years passed before both my wife and I were able to travel back to our American origins in Florida together. While Skype helps the distance between us and our families feel less vast, nothing can replace the sense of self like returning home for a while. I am now back to the grind, prepared to meet the demands of life as a post-doc -- at least for now!
One noteworthy experience relevant to this blog about my time home was the inevitable questions that arose from friends and family about my job. Despite being a full-time research fellow dedicated to a single grant project, nearly everyone asked the question, "So, how are your classes going?". Now, I have explained my occupation countless times before, but nothing seems to prevent the perplexed faces that appear when I respond with: "I don't have any classes, my post-doc is research focused."
I should also add that expressions of disappointment also surface on faces. Apparently to non-academics research is a chore but teaching is where the prestige is found. I strongly value the role of teacher, however I have always found research a bit more rewarding. I also to think that prestige in a university is measured by the extent of research publications and not by how many classes are taught.
Conceivably, my father may always have the opinion that I have an easy job since there is no hammer and nail involved, or in the very least since I am not on my feet all day giving lectures. For the record, though, I find my job often challenging and always rewarding.
Have other's had similar experiences explaining their jobs to non-academic friends and family?
Elizabeth Dodson27 July 2010 at 12:03 PM
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I've generally found people quite satisfied with my explanations of what I do for a living (and that my work is research rather than teaching focused). It's my doctorate that always seems to confuse. I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked about medical complaints - to be greeted with great disappointment when I explain again that I'm really not that kind of doctor!
Matthew Salois27 July 2010 at 04:41 PM
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That is too funny, Elizabeth! Coincidentally, I have also gotten the same sort of confusion. But when I explain that my PhD is not an MD, I see a slight sense of disappointment, like suddenly it is not just that I am not that KIND of doctor, but not even a REAL doctor!
Andy Humphrey03 August 2010 at 12:49 PM
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I think it may be easier in the sciences. I've found that people seem to understand the notion of someone in a white coat beavering away in a lab all day, trying to find "the next cure for cancer" (or whatever). At that simplistic level, I can explain my job relatively easily. The difficulty comes when intelligent non-scientists want to know more about what it is I actually do, day by day. Explaining a synthetic chemistry-based project in lay person's language is always a challenge. Just the idea that you can create new molecules, let alone build them up bit by bit from other molecules, defeats some people!