This document discusses the author's experiences as a first-generation college student, having children while pursuing a career in academia, and choosing to work at a primarily undergraduate institution. Some key lessons include getting involved with support networks for first-generation students, carefully planning timing of children with one's adviser, and balancing research and teaching expectations at undergraduate institutions through strong performance in both areas. The author emphasizes proactive planning and choice of supportive mentors to navigate various challenges.

1. How did I get here:
Lessons from the first in
my family to go to college
@wrightingapril

2. Outline
• … as a first generation college
student
• … as a STEM parent
Lessons from my time …

3. Outline
• … as a first generation college
student
• … as a STEM parent
Lessons from my time …
And how these facets of my identity shaped my
search for a primarily undergraduate institution job

4. First Generation College
Students
• First: an acknowledgment.

5. First Generation College
Students
• First: an acknowledgment.
• My parents always wanted me to go to college.

6. First Generation College
Students
• First: an acknowledgment.
• My parents always wanted me to go to college.
• We know that students whose parents did not go
to college apply less and aim for four-year
degrees less.1
1https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/11/10/who-are-first-generation-students-and-how-do-they-fare

7. First Generation College
Students
• I’m going to college

8. First Generation College
Students
• Now what?

10. First Generation College
Students
• They were

11. First Generation College
Students
• They were
• But I didn’t stop asking people what their parents
did

12. First Generation College
Students
• But I didn’t stop asking people what their parents
did
• I cobbled together a network of other first-
generation students

13. First Generation College
Students
• But I didn’t stop asking people what their parents
did
• I cobbled together a network of other first-
generation students
• It’s a relief to turn to someone and ask “Did you
know about this?” and knowing they’ll say “No”

14. First Generation College
Students
• Research1 supports a structured social
environment developed early as key to retention
1https://www.tgslc.org/pdf/first_generation.pdf

15. First Generation College
Students
• Research1 supports a structured social
environment developed early as key to retention
• Iowa State University has adopted these
programs as ‘learning communities’
1https://www.tgslc.org/pdf/first_generation.pdf

16. First Generation College
Students
• Research1 supports a structured social
environment developed early as key to retention
• Iowa State University has adopted these
programs as ‘learning communities’
• Harvard has a first-generation union
1https://www.tgslc.org/pdf/first_generation.pdf

17. First Generation College
Students
• Research1
supports a structured social environment
developed early as key to retention
• SACNAS has many first-gen students involved
• University of Wisconsin-Madison has a first-gen
programs, with online resources for students and
families: http://www.firstinthefamily.org
• I’m First (online support network): http://www.imfirst.org/
1
https://www.tgslc.org/pdf/first_generation.pdf

18. First Generation College
Students
• The Bad News: It’s still a little tough in grad school

19. First Generation College
Students

20. First Generation College
Students
• The Bad News: It’s still a little tough in grad school
• Be proactive about self-care

21. First Generation College
Students
• The Bad News: It’s still a little tough in grad school
• That makes good mentors more important

22. First Generation College
Students
• That makes good mentors more important

23. First Generation College
Students
• That makes good mentors more important
• Has connections in the types of careers you’re
interested in?
• Has funding to do research in which you are
interested?
• Takes an interest in your other goals: outreach,
mentoring

24. First Generation College
Students
• That makes good mentors more important
• Communicates with you openly
• Can answer your questions about professional development
• Can articulate expectations about life in their lab
• Other mentees confirm the above
Participation in diversity organizations

25. First Generation College
Students
• Get involved with other students who have your
same circumstances

26. Summary: First Generation
College Students
• Get involved with other students who have your
same circumstances early

27. Summary: First Generation
College Students
• Get involved with other students who have your
same circumstances early
• Be proactive about taking care of yourself

28. Summary: First Generation
College Students
• Get involved with other students who have your
same circumstances early
• Be proactive about taking care of yourself
• Be proactive about taking care of the people who
make all the hard work worth it

29. Dr. Mom

30. Dr. Mom
Stubborn.

31. Dr. Mom

32. Dr. Mom
• The choice to have kids in academia is really tricky

33. Dr. Mom
• The choice to have kids in academia is really tricky
• Academic careers entail some amount of moving

34. Dr. Mom
• The choice to have kids in academia is really tricky
• Academic careers entail some amount of moving
• Grad student and postdoc salaries aren’t great

35. Dr. Mom
• The choice to have kids in academia is really tricky
• Academic careers entail some amount of moving
• Grad student and postdoc salaries aren’t great
• Parental leave basically doesn’t exist

36. Dr. Mom
• Parental leave basically doesn’t exist
• Graduate students almost never have access to it
• If you take time off, that will likely affect your
insurance coverage
• Postdocs are sometimes treated better, depending on
how they are classified

37. Dr. Mom
• Parental leave basically doesn’t exist
• Graduate students almost never have access to it
• If you take time off, that will likely affect your
insurance coverage
• Postdocs are sometimes treated better, depending on
how they are classified
You cannot rely on HR to know what is up
You cannot rely on campus women’s centers to know
what is up

39. So you want to have a kid
• Presumably without derailing your whole education

40. So you want to have a kid
• Choose a mentor who is family-friendly
• Do other employees have children?
• Do they give you info on family insurance, local
schools, etc?
• Look at the graduate school webpage - do they
have information for grad students with kids?

41. So you want to have a kid
• Presumably without derailing your whole education
• I would strongly recommend planning a bit
• Things to think about:
• Needing to collect in remote or dangerous
field locations; Needing to work with
hazardous chemicals

42. So you want to have a kid
• Presumably without derailing your whole education
• I would strongly recommend planning a bit
• Things to think about:
• Needing to collect in remote or dangerous
field locations; Needing to work with
hazardous chemicals
There is also no perfect time, and you get to prioritize
your life and your family

43. So you want to have a kid
• Once you have a confirmed pregnancy
• Make a plan:
• What needs to happen to finish your dissertation?
• What are the impediments?
• Make time-specific goals
• Meet with your PI - what do they see as your
challenges?

44. So you want to have a kid
• Once you have a confirmed pregnancy
• Make a plan:
• Outside of work:
• Find a practitioner
• Get on daycare lists
• Read the grad student handbook

45. So you want to have a kid
• Once you have a plan
• Hold yourself to it.
• It doesn’t get better very often.
• Document where you are in your work often,
particularly if your work is collaborative, and particularly
towards the end.

46. So you want to have a kid
• Immediately after
• Take time off. Rest, heal, and bond

47. So you want to have a kid
• When you come back
• You will be tired and fried.
• Understand what flexibility you have
• Working from home is hard

48. So you want to have a kid
• When you come back
• You will be tired and fried.
• Understand what flexibility you have
• Working from home is hard

49. So you want to have a kid
• When you come back
• You will be tired and fried.
• Understand what flexibility you have
• Working from home is hard
• Expect that you will have to experiment with your
schedule, where you work and what hours are good
for what activities

50. So you want to have a kid
• Under the ACA, you have the right to a non-bathroom
space to pump breastmilk
• And no one has the right to make you feel bad for
doing that
• If where to pump isn’t clear, ask someone

52. So you want to have a kid
• For every job interview, I was 100% honest about what I
needed.
• In 2016, I was nursing, and I kicked back multiple
schedules that didn’t have enough pumping breaks
• This year, I asked about daycare at every school

53. So you want to have a kid
• For every job interview, I was 100% honest about what I
needed.
• In 2016, I was nursing, and I kicked back multiple
schedules that didn’t have enough pumping breaks
• This year, I asked about daycare at every school
Wrote about my search here: https://paleantology.com/
2017/06/06/getting-settled/

54. Summary: Babies in Science
• Challenging, but can be accomplished

55. Summary: Babies in Science
• Challenging, but can be accomplished
• Be proactive about choosing adviser, timing

56. Summary: Babies in Science
• Challenging, but can be accomplished
• Be proactive about choosing adviser, timing
• But be aware that there’s never a “great” time (except in
hindsight) and you’re surrendering a lot of control

57. Summary: Babies in Science
• Challenging, but can be accomplished
• Be proactive about choosing adviser, timing
• But be aware that there’s never a “great” time (except in
hindsight) and you’re surrendering a lot of control
• Know your rights, responsibilities and challenges, and
plan around them

58. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions

59. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
Why am I here?

60. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
• Balance of teaching and research tipped toward
teaching

61. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
• Balance of teaching and research tipped toward
teaching
• Large resources for research might not be
available

62. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
• Balance of teaching and research tipped toward
teaching
• Large resources for research might not be
available
• Graduate students may not be available

63. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
• Balance of teaching and research tipped toward
teaching
• Large resources for research might not be
available
• Graduate students may not be available
• Mentorship of undergraduates is key

64. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
• Balance of teaching and research tipped toward
teaching
• Large resources for research might not be
available
• Graduate students may not be available
• Mentorship of undergraduates is key

65. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
• Balance of teaching and research tipped toward
teaching
• But you are still interviewed and hired based
on your research
• Graduate students may not be available
• Mentorship of undergraduates is key

66. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
• Balance of teaching and research tipped toward
teaching
• But you are still interviewed and hired based on
your research
• Graduate students may not be available
• The school must feel that your research is
feasible with the school’s level of resources and
that you will contribute strongly to undergrad ed

67. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
How do you balance these two needs?

68. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
How do you balance these two needs?
• Do great research

69. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
How do you balance these two needs?
• Do great research
• Publish papers

70. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
How do you balance these two needs?
• Do great research
• Publish papers
• Apply for funding

71. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
How do you balance these two needs?
• Do great research
• Publish papers
• Apply for funding
• Pursue opportunities to give talks, network and
get involved

72. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
How do you balance these two needs?
• Do great research
• Publish papers
• Apply for funding
• Pursue opportunities to give talks, network and
get involved
• Mentor students in research

73. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
How do you balance these two needs?
• Do great teaching

74. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
How do you balance these two needs?
• Do great teaching
• I would strongly encourage you not to lean too
heavily on TA experience as evidence of
education success

75. Primarily Undergraduate
Institutions
How do you balance these two needs?
• Do great teaching
• I would strongly encourage you not to lean too
heavily on TA experience as evidence of
education success
• If you are able to get ‘Instructor of Record’
experience, do that instead

76. ‘Instructor of Record’
experience
• Some universities will allow graduate students to
be the instructor of record, some will not
• Some universities and PIs allow students to do a
semester of teaching at a community college, or
local junior college

77. ‘Instructor of Record’
experience
• Some universities will allow graduate students to
be the instructor of record, some will not
• Some universities and PIs allow students to do a
semester of teaching at a community college, or
local junior college
• Domain-specific workshops often allow PhD
students to lead sessions and develop curricula
• Software and Data Carpentry

78. ‘Instructor of Record’
experience
• Some universities will allow graduate students
to be the instructor of record, some will not
• Some universities and PIs allow students to do
a semester of teaching at a community
college, or local junior college
• Domain-specific workshops often allow PhD
students to lead sessions and develop curricula
• Software and Data Carpentry

79. Choosing a PI
• At some point, you will have to have a conversation
with your PI about this
• If you know as you’re applying to graduate
school, have a conversation about it with them

80. Choosing a PI
• At some point, you will have to have a conversation
with your PI about this
• If you know as you’re applying to graduate
school, have a conversation about it with them
• Ask about where lab alums are placed

81. Choosing a PI
• At some point, you will have to have a conversation
with your PI about this
• If you know as you’re applying to graduate
school, have a conversation about it with them
• Ask about where lab alums are placed
• Ask about programs to help you get really good
IoR experience
Many of the facets that make you competitive at R1 make
you competitive at PUI, and vice versa

82. “Too Good” for PUI
• “Oh, well, they didn’t get the PUI job because they had
too many grants and papers”
• Your application packet should communicate your
sincerity:
• Why you want this job.
• Why you want to work at this type of institution.
• Why you will successfully serve the teaching and
research mission of this type of school.

83. “Too Good” for PUI
• “Oh, well, they didn’t get the PUI job because they had
too many grants and papers”
• Your application packet should communicate your
sincerity:
• Why you want this job.
• Why you want to work at this type of institution.
• Why you will successfully serve the teaching and
research mission of this type of school.
Your success will not dictate that you must do R1

84. Closing Thoughts
• Being a first-generation student has unique
challenges

85. Closing Thoughts
• Being a first-generation student has unique
challenges
• But following evidence-based retention strategies
can be helpful

86. Closing Thoughts
• Academia poses some serious challenges for
parents

87. Closing Thoughts
• Academia poses some serious challenges for
parents
• But careful planning and good mentor choice
can set you up to have the life you want while
getting a PhD

88. Closing Thoughts
• Primarily undergraduate institutions value a mix of
teaching and research

89. Closing Thoughts
• Primarily undergraduate institutions value a mix of
teaching and research
• Careful planning can set you up for maximum
career flexibility

90. Closing Thoughts
You are in the driver’s seat when it comes to your
career
You get to decide what is important to you
You get to decide how to pursue your goals

91. Thank You
BEACON
All of you
The Heath Lab