why do people go into science?

[jrtom]

Women In Science

The title is actually somewhat misleading, as it has more to do with reasons why people go into science as a career. I think some of it is oversimplified, but it's worth reading.

Comments

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

My apolgies if anything I said was excessive - I usually assume everyone on the internet is a layman when I'm feeling nice. (They're 15-year-old boys when I'm feeling mean.)

K-12 salaries are DEFINITELY very regional. The numbers I quoted were for the Northeast: $40-50k in NYC and Boston; $23k in Western MA.

Grad students in Astronomy have a single goal: PhD, and teach at a university. Any other professions we end up with (such as community college, K-12, telescope operator, satellite programmer, NASA engineer, Wall Street) come from washing out of the PhD program with an MS. International grad students have only one modification in their career goals: take the PhD to a Uni. back home (if they're non-Western), or take it to another EU state if they are Western.

Doing research is only exciting if you're thoroughly a geek committed to that field. I was 99% committed, which wasn't quite enough. ;) I'll go back to grad school for my mid-life crisis.

[jrtom.livejournal.com]

No apologies necessary. Although I must say that I am shocked--shocked!--that you haven't perused my personal website in detail. ;)

It's not 100% certain that I'll end up finishing my PhD, for a variety of reasons. (I'll be starting a full-time job in June and--in theory--writing my dissertation on the side.) If I don't, I may or may not go back for my mid-life crisis. We'll see, I guess. :)

[zandperl.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, the last thing I need right now is another distraction/attention divider. But thanks. :) [Ref]