Exploring inequities that affect academic output and career trajectories in the aftermath of COVID-19
This article explores how COVID-19 highlights differentials and inequities that potentially disadvantage the academic career trajectories.
This article explores how COVID-19 highlights differentials and inequities that potentially disadvantage the academic career trajectories.
This article evidences results from ESOF 2020, by having travel grantees telling their personal experiences as early-career researchers.
Ours truly is the great age of technology. Indiana Lee proposes 7 things you should know before embarking on your STEM career.
With university and other research institutions closed, researchers have had their research interrupted: from slight readjustments to work from home to complete project interruptions that cause delays.
Throughout graduate studies, it is important to maintain a good relationship with your supervisor, while doing impactful publishing, building up a network to leverage your work, and a myriad of other small things that are vital for your future career.
The truth about the scientific field is it’s segregated, disjointed and impersonal. We spend years in higher education to end up widely on our own to figure out our career path. We can cold call or blindly send emails in hopes of connecting to someone Read more […]
The balance between professional and personal life plays a key role for successful careers of European researchers, especially for women scientists. As far as employment and reconciliation of work and life are concerned, female employment rates remain low especially in Southern Europe and East Europe and in general even more for women with low education. Antidiscrimination laws have been adopted, but gender gaps are still large. Lack of child care services and care facilities for the elderly combined with rigid work arrangements make it hard to reconcile work and family life.
EuroScientist celebrates International Women’s Day 2017 by covering a study giving food for thought on the issue of work/life balance for career scientists. Germany has traditionally looked down on mothers pursuing their career in the immediate few years after their children were born. However, a new survey by the German Centre for Higher Education Research and Science Studies (DZHW) shows that there are several key factors influencing researchers to stay in academia. These include the ability to self-determine their working hours, a flexible workplace and the existence of a long-term professional perspective. Clearly, respondents to the survey from both genders appear to strive for a better work/life balance. But it may take another generation for old habits to die.
Young scientists are expected to change country and jobs every few years on average to get a chance to progress their academic career. Mobility in science stems from a long tradition. It is favoured for bringing very enriching experiences. But post docs and their scientific work do not always benefit from mobility. Here, EuroScientist looks into how being on the move every few years affects the life of researchers and looks at ways of enhancing work/life balance.
The inadequacy of childcare policies across Europe, means that scientists who do not wish to be away from their lab for too long are struggling to balance their life as parents and as researchers. There are still some significant decisions concerning harmonisation of such childcare provision to be made in Europe, while further policy support would be welcome.
To reach a work/life balance, scientists need to learn how to create options. They need new ways of understanding how we invest in time, money or energy. They, also need to think carefully about the communities within which we are embedded. It is therefore essential to know how to make career decisions in conditions of uncertainty, by weighting the relative benefits of options.
A recent petition seeking government support to establish more permanent jobs and to limit the number of short term contracts in science and technology positions in Germany has already gathered over 10,000 signatures. It was initiated on 7th March 2014 by a German scientist called Sebastian Raupach, who wrote a letter addressed to the vice chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, and to the country’s federal minister for education and research, Johanna Wanke. This petition reflects the growing unrest among scientists regarding the limited career path in Germany.