Today's guest blogger is Fran Bagenal. Fran is a
faculty member at the University of Colorado at Boulder and a former editor of
CSWA's STATUS magazine. She was on the science teams of the Galileo mission to
Jupiter and the Deep Space 1 mission to Comet Borrelly. She heads the plasma
teams on New Horizons that will flyby Pluto in 2015 and on Juno that will go
into orbit over the poles of Jupiter in 2016.
Service responsibilities (that's basically everything work-related that's not research or teaching) can be fun and rewarding. They can also be a burden. And as one advances in one's career the service load can sometimes be overwhelming. "But", I hear you wail, "what do you do when people keep asking you to do things?"
1 - Wait 24 hours before responding to a request. If it's on the phone, say it's your policy, or say you have been told by your advisor/chair/spouse to wait 24 hours - and that you will get back to them in 24 hours via email (not phone - that gives them another chance to twist your arm). This gives you time to think.
2 - If the service request is substantial seek advice from an adviser, supervisor, department chair, senior colleague - preferably all of the above. Your supervisor(s) need to know your service burden - and if it is adding up, they should to help you. Better research labs and academic departments will protect their junior staff so that they can get on with the most important things: publications and proposals.
1 - Wait 24 hours before responding to a request. If it's on the phone, say it's your policy, or say you have been told by your advisor/chair/spouse to wait 24 hours - and that you will get back to them in 24 hours via email (not phone - that gives them another chance to twist your arm). This gives you time to think.
2 - If the service request is substantial seek advice from an adviser, supervisor, department chair, senior colleague - preferably all of the above. Your supervisor(s) need to know your service burden - and if it is adding up, they should to help you. Better research labs and academic departments will protect their junior staff so that they can get on with the most important things: publications and proposals.
