Many American scientists seem to have it all: a fulfilling career, professional recognition and financial security.
They should be completely satisfied with their lives—right?
Not necessarily.
In a study called “Scientists Want More Children,” sociologists Elaine Howard Ecklund of Rice University and Anne Lincoln of Southern Methodist University found differently.
The study shows that 25 percent of American scientists are dissatisfied because of the difficulties surrounding balancing a career and family life.
Several SMU science professors agreed with this notion.
“Throughout your career, you’re expected to produce and to be a one-man show,” John Buynak, an SMU chemistry faculty member, said. “Teaching, research, writing papers, labs [and] proposals . . . it’s underestimated just how much all that will require. It could be endless. It could consume your whole life.”
Buynak believes that in order to balance a science career and a fulfilling family life, “you have to make time.”
Steven Vik, biological sciences faculty member, said, “as a scientist, one often encounters these kind of difficulties when you are working in your lab.”
“Experiments tend to take much longer than expected,” Vik said. “It’s not something you can count on, how long things will take.”
As you build a family, there’s lot more things you should be doing than just your science [work].”
For Chemistry faculty member Patty Wisian-Neilson, balancing her career and personal life is somewhat less challenging because her spouse is also an academic chemist.
“We fully understand each other’s career challenges,” Wisian-Neilson said.. “The biggest challenge was finding two positions in the same geographic area.”
Many SMU students majoring in science-related fields identify with these difficulties.
“For me, when I was deciding to go pre-med, I went back [and] forth a lot because I want to have kids,” Sarah Whitaker, junior pre-med student, said.
Whitaker also believes that professionals with “high stress and long hour kind of jobs” need to achieve a “ratio” between their career and family life.
Sophomore biomedical engineering student Scarlet Gray worked for a year at the Biomedical Research Institute.
Gray personally agrees with the study’s results.
“In the lab, the hours are so strange. Because of the experiments, you can be there all weekend, for 24 [straight] hours or leave but have to come back,” Gray said. “It’s not a workday schedule. It’s kind of a never-ending job.”
“As of right now, it’s difficult [to be a science student] but doable,” Karin Kuusito, sophomore premed student, said. “In the future I worry about whether or not I’ll have a life at all or just study all day. How much more can I study?”
The study also explained that many leave the sciences or decide against going into the field because of the strain on ones personal life.
Sophomore Richard Braxton recently dropped his chemistry major despite having worked for two summers at Drexel University.
Although Braxton enjoyed the “friendly” environment of the labs and the “interesting things to see,” he grew tired of the lifestyle restrictions.
“It’s very taxing on the social life because your experiment usually determines what you’ll be doing year-round . . . Research involves wading into dark waters, and sometimes things go wrong just ‘because,'” Braxton said. “It can be anger inducing and stressful, and the time constraints don’t help relationships.”
