Returning to Science
Teresa Garrett was working part-time as a biochemistry postdoc (博士后). She had an infant at home, and she was miserable. She and her husband were considering having a second child. She didn't like leaving her daughter with a daycare provider, and she wondered if her slim income justified the expense of child-care. She decided to stay home full time.
It was a lonely but practical decision, she says. She hadn't ruled out the possibility but she did not expect to return to science: After all, the conventional wisdom would equate several years of parenting leave with the end of a research career. Garrett eventually had two daughters and spent their early years at home.
The challenge of managing a science career and personal and family obligations is not a new issue, particularly for women. In a career where productivity and publications define your value, can you take a couple of years off and then make a successful return？ When you do, will employers trust your devotion to your job？
For Garrett, the answer to both questions was "Yes". First, she found a short-term teaching tutor at Duke University, the institution where she had done her Ph. D. And then Christian Raetz, who had been her Ph. D. adviser, offered her a postdoc. The timing was perfect: She was ready to start a more regular work schedule, and her husband was interested in starting a business. Today, she is a chemistry professor at Vassar College. Garrett credits Raetz both for his faith in her abilities and his willingness to judge her contributions on quality and productivity and not the number of hours she spent in the laboratory. "People are always shocked to know that you can take time off and come back," she says.
Returning to research after an extended personal leave is possible, but it may not be straightforward. Progress can be slow and there may be some fallout from a break. The path back doesn't come with a road map or a timeline. Your reentry will have a different rhythm than your initial approach because this time you have to balance your career with the needs of a family. The uncertainty can make you feel isolated and alone. But if you are persistent and take advantage of the resources that are available, you can get it done.
Stepping Sideways
After time away from the work force, it's particularly easy to underestimate your value as a scientist and--hence--to take one or more backward steps. Don't, says Ruth Ross, who nearly made that mistake after spending 4 years at home with her children. A Ph. D. pharmacologist with industry experience, she applied for a technician job at the University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom as she planned her return to science. She would have taken the job if it had been offered, she says, but "that probably would have been a bad career move". As it turned out, the university decided she was over-qualified.
Instead of taking a step back, take a step sideways: If you left a postdoc, return to a postdoc, perhaps with a special career reentry fellowship. A faculty member at Aberdeen encouraged Ross to apply for a newly established career reentry fellowship from the Well come Trust. Funding from that organization supported her postdoctoral research until the university hired her into a faculty position in 2002.
After 2 years at home with her son and twin daughters followed by 3 years searching for project management jobs in the biotech industry, biochemist Pla Abola got wind of an opening at the Molecular Sciences Institute (MSI). An MSI staff scientist needed skills like hers but lacked money, so the two applied jointly for an NIH career reentry supplement. She's now a protein biochemist and grant writer at Prosetta Bioconformatics.
Independence and Flexibility
Instead of stepping backward or sideways, physicist Shireen Adenwalla took a step forward. Instead of taking another postdoc, she set up an

A. her common sense
B. her several years of parenting leave
C. her slim income
D. her coming second child