My name is Martha, and I want to be a scientist.

Hello, my name is Martha, and since I've been 10 years old, I've wanted to be a scientist. I've always had a very specific field in mind (in the physical sciences), and have been pursuing this goal, jumping through all the loops I've been required to jump through this far: Top grades in my undergraduate, Masters at an ivy league university, Ph.D. with a top-tier advisor, postdoctoral position on a very exciting project with a famous PI and with lots of perks.

Things have been good so far on paper, but as others, I've found research comes with a lot of negative aspects. Most of these are common to all researchers, and I've had great mentors along the way to help show the ropes and understand the sacrifices that were expected.

What I wasn't expecting, was that being a woman would make it that much harder to be respected as a scientist, whether from my nearest and dearest, but more importantly from peers, students, supervisors and finally those who are on the permanent jobs committee.

By starting a blog, I'm hoping I can:

1) Vent some frustrations
2) Get useful feedback/ideas through comments
3) Provide mentorship for anyone thinking of going down the research track, or struggling in the short term.

Looking forward to the journey. Martha.