Parenting

The government has promised billions of dollars for research and development to support future moon missions, with a long-term goal of sending people to Mars.

For many, leaving academia to start a family is a one-way trip – a derailment condescendingly referred to as “the mommy track.”

The challenge is knowing when to step in and when to let go.

A sustainable culture is built on living one’s values, and demonstration of that inevitably comes from the top.

Two of the most useful and underrated things in the world of academic science are support and trust. Both can make such a huge difference at key moments of one’s career, and parental leave should be no exception.

“Parents felt very isolated. They didn’t fit in with the other students or feel welcomed.”

It’s now simply a given among student affairs professionals that parents will be involved in their children’s lives at university.

“I felt a bit like a new animal at the zoo, people were listening because they were curious about me in the way they would be about a rare creature,” says David Kent.

Editors note: This entry is the third in a series on taking parental leave as a scientific group leader. Could parental leave actually be good for my academic career? Taking parental leave: I’m glad I’m not a postdoc Getting a job in academic science is not easy. The hours are long, the work is intense, […]

As a group leader, I’m in a better position to take some precious time off.

I’m being applauded for taking parental leave, yet my partner – also a scientist – faces the usual obstacles for her maternity leave.