I just remarked over at River Tam's place that no one would ever call me mannish. No one would ever think I'd be good at field work, either. I'm petite, just 5'1" (155 cm) with a really slight frame. Field work in my discipline relies on one crucial activity* that is most efficient when the worker has height, mass, and strength on her side. I have none of those qualities, unless you're comparing me to a child.
I hate field work, mostly because I'm just not built for it, or at least not for the key tasks. I almost always need a helper in the field. A few years ago I was engaged in a project that required frequent field efforts that I could not do alone so one of the technicians came with me. He could have done this job on his own but since it was for my PhD, it was my fieldwork and I had to be there, turning a one-person job into a two-person job. It frustrates me that I can't be more self-reliant. I also dislike the one-and-only-chance nature of field work; the conditions today will not be the same as tomorrow or next week, so if you fuck it up, you can never really redo it.
But. Field work takes more than just the brute force tasks. It takes a lot of organization, good judgment, and for some things we do, the ability to stay crouched on the ground for hours on end. I can do those things. So even though I can't do that one crucial task, I can do many of the things that go along with it that are also essential. It's hard to remind myself that I'm useful, even good, in the field without the ability to do the big strong stuff, but I am.
One of the benefits of being in a female-dominated lab is that no one connects my poor aptitude for field work with being a woman. Blame it on being small -- yes, but on being a woman -- no. Research Advisor is a machine in the field, while one of the male PIs is worthless. On the other hand, our one male technician is excellent in the field. Some of the female techs can hold their own, too. It's just not a gender thing.
I'm still last picked for field work that's not for my PhD, but that's partly because everyone knows I hate it and partly because no one is paying me to help with other lab projects (in contrast to the technicians who are paid for that). And who am I kidding, it's still partly because I'm a wimp, but whatever. I'm happy I'm not on the trip to do crappy field work this week, like many of my lab mates are.
*If you're positively dying to know what it is, send me an email.
8 comments:
Not sure how strong you have to be to do this stuff, but I've found that I can push myself a lot further than I thought possible when I was an undergrad.
I have somewhat of an idea - probably a wrong one - of what kind of thing you need to have strength for - which surpasses the typical geological field work I do. In the past especially, I've routinely had to carry packs of 50 pounds of rock or sediment samples for entire summers, or walk uphill and downhill all day. The pack carrying stuff was just at my limit when I was younger. Having a field assistant for that is great, and the old-timers (almost all men) often had asssistants, but we didn't. Nowadays it would probably take me a week or two to get into that kind of shape, but walking around all day outside is still great.
I used to think of myself as more male than female in attributes - though I am also short - but others didn't think of me that way, so thinking of oneself as "mannish" or "not feminine" can be at least partly an internal thing.
In a real office setting, I might dress nicely, though currently my wardrobe is limited. The field offices or indoor places I've worked in the last decade, have usually involved needing to be ready to go outdoors into the field at any moment, and have also involved drill core and samples and warehouse-like settings that one would never consider wearing good clothes into. Not to mention that hard-toed, flat shoes are required! (Thankfully on the flat aspect; I don't do heels at all!) In my home office, though, I dress way down - robes can be nice!
I had a few years of being quite pleased with myself that my height and reasonable levels of upper body strength meant that I could sensibly contribute to the heaviest part of my kind of fieldwork. But now I have a Repetitive Strain Injury in my wrists and forearms which flares up with carrying heavy weights (even in backpacks) and with heavy work. And my always-vulnerable lower back has turned into a 'needs chiropractic every 8 weeks or so' chronic issue. And my fitness... well, desk work is not conducive to fitness, and essentially I'm now only much use on the heavy work as an advisor - mind you I have great patience for wrapping and labelling loads of small samples, which comes in handy sometimes, and I'm still needed as an 'expert'. But I really really need not just an assistant but a team of them these days, and it makes me feel pathetic. Mind you, it's amazing how much work gets cheerfully done by undergrad males who are getting a free trip to the great outdoors and all their food and beer bought for them... I'm not the only female colleague who advertises for undergrads interested in field-work experience, and Dr N and I have a little pool of strong, young, willing assistants for our heavy work.
This attracted negative comments from some colleagues. However, a couple of years ago one much older colleague lifted a heavy piece of kit that he shouldn't have lifted solo and slipped a disc in his spine... the comments have stopped since.
My field work doesn't require strength as much as the ability to deal with harsh conditions for long periods of time in remote areas.
I really love doing it, but decided that last time I was out that I do not want to do it alone anymore. I think this is more because it wouldn't be safe for anyone, regardless of sex.
Unfortunately, I'd probably be good for your work. I'm big and my old advisor used to joke that she only keep me around to do the heavy lifting!
@JaneB - When I was a young geologist lo those many years ago, and actually a bit before then, it was fairly routine for older, mostly male geologists - who are mostly now retired and called "oldtimers", and who almost always wore khaki everything - to have field assistants. The field assistants were at the time almost always male. So I don't think it should be thought of as being less of a field person to have assistants. It was common in the geological world, and it was the main way that beginning geologists got their field experience. I mostly missed out on that kind of mentoring from anyone senior, but tried to pass some on to younger women - possibly without much success due to my at-the-time poor or minimal management or people skills.
Sorry you are suffering the results of too much heavy work. We fortunately have lots of help for heavy lifting-type things these days.
During the interview for my new position the interviewer, now supervisor, told me that she doesn't get to go out in the field very often and it seems that when someone needs help they usually ask the men first. She is a similar build to Ecogeofem but a few inches taller (although I don't think much of our work requires brute strength). Then, on my first field work experience with a male coworker I mentioned how my supervisor said she doesn't get to go out in the field often (we were talking about how much we like field work) and he said, "yeah, she doesn't like field work." I found this interesting and do not know why he thinks this because she told me she would like to go out more.
She also told me that maybe if I mention I play rugby I would be more likely to be invited to do field work. So I'm guessing this male coworkers impression may have come from the "frailness" of my supervision. And I think that there maybe a "boys network" going on in the office so that when a male coworker needs a field assistant they ask their buddy. I'm not adverse to this I also enjoy field work more with a friend, but I feel if my supervisor wants more field work she is going to have to be adamant about it, and so will I.
It's interesting that some of you have had similar feelings.
Jennie, I think you would be excellent at my field work (not that I'm implying you're mannish!). Your rugby-trained body would rock out for my work.
I think you should absolutely ask to do as much field work as you want. I bet that once the men see that you're good at it, they'll start asking you to go more often.
I don't make too many apologies for what I can't do and I would never feel bad for needing an assistant, except for that time when it was just so stupid that we both had to go. Very infrequent field work is required for the line of research I do now and I would shy away from post docs that required extensive field efforts. I guess it's like anything else -- play to your strengths (pardon the pun). But I'm not going to feel like it's a chick thing because clearly plenty of women can be field work rock stars!
Hi. Your field work activity would not be coring, would it? Most of my postgrads are female, and all of them have to core sediments. If help is needed, it is always on hand - heck - I go myself. One thing though: nothing, absolutely nothing, can match the single-minded drive these students have in the field. And that is enough for their colleagues, who usually look up to them "in spite" of their slight builds.
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