P.C. Shannon

Sometimes I have a very hard time getting motivated about my research. I don’t have any problem doing homework for my classes, and once I get into my research, it’s fine. It’s just sometimes I can’t seem to find the energy to get started. I had thought that maybe this was a sign that I’d perhaps made a bad decision somewhere along the line, but I realized the other day that the source of my anxiety is not my research, it’s my career after grad school.

For a long time, I didn’t have a clear vision of what I want to do after graduation and after my post-doc. I do now. But it’s still not always clear to me how to get from here to there. Part of the problem is that I feel like a career in science doesn’t follow a clear progression. While that can be true of any job, I feel like it happens far more often than not in science careers. Or maybe I just feel like things never work out for me the way I want them to.

Really, I need to be doing everything I can now to stack the deck in my favor. I know where I want to be in two years (when I’m doing my post-doc) and in four (or whenever the “real” job starts). So I need to make sure that the path I’m on now gives me the best chance to make that vision a reality.

I’ve started doing some of that. My in-laws provided me with a contact at GlaxoSmithKilne, who provided me with another. I’ve also been in touch with a researcher at Genentech. All three have been very helpful. However, I need to do some more research and make more contacts.

I think that, at least until I get established, I will always have some anxiety about my career. Doing this sort of due diligence will take some effort and it will take me out of my comfort zone, but it will be worth it, especially as it will help me achieve my goal. Certainly, I feel more confident now about my career than I have in a long time.