role models

In The Accidental Mentor, a post doc about to go on the academic market writes about the inspiration she's found in her "accidental mentor", a successful scientist in the office next to hers. Being so close to a real living example of a happy, female academic has not only made her realise what the job really entails, it's also let her know that she can do it.

Several women working on their PhDs have told me how helpful it was for them to read my blog as I was finishing my PhD. I posted the ups and the downs, not all of them, certainly, but evidently enough that others found it encouraging. Rolemodels are so important, even partial ones - the woman who's finishing her PhD and lets you in on some of the process, the woman you know who loves her research career, the woman who's done fabulous work on technology and still follows her heart, trying to become a chef, the professor who juggles family, losses, conferences, students and the tenure process, the author finishing her first novel while working fulltime and bringing up a daughter or the information architect who shares her ideas, and oh, so many others. Have you found a few role models yet? Try some of the women on our blogroll. You'll find some working on things you want to work on. You'll find some to inspire you.