Category Archives: Staring into the abyss

In which things flow naturally forward

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Jennifer Rohn

I’ve been pondering the impermanence of things lately. Maybe it all started with the departure of a well-liked clinical researcher from our lab, an OB/GYN with a sense of the absurd who never failed to make us laugh. Now when … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Nostalgia, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science | 8 Comments

In which I cling on

Posted on March 19, 2013 by Jennifer Rohn

Recently I was kindly invited by the University of Southampton’s branch of the University and College Union to give a talk about the casualization of research jobs. ‘Casualization’ refers to the state whereby workers are employed in a disposable fashion … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science | 7 Comments

In which I am not a science cheerleader

Posted on November 29, 2012 by Jennifer Rohn

There is something seductive about the scientific profession: it exerts a gravity so powerful that it can hoover all of the surrounding universe into its warped perspective. If you have your heart set on being a scientist, you set off … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, LabLit, Scientific thinking, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Writing | 28 Comments

In which I prepare to be terminated – again

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Jennifer Rohn

The afternoons are darkening, the leaves are scattering to the ground — and the usual seasonal missive from HR has arrived in my inbox. Actually, although I’m on rolling 3-monthly contracts, I haven’t received this kind of notice in writing … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss | 16 Comments

In which we leave our mark – or not

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

I like to watch eddies that form underneath waterfalls in a cascade, the ones you see in creeks of glacial run-off rushing down the sides of mountains. The milky-green water, and everything trapped in it, seems desperate to get from … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science | 23 Comments

In which my heart goes out to Postdoc B

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

What a difference a few words make. Compare this: With this: A modest difference, you might think. But your average postdoctoral stint in the life sciences is probably something like 3-4 years. So the difference between 8 and 12+ years … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Women in science | 42 Comments

In which I set my sights

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Even the darkest tunnels tend to have lights at the end of them. In the past fortnight, not only have I submitted my big screen paper – the culmination of four years of work – to a very reputable cell … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science | 14 Comments

In which the truth hurts – or does it?

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

As crocuses push through muddy earth, the air softens on campus and the undergraduates wake up from hibernation to resume clogging up the pizza queue in the refectory, I feel the weight, yet again, of the swift passage of days … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science | 28 Comments

In which we fail to meet expectations

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Sometimes you find yourself in a crowd, experiencing the unreal sense that you’re wearing a disguise, or acting out a part in a play, or watching yourself in a web-cam feed. Last week I attended the biennial meeting of Wellcome … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science | 35 Comments

In which I space out

Posted on December 23, 2010 by Jennifer Rohn

London is beautiful at Christmas, especially when we get proper winter weather. In this lame-duck week in the run up to the 25th, many people in the metropolis have downed tools and taken off work early for the holidays – … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss | 11 Comments