A magnificently honest, accurate portrayal of life in science…and coming to realize it is time to walk away from same:
So, what went wrong? There are a great many alluring things about an academic scientist’s lifestyle that are simultaneously liberating and dangerous. The best of these are that you can work pretty much whenever you like, on whatever is interesting; the flip side is that “whenever you like” often translates into “all the time,” and “interesting” is a matter of who you’re talking to. For the first 5 years or so, I loved the freedom of being a scientist in what was touted as a meritocracy. I did work very hard, and I got somewhere […]
However, I was always hampered by self-doubt. My initial conviction – essential for anyone who wants to make it as a scientist – that I could really make a difference, maybe even win a few prizes and get famous, eroded when I realized that my brain was simply not wired like those of the phalanx of Nobelists I met over the years; I was never going to be original enough to be a star. This early realization, combined with a deep-seated lack of self-confidence, meant that I was useless at self-promotion and networking. I would go to conferences and hide in corners, never daring to talk to the speakers and the big shots. I never managed, as an infinitely more successful friend put it, “to piss in all the right places.”
All I have to say to that is: yep. Painful but (usually) true. The realization is half the battle. There’s a nice little career to be had while not being a shatteringly important thinker in your field. At least I hope there is…
via commonunity
Lemkin 