Being a researcher is not the usual job

It was just two Sundays ago that I wrote a blog entry about me working on a Sunday because I had a lot to do. And yes, I like my work, so I am happy working beyond normal hours. However, I always try to keep the weekends work-free because I need to recharge my batteries. It is important for everything to function properly.

Guess what? Today, Sunday, I worked a full day again. 

I know many researchers that work basically all the time. Others do not do it. But I always tell people that being a researcher is like running your own company (at times): if you want things to roll, you cannot just say I will work 8 to 5, Monday to Friday. There are times when one needs to walk that extra mile. 

I know, it is not very family-friendly. But let's be honest, society is not very family-friendly right now. It is hard for women to keep up with their careers in general. Women going to work has created a vacuum in childcare that kindergarten and schools do not fill.

In my case, it also helps that my husband is also a researcher. He understands when I need to work extra time, he understands the pressure, he understands that I need to travel. He understands all of it, especially, how important it is to me. Being the partner of a researcher is not easy in general, one of the reasons being that it takes years until we land a permanent job (if we ever do) and in the meantime we are nomads going from place to place, not choosing where not when (the choice is on "where not" and "when not"). I have seen couples suffer a lot because basically, the one that was not a researcher had to become a nomad too and sacrifice their career, or they had to go into a long-distance relationship. 

Maybe one would think: this is crazy, why are researchers willing to do all that? First of all, in many cases, yes, it is crazy, but the point is that researchers have a lot of drive. We just like our jobs, to the point that we do not conceive doing something different (I am speaking in general terms, of course). I would not talk about passion (I don't like the term in general), but definitely there is a lot of drive, and I cannot exactly say where it comes from. I guess just learning new things and trying to achieve new things has that effect.

I could work 8 to 5 if I wanted to, but that would mean that I would do little research (because there is all the admin, teaching, and taking care of the students). But as much as I like teaching and mentoring students, research is what truly gives me the drive. I can enjoy these two activities thanks to my research that runs in parallel.