Is anyone else an academic who has not produced enough research while having kids and is now in the s***?

[Kathyis6incheshigh]

There are lots of academics on MN, just wondering if there is anyone else in my position.

Am pg with 3rd dc in 5 years. Have had hyperemesis and other problems in all 3 pgs, which on top of 2 maternity leaves means heaps of time off work. In the meantime I have completely lost research momentum and produced sod all apart from a few book reviews. I was not submitted for RAE (though fortunately my dept did very well without me so none of my colleagues are holding it against me personally.)
Every time I come back it takes me all my time to get back up to speed with teaching and admin, get on top of all the changes in my field etc, and I only ever seem to make baby steps towards producing anything before I am sick or pregnant again.
Just had uncomfortable meeting with (supportive) HoD at which she broke news to me that I am about to get a scary letter from Personnel and a process is going to start which will probably include ritual disembowelling/change to a teaching only contract if I don't get something submitted before baby is due. Which would be fine as long as the foetus behaves and sickness holds off - am only just back at work after 2 months off with HG.

Serves me right for having children, doesn't it?

I should do that too...

Been away from this thread for a while - glad to see it going strong.

I like the idea (whoever it belongs to!) of the reading group, but wonder how useful it will be if we're all in different subject areas (although there seem to be several social sciencey people here who might be able to understand each others work) - if people are writing in very technical areas it might be difficult to offer helpful comments. Perhaps something more along zozokat's suggestion of a mentoring group, with advice etc on more general issues such as writing papers, finishing PhDs, and whether it's okay to read from a paper at a conference!

If Mumsnet doesn't take up the suggestion of a private discussion area, is there anywhere else we could do it - for example start a yahoo group?

Have been reading this thread with much interest - identifying with lots of the feelings expressed here, one or two slightly eye-opening points for me (am early career) - but am reluctant to post anything personal, hopefully for obvious reasons... Would love to join a more private discussion, if one could be set up - mentoring and pooling experience/ideas sounds like an excellent idea to me.

Hope those in difficult situations are managing okay (or even better, of course!).

porncocktail - I'm the opposite; at my best at around 6pm! Unfortunately that's time that now disappears into childcare...

No great insights, but I find it best to work to small, clearly-defined goals eg write a paragraph outlining the problem, structure section headings, describe contents of Table 3 (I usually have a list of several of these). I also find it helpful to set up these goals at the time I do work best, so when you're forcing yourself the hard work of deciding what to do has already been done for you - it's just a matter of doing it.

If I really don't feel like doing anything at all, I tell myself all I need to do is 15 minutes and then I can stop if I want to. Often I've got into by then and will keep going - if not I've still managed 15 mins, and at least I've given it a shot.

How did you get on last night? Did you get anything done?

Hello everybody, hope you had good weekends! I'm afraid I have another question about conferences, I hope that's OK and I'm not over-using this brilliant group! I'm so glad I can embarrass myself on here asking these questions rather than having to do so in RL!

So, I'm going to read my paper, once I've cut it down from its enormous long length. But, how do you deal with references? It's quite heavily referenced in places - surely I can't read out a long list of names in brackets! This is ignorant I know, but amazingly I've not been to an academic conference for two years and at the ones I have attended, people tend to talk from their slides. I'm actually REALLY scared about it, mainly at the thought that people will just think I'm unintellectual and well ... a bit crap really. Does anyone have any tips for dealing with conference nerves as well?!

Thanks in advance!

No you can't read out your references. Just ignore them, except for those bits where you really have to comment (as Bloggs argued).

WAsh your hands with ice cold water just before your presentation. Long slow breaths out (imagine blowing numbers away from you till they're very far/tiny ..................10....... .........9 and so on). Lots of lipstick and fashion 'armour' if you do that. And remember that 1. we've all been there, 2. YOU will notice far more than your audience, especially if you follow rule 3. pretend you're confident. Doesn't matter if you're not: act like you are. No-one will know. 4. suspend doubt in what you're saying. It doesn't matter whether it is good enough; you are making a contribution, that's enough for now. The point is to get criticism feedback/debate, and put it out there. And it WILL be better than you think.

Thanks, that's what I thought but it's great to have it clarified. Thanks so much for the advice. I will practice pretending!

You can do handouts or offer further details, you don't have to say everything in one short talk.

as for the lipstick and fashion, hmm, in my area of feminist academia you'd risk mutterings if you looked too glamorous, a PROPER acaemic in my field is bracingly anti-fashion. Channelling European Intellectual or Rad Fem not bimbo. Best if she looks as though she's just back from Greenham. This varies with the conference, obviously.

I am going to check out dress code and then try to ... fit-in! Won't say too much here for fear of revealing myself (probably irrational I know), but this approach has significant ironies given content of talk!

I have been mercilessly teased before for turning up to a conference in a smart jacket and trousers. Not the done thing. But at other conferences I go to, smartness is more expected. You'll probably know your field.

But more importantly this is academia, don't worry too much about the clothes, get the talk right. I recommend practising it a lot if you are nervous. So that even if you are reading it, you can keep looking up, smiling at the audience or at least acknowledging them.

Yes, I did say 'if you do that'. I do on the whole, because I like the 'armour'.

But am safely pomo femme femocracy so can get away with it

I normally do the 'armour' thing a bit but I was at a conference just before ds was born where I was wearing scruffy unironed maternity clothes with a big smear of marmite down the front (we were on holiday and conference just happened to be on nearby). I wasn't presenting a paper, hence lack of attention to sartorial matters, but was asked at the last minute to chair a session to fill in for someone else. Did consider for a moment saying 'no sorry, I can't as I have marmite down my front' but felt that might sound a bit precious. Nobody treated me any differently as a result of it though!
Probably the only person who notices what you're wearing is you, but if it makes you feel better it's worth it.

LOL at looking as though you are just back from Greenham.

At one of the conferences I went to (84 women, one man), the cry went up on the first afternoon: 'Sisters! Reclaim the men's toilets!'

lol, that's something I love about working in this field

Clearly I didn't mean that you should deliberately dress with a big marmite splodge. That might not aid confidence.

My colleague spends a weekend a month camping at Aldermaston peace camp. Been going since the 70s. She looks the part. I hadn't realised it was still going on.

I hate marmite! It's more likely to be .... ummm, porridge in my case. I shall hand DD over before I get dressed and not touch her again until I get back! Just managed to knock half the words out of my paper in approx. 30 minutes, to try and cut it down to size. Makes me wonder what those 6,000 words were doing there to start with ... and whether I need to get rid of the remaining 6,000 leaving me with .... no, better not go there. Thanks everybody for sartorial advice!

Can I ask you wage-earners a brief question?

If you were post-masters, but couldn't apply for phd immediately, how would you maintain/ earn your research credentials in the interim? (2 years-ish?) (Note - with an eye to getting funded longer term... that would be nice...)

A - Attempt to go it alone as an indie, with the acceptance that little/ nothing will actually get published, but that you would gain practical experience? (Is this even possible?!)

B - Persuade someone/ anyone to let you skivvy for them?

Apols for butting in...

Is it possible to do both to some extent? Can be hard to do research totally in a vacuum but if you are around academics doing donkeywork for someone else, it may be easier to find someone to advise on your own stuff.

I'm temporarily upping sticks for a transatlantic move which may end up permanent... so it's more a question of which side of the pond to apply long term, and that decision won't be made for a year at least...

I've got some interesting things going on research-wise which I'm reluctant to let go of completely, as they might be difficult to pick up again a few years down the line...

...but as someone else's research-monkey I would necessarily be largely autonomous, purely by location... It doesn't make me a very attractive prospect, really, does it?

I've got a couple of possibilities in the current department, but am very aware that they already have a heavy workload in terms of existing students and junior colleagues - I might start putting out a few feelers...