Science is hard

I'm struggling with my research, Dear Readers.  I'm supposed to be setting up a basic experiment as a platform for some flashy new tools, but it's just not working and I can't figure out why.  This sort of experiment has been used since the begging of ecogeoscience time, yet for some reason I can't repeat what's in the literature.  On top of that, I've been asked to turn my attention to several different projects, so I can't ever seem to dive in deep enough to get the problem solved.

Although I'm feeling frustrated as all get-out, in a strange way I'm enjoying the challenge (sort of).  There are people around I can ask for advice, but no one to really hold my hand.  In contrast, my PhD work was so close to my advisor's research that I didn't have to do much trouble shooting or practical experimental design on my own.  I'm super-glad to be gaining new skills, but I'm really, really looking forward to solving this problem.

Groundhog day?

One of the principal reasons I don't want to teach is the Groundhog Day Feeling.  Teaching multiple sections of the same course simultaneously sounds dreadful.  Offering the same courses semester after semester sounds even worse.  I like the feeling of progress I get with research projects -- an idea manifests into experiments that develop into presentations and papers, and then you build on those results for the next project so that ideas and knowledge grow over time.  I like that feeling of moving forward.  I think teaching would feel like starting over time after time without making progress. 

I talked about this with a friend who loves her job as a university lecturer.  She like the sense of renewal she gets at the start of each new semester -- the clean slate to try new things, improve on last semester's disappointments, and influence a new set of students.  I imagine she also feels some measure of personal progress as she polishes her syllabi with each new course.

I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder.