pathogenic yeast
why would anyone in their right mind choose to study something like this? And why would any self-respecting institution fund research pertaining to this???
I guess I'm just annoyed at having to listen to some dude (a professor) talk about his work on pathogenic yeast for 3 hours this morning! Thats three whole hours of my life I'll never get back...
But then, I'm in grad school, so thats like 5 years I'll never get back. At least I'm not studying pathogenic yeast.
Tuberculosis rocks :-)
When I first told my friends in high school that I was planning to do a PhD, the immediate responses were not what I expected..
"oh! in what?"
"really? interesting.."
"cooooool!!!"
were the things i DIDN'T hear..
Instead, I was greeted by
"Why?"
"Are you kidding?"
"hahaha"
Now pondering about that first question, I often ask myself "Why?"
I'm..
overworked, underpaid, have no chances of significant career advances in the next 5 years (or ever), and theres a good chance that the insignificant little piece of work may not have a lasting impact on human welfare, and will probably get lost in the grand scheme of things.
Unfortunately, I just think this stuff is really cool.
I guess I'm just annoyed at having to listen to some dude (a professor) talk about his work on pathogenic yeast for 3 hours this morning! Thats three whole hours of my life I'll never get back...
But then, I'm in grad school, so thats like 5 years I'll never get back. At least I'm not studying pathogenic yeast.
Tuberculosis rocks :-)
When I first told my friends in high school that I was planning to do a PhD, the immediate responses were not what I expected..
"oh! in what?"
"really? interesting.."
"cooooool!!!"
were the things i DIDN'T hear..
Instead, I was greeted by
"Why?"
"Are you kidding?"
"hahaha"
Now pondering about that first question, I often ask myself "Why?"
I'm..
overworked, underpaid, have no chances of significant career advances in the next 5 years (or ever), and theres a good chance that the insignificant little piece of work may not have a lasting impact on human welfare, and will probably get lost in the grand scheme of things.
Unfortunately, I just think this stuff is really cool.
posted by Hamlet at 1:36 AM
1 Comments:
I too was greeted(!) with similar enthusiasm from my mom and teachers when i told them I'm joining basic research and will teach as well in the future! Even my teachers thought it was a terrible course of action to take a young age!
Well, I have to confess that the pay was never an attraction in any profession that I would have chosen, but being in research is like being paid to do what you enjoy doing the most.
For me there is no question of being over-worked, because I don't consider research as 'work' but as pleasure! And can't seem to get enough of it at times! :D
But all research, however miniscule, helps. Now or later doesn't matter, but I believe it does. And with that strong belief, I don't feel the need to be told later on that my contributions mattered (even if I'm around on this planet at the time). Science that I do might be useful long after I'm dead and gone! That's a legacy that I believe is not worthless.
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