Aids Researcher….rewarding, but family first

Posted by admin
April 8, 1999

This is a story about two ex-careers.

I am currently in graduate school, in computer science, looking for a job while I continue in school.

As a student in the US, I really enjoyed teaching as a graduate assistant but I found a greater enjoyment in seeing my name in print in research journals. I spent thirteen years doing research.  It was fun but extremely demanding.

My last job was for 5 years as an AIDS researcher.

My boss was a great scientist, but made no room for any family life. He was in the lab, seven days a week, morning and late evenings. He expected us to put in at least 60 hours a week if not more and made us sign papers that stated expressly that we worked 40 hours a week.

I found the pursuit of fame had led me to him. I liked the work, enjoyed doing it but my freedom to choose which weekends to take off were lost. It frayed the nerves of my wife. It was tough to quit when I had not accomplished much.  I promised her that as soon as I had the project done into papers I would quit.

Thats what I finally did. I went back to graduate school, this time in computer science. I enjoy this area too. However this time I am going to be careful. No work is worth destroying your family over, if you had a choice. I had the choice and I think this is possible only in the United States of America, a great country. I taught chemistry in India for three years. I loved teaching so I decided to do it. It was reverse discrimination of not being a minority candidate in an institution underrepresented by minorities that caused me to loose my job.

I was out of a job for two weeks after two years of teaching. At that time I desperately did everything I could including apply for graduate school in the US. When my admission came a year later, I quit my job and headed for the US.

family first






Old Comments:

  1. whoopty shit, why don't you just stay in india.      by steve
  2. you and your family deserve -3. who gives a flying FUCK.SUCK
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    my cousins nuts
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         by GET AT ME SON -3
  3. I have AIDS and I want to thank all the people who are actually trying to help- by work and prayers. I submitted my comment because of the disrespectful people who added theirs. If you didn't care, why did you come to this website? Also, there is no need for profanity.      by Concerned
  4. Look, life isn't easy. And if you are an audio engineer then life is twice as hard. It's high pressure, long hours, and doesn't pay for squat. The business isn't any better for men. In fact, the last few years I have seen a lot more female engineers....more so than males.
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    So quit your crying.....there's no crying in audi      by bl <br> -----------------------------277584
  5. Your old boss sounded like he was on borrowed time.. Did you ever think about injecting him? You're a libra aren't you, honey?      by Phat Dong Holysheite@hotmail.com
  6. You're right the USA DOES owe you a better life, and an education. Just don't tell any one - have you seen how many indians there are?      by Welcome lechmich@mail.com
  7. I read your post and was dismayed by the responses. I think what you did had a lot of courage. One of the hardest things we can do is to make a change after we've invested so much. I admire that you had the courage to do something completely different. While we all talk about how important family is, many do nothing about it. It's great that your priorities are clear and that you were able to align your actions with them. Good luck with your next endeavor. I was at MSFT for 13 years so if you need any advice in getting involved in the high-tech sector feel free to contact me cjliur@hotmail.com.      by cjliu