Category Archives: Staring into the abyss

In which my heart goes out to Postdoc B

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

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?

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

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

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