Dear Sassy Scientist, In my institute I never see any disabled people. Only one or two people in wheelchair at the EGU GA. Considering the statistics in the global population, I’m sure some people are impared, but tell me : Where are the disabled geologist ? Is it impossible to be disabled and geologist ? Your gnocchie Dear gneiss human, Thank you for putting light on this question. To answ ...[Read More]
Guess who’s back? Back again! Sassy’s back, tell your colleagues! This week I am going to shoot the elephant in the room by answering Will’s question “Is Mobility a plus or a must for a research career?” Now I know I have already answered a similar question some time ago, but a changing world requires an updated saucy answer. Disclaimer: The reflections presented here reflect my perspective ground ...[Read More]
With the winds of change brought by a new season, I’m back to help my readers to get out from dispair. This time a reader ask: Dear Sassy scientist, How do I deal with rejection during a job hunt? Dear Sarah, I hear you writing from the edge of despair. Let’s be honest: you’ve chosen the scenic route to career purgatory. Nevermind watching your lifelong friends enjoying their permanent contr ...[Read More]
Snowy days are here! Between two slides and snow ball (kind and consented) fights with colleagues, let’s see what’s in my mailbox… Well, this one is pretty topical, let’s go! Dear Sassy scientist, I think I lost all motivation for research but I need to work! What do I do? Please help me! My sweet cute pie, Let me ask you a quick question, when was the last time you took va ...[Read More]
Between protests and strikes, I finally found some time to answer some questions. In case you are not aware – idk how that’s possible… do you live on Neptune? – everything is on fire, has been for a long time tbf. So I chose Michel’s question. They ask: I’m lost. I feel like I don’t belong in academia, but neither in industry. What do I do? Dear Michel, Gosh, it has been a long time si ...[Read More]
I’m still recovering from the Glastonbury festival of geosciences. What was the question again? Unrealistic expectations… Ah, wait. Found it. So Amina asks: Why is there an implicit expectation for postdoc mobility? Dear Amina, Why did you have to choose this question? My short answer is, it’s like you are stuck in quicksand. But I know you’re going to ask me WHYYY and expect a real answer. Fine. ...[Read More]
The news has been super depressing, I need to hit myself deep in escapism. I hope this month’s question will be easy. Let’s see what we have this month …*two hours later*… So, Robin asks: Some of the projects I’m involved in during my postdoc aren’t directly related to the grant funding of my salary. Should I list my PI as a co-author on papers resulting from this work? Dear Robi ...[Read More]
Is it a good day to have a meltdown? It’s cold and there is sun outside, neh maybe not. Procrastinating even having a meltdown. But this audience doesn’t even let me do that. Today, we’re answering Kai’s question: Why do we consider leaving academia a failure? Dear Kai, Sorry, the question ended up in my spam folder, otherwise, I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t ignore poking the hornet’s ...[Read More]
Did I get sick again? Covid, is that you? Long time no see. It’d be better if you left me alone, but I guess we don’t have much choice here, do we? While I’m knocked out by the sedatives to stop my lungs from squeezing themselves out, I ended up thinking about one of the questions I got recently. So, today, we’re answering Ron’s question: Am I getting more stupid or is the PhD getting smarter? Dea ...[Read More]
Seasons change, and so do our passions. My climate anxiety? Yeah, it’s on the rise, like the global average temperature. So, Mae asks: My research field feels stagnant (or even dying), with limited opportunities, and I have developed new interests. How hard is it to change fields/direction after your PhD? Dear Mae, I mean this is kind of perfect for the wasteful spooky season. What could be scarie ...[Read More]