Astronomy
I have been incredibly busy these last few days, especially with the Women in Astronomy and Space Sciences coming up real soon. As the youngest member of the organizing committee, I find myself being turned to quite frequently regarding issues for early career scientists. So here's one issue that I've been mulling over a lot lately.
My own personal issue of the moment is job hunting. This year is particularly rough, especially if you're looking for faculty positions. (To all my fellow job hunters out there: let's all give a big cathartic scream right now: AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!! There, doesn't that feel better?) What with the economic downturn, there are fewer jobs available than in years past, but just as many people on the market. And yes, this strikes real close to home for me. But what also bugs me is that if you look at the demographics, the diversity is all at the bottom. As you look higher and higher in seniority, astronomers get whiter and maler. Now, who stands to lose their jobs right now? Who are the ones who will leave astronomy because no one has a job for them? Not those senior white males with tenure. It's us folks at the bottom of the career ladder, where a lot of effort has gone into making a diverse population. While the numbers are still quite small for minorities, there are quite a few women in astronomy now. If us young 'uns get squeezed out of the job market now, it means that the percentage of women in astronomy as a whole will go down. Now, add to that the fact that women tend to leave at a higher rate than men overall, well, it's bad news for the status of women in astronomy.
Now, I'd like to end on a positive note since this big Women in Astronomy conference is coming up, and there is much to celebrate in spite of hard times, so I'd like to recommend a book I read recently. It's She's Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology, and Other Nerdy Stuff. It's a collection of essays by women who are self-identified geeks of various stripes. You'll find computer science geeks, video game geeks, and yes, science geeks. The stories are about what it's like being a minority within a minority group (i.e. women in science). You'll find that we women geeks are a heterogeneous group, and some stories will resonate more with you than others. But the stories all celebrate being a geek and being a woman and demonstrating that those two identities are not incompatible. So I guess the moral of the story is that no matter how this job season goes for me, I will always be a woman geek, and that's something to take pride in.
- Cswa Success Stories And Future Challenges
Recent data on demographics and conversations with my NSF colleague, Lisa Frehill, opened my eyes to a somewhat surprising fact. Young women in astronomy (assistant professors, postdocs, students) from some racial and ethnic backgrounds (white and Asian)...
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In one of my earlier posts, I wondered whether or not K-12 STEM programs are truly effective at helping to plug the leaky pipeline in the United States. In that post, I referred to the study that found that countries that make economic commitments...
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I recently returned from a trip out to the West Coast. I visited three different institutions, and even though I wasn't applying specifically to those departments, at each place the topic of jobs and funding came up and the picture they painted was...
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There is a moment in the life of any aspiring astronomer that it is time to buy that first telescope. It?s exciting to think about setting up your own viewing station whether that is on the deck of your home or having a powerful but mobile telescope...
Astronomy
Thoughts on the Job Market and a Book Recommendation
I have been incredibly busy these last few days, especially with the Women in Astronomy and Space Sciences coming up real soon. As the youngest member of the organizing committee, I find myself being turned to quite frequently regarding issues for early career scientists. So here's one issue that I've been mulling over a lot lately.
My own personal issue of the moment is job hunting. This year is particularly rough, especially if you're looking for faculty positions. (To all my fellow job hunters out there: let's all give a big cathartic scream right now: AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!! There, doesn't that feel better?) What with the economic downturn, there are fewer jobs available than in years past, but just as many people on the market. And yes, this strikes real close to home for me. But what also bugs me is that if you look at the demographics, the diversity is all at the bottom. As you look higher and higher in seniority, astronomers get whiter and maler. Now, who stands to lose their jobs right now? Who are the ones who will leave astronomy because no one has a job for them? Not those senior white males with tenure. It's us folks at the bottom of the career ladder, where a lot of effort has gone into making a diverse population. While the numbers are still quite small for minorities, there are quite a few women in astronomy now. If us young 'uns get squeezed out of the job market now, it means that the percentage of women in astronomy as a whole will go down. Now, add to that the fact that women tend to leave at a higher rate than men overall, well, it's bad news for the status of women in astronomy.
Now, I'd like to end on a positive note since this big Women in Astronomy conference is coming up, and there is much to celebrate in spite of hard times, so I'd like to recommend a book I read recently. It's She's Such a Geek: Women Write About Science, Technology, and Other Nerdy Stuff. It's a collection of essays by women who are self-identified geeks of various stripes. You'll find computer science geeks, video game geeks, and yes, science geeks. The stories are about what it's like being a minority within a minority group (i.e. women in science). You'll find that we women geeks are a heterogeneous group, and some stories will resonate more with you than others. But the stories all celebrate being a geek and being a woman and demonstrating that those two identities are not incompatible. So I guess the moral of the story is that no matter how this job season goes for me, I will always be a woman geek, and that's something to take pride in.
- Cswa Success Stories And Future Challenges
Recent data on demographics and conversations with my NSF colleague, Lisa Frehill, opened my eyes to a somewhat surprising fact. Young women in astronomy (assistant professors, postdocs, students) from some racial and ethnic backgrounds (white and Asian)...
- When Money Can?t Talk
In one of my earlier posts, I wondered whether or not K-12 STEM programs are truly effective at helping to plug the leaky pipeline in the United States. In that post, I referred to the study that found that countries that make economic commitments...
- Peer Mentoring
It's pretty well established that success as an academic scientist depends very much on good mentoring. Whether this comes informally (e.g. old boy's network) or formally (e.g. MentorNet) is irrelevant: the key is getting sound advice and the...
- Squeezing The Pipeline
I recently returned from a trip out to the West Coast. I visited three different institutions, and even though I wasn't applying specifically to those departments, at each place the topic of jobs and funding came up and the picture they painted was...
- Telescope Buying Basics
There is a moment in the life of any aspiring astronomer that it is time to buy that first telescope. It?s exciting to think about setting up your own viewing station whether that is on the deck of your home or having a powerful but mobile telescope...