Why the mid-career stage in science can feel like a second puberty

Why the mid-career stage in science can feel like a second puberty

Life satisfaction can hit rock bottom in midlife before bouncing back as our ageing brains start to feel less regretful about missed opportunites, says Hannes Schwandt, a health economist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.


Kieran Setiya, a philosopher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, adds that the mid-career stage can be dominated by having to juggle both urgent and important tasks, some of which have no definite endpoint. These can quickly mount up and become overwhelming, with non-work-related pressures swallowing up increasing amounts of time, he adds.


In the fourth episode of Muddle of the Middle, a six-part Working Scientist podcast series, host Julie Gould wonders whether this mid-career stage is like a second puberty, a time of confusion and frustration. “It might be worth reaching out to some of those people who have gone through it and come out the other side,” she suggests.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episoder(221)

Why labs need a napping room to help you work, rest and play

Why labs need a napping room to help you work, rest and play

Joseph Jebelli believes burnout and overwork has reached pandemic levels, telling Holly Newson that it kills 750,000 people annually, with three out of five workers struggling to maintain a healthy wo...

26 Mar 39min

‘Be a problem-solver, not a job-seeker:’ how to pivot from academia to industry

‘Be a problem-solver, not a job-seeker:’ how to pivot from academia to industry

Gertrude Nonterah helps researchers step off the academic hamster wheel and seek opportunities beyond their specialty. She does this by tapping into her personal experiences of losing a postdoctoral p...

19 Mar 39min

Nervous networker or conference presenter? Care less, says speech coach Susie Ashfield

Nervous networker or conference presenter? Care less, says speech coach Susie Ashfield

Learning to care less about how you come across in a conference talk, funding pitch or networking event frees you to communicate more naturally and confidently, says Susie Ashfield.In the second episo...

12 Mar 38min

Women in science are not a ‘problem to be fixed’

Women in science are not a ‘problem to be fixed’

In the first episode of a podcast series focused on six books about the scientific workplace, Cordelia Fine tells Holly Newson why she wrote Patriarchy, Inc: What we Get Wrong About Gender Equality an...

5 Mar 39min

Why an industry career move is a taboo topic in academia

Why an industry career move is a taboo topic in academia

In his role as research director at NielsenIQ, a consumer intelligence company based in London, Josh Balsters helps global brands drive product innovation.Balsters relies on expertise he gained in ps...

26 Feb 27min

Academia’s parent trap: the struggles faced by researcher mothers

Academia’s parent trap: the struggles faced by researcher mothers

Alison Behie was approaching 40 when she underwent multiple rounds of IVF, enduring the mental and physical turmoil of miscarriage and uncertainty along the way. How good is the academic workplace at ...

19 Feb 30min

When a colleague dies: exploring academia's "death-denying culture"

When a colleague dies: exploring academia's "death-denying culture"

In the sixth episode of Off Limits, a podcast series exploring topics that are often perceived as taboo in the academic workplace, three researchers describe their personal experiences of loss and how...

13 Feb 36min

‘We need to dismantle the stigma of alcohol dependence in academia’

‘We need to dismantle the stigma of alcohol dependence in academia’

Wendy Dossett tells Adam Levy why the stigma of having an alcohol dependence in academia can be a huge barrier to seeking help. “We’re supposed to be the brightest and the best, moving the frontiers o...

6 Feb 29min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
stopp-verden
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
pengepodden-2
finansredaksjonen
pengesnakk
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
utbytte
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
liberal-halvtime
okonomiamatorene
rss-politisk-preik
rss-markedspuls-2
lederpodden
rss-sunn-okonomi