Thursday, August 5, 2010

I recently stumbled upon this Scientific American Article about advice Nobel Laureates gave to young scientists about how to succeed in science and in light of the recent work-life balance series I can't resist commenting on it.

Some of the advice in the article was obvious: Know when to throw in the towel, be a good collaborator, be able to tell a good story.. Okay, duh. That is just common sense.

What I was more interested in was the less obvious, something I hadn't heard before, advice that was a little outside-the-box.

From the article:
Make Time for Your Family. “You can’t exist as a scientist without some sort of relationship with other people and family is the most important,” said Smithies. [Oliver Smithies, winner of a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2007] A particular challenge for experimental scientists is the need to keep their research chugging along without consuming entire weekends. “Maybe pick two hours each day on Saturday and Sunday” to balance the needs of science and home life.

It is refreshing to get the perspective of someone who is considered a success in science (Yes I am defining a Nobel Prize as a success, although I am sure some would argue that isn't a fair measure). When we think of their careers do we assume they must have put their family aside in order to achieve that success? Does their family even enter into our minds? In our minds is their life only about their science?

It is easy to forget that even the most successful of scientists are something other than scientists. Nobel laureates have wives, sons, daughters, grandchildren, even great-grandchildren. They don't quit living their lives in order to purse their science at all costs. So why are we so willing to dismiss our personal lives in pursuit of our career goals? It is really all about sacrifice in order to make it to the top?

We so frequently hear of the difficulty of maintaining relationships while striving to be a successful scientist. When you are in the midst of it you feel like you are failing at everything. Your science and your family life are suffering. There is a mindset that you have to choose.

Science or family. There is no good compromise.

I have heard some gut wrenching stories about the sacrifices people have made in order to advance their science careers, some temporary, and some without a foreseeable end. It begs the question: Are those who are sacrificing any more likely to succeed than those who heed that prize-winning advice and make family a priority?

Now I will be the first to say that everyone's scientific journey is personal. What works for one person who by chance goes on to win a Nobel Prize, may result in a totally different results for someone else. I in no way believe there is a single "right way" to succeed. I am sure they are Nobel Lauretes who are hermits who never speak to anyone other than the people in their lab, but notice they aren't the ones giving advice!

Dr. Smithies (who in the interest of full disclosure, I have actually worked with on a few occasions) does have the advantage of sharing his lab with his wife, which blurs the work/family lines a little. That is not something that many of could (or would even want to) do.

I also think setting aside 4 out of 168 hours per week to focus on your home life wouldn't be considered a success in my book, but that is a personal decision. If he makes that time a priority, and it works for his family, then I consider it a success for him, which is the message that I take away from his advice: Only you know what amount of sacrifice will work for your family, and when you are going to far on either extreme. But the excuse "You cannot be successful in science if you are [insert personal life here: leaving early to attend your kids' soccer games, meeting your wife for lunch, not going in on Sundays, etc.]" doesn't hold water. It isn't an all or nothing game.

If you take advice from people who have succeeded, it can put your own journey in perspective. Others have been where we are, they have made sacrifices and chosen when not to make sacrifcies, and they have still succeeded. It means that it isn't all gloom and doom when it comes to finding balance between your personal life and your scientific career. It is possible, and maybe it should even be a priority.