I got a well-deserved tongue lashing in this thread.
For seven years, I have worked in research as an animal care and use specialist. First, working strictly as a care provider, then moving into the labs to manage colonies and their use. I love my job, I get to work with animals, help my community and be apart of interesting topics and intellectual breakthroughs. In academics, like any field, there are less than desirable traits: politics, bureaucracy, funding troubles, personality and ego conflicts. In the past, I have been able to stay outside most of these pitfalls. If a job became more than I could cope with, I started to look for another one.
Last year, the head of the department I work for announced that he was leaving for another university. The DH basically abandoned us. Junior researchers, post-docs and grad students he had been mentoring were left to their own devices – the DH didn’t even write letters of recommendation for them. My boss is a junior researcher in this department. He’s a pediatric doctor and a researcher. As long as I worked for Dr. Boss, he has been very hands-off, leaving the research to his senior research assistant (my mentor/supervisor) and the DH.
Without the DH, my mentor and I knew that Dr. Boss would flounder – cruel but true. We started to look for work elsewhere. Mentor is from Australia and was able to find a good job back home. I’m much more limited geographically, and my job hunt was unsuccessful. Funding has been very tight throughout the U. Even when I told prospective PI’s that I would be happy with my current salary (which isn’t much), I was told that it was too expensive – grad students and undergrad student workers are cheaper. (Many labs were just going through the motions requited by the U, and not planning on replacing the techs that had left.) Then, I discovered that I was pregnant. Since job-hunting while expecting is ethically sticky, I decided to stay with Dr. Boss and see what happens.
I’ll spare you all the details. All hell broke lose and our worse case scenario happened: the U. pulled funds it had given this department and said that the department was dissolved.
I’ve been loudly miserable for months, but I’m also insecure. Part of me frets about paying bills and millions of what-if’s. What if Mouse_Spouse loses his job after I leave mine? With a baby and my lack of education, will I ever be able to work? After giving it a lot a thought, and talking it over with my husband, I decide to finally turn in my resignation last week.
Then, I got news that my boss would be in the lab – after a four month absence – and he wants to talk. First, I thought that I could stay and we would actually do some research. Then, reality hit: Dr. Boss agreed to come into the lab because another junior researcher called him at home and told him “Hey, you have a post-doc and pregnant research assistant that need to know what’s going on.” This morning, Dr. Boss did show up. Gasp! But he wasn’t going to stay as long as he originally said. “I’ve got a plane to catch. I’ll be here an hour, tops.” After scrambling to contact my post-doc co-worker and tell her to get here fucking NOW and then waiting while she and the junior researcher talked to Dr. Boss, I had my turn.
“You’re pregnant. You never completed the surgery training. I’m sorry, but you’re useless to me.” Dr. Boss said.
Before this meeting, my loved ones and the sensible people here on the Dope advised that I not burn any bridges. This wise counsel burned to ash in the heat of my anger.
“My surgery training wasn’t completed because of a lack of funds and the fact that my mentor – the Great Mouse Surgeon* - left the country. Legally, my pregnancy cannot be a factor as long as I am still able to physically do the work – which I am, by the way. Since you haven’t taken the time to be here, and act as a researcher, you have been just as useless to me.” I stormed out of his office, collected what remained of my things, and drove home.
I’ve never lost my cool like this before. Technically, next week is my last week at the lab. Maybe I’ll just stay home and burn up some sick time.
*No sarcasm. He is great and well known in this field.
