What it's like juggling two jobs in academia

It’s been a while since I posted anything here, but I’ve been BUSY! To be honest, more mentally than physically busy.

When I first left academia to sell analytical equipment to universities, everything was new and different. Being a biology person, it was hard to really understand the chemistry behind the equipment I was selling. But study and practice really pays off, and after a couple of months, I started to feel more comfortable when talking to professors and choosing the optimal instrument for them. But the actual selling part, the whole behind the scenes and reading in between the lines – that took over 2 years to achieve. 2018 was my best selling year ever (the first time I made quota – sold over 1.2 million dollars’ worth of equipment!), but I am sure I still have lots to learn.

Because I sell big pieces of equipment, I am not required to be in professors’ labs every week. No one buys a MassSpec per month, so usually deals are done over several months, or years! After a couple of years, I’ve met most of my customers and slowed down my trips. It took a while to get used to having extra time on my hands, to stop feeling that academic guilt that you should always be working on something. But humans are creatures of habits, and I’ve gotten used to it.

So when the opportunity to get a side job with Lenny at protocols.io was presented to me, I thought that was the perfect situation. I had some extra time and this second job would bring me the pleasure to finally be able to work (doing something good) to improve science and reproducibility! I’d only work 6 hours per week, so it should’ve been easy, right? Well, not exactly. My initial plan to group my hours working for protocols on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons didn’t work as I’d planned. Life gets in the way! Those are indeed my less busy times for my primary job, but there’s always a phone call or some urgent email that needs to be answered. And although those tasks don’t take too long, it takes you out of your mindset, and it takes a bit to come back and refocus.

In the first month it was somewhat easy to track my hours and stay within limits. But after a while, there was more work I wanted to do, yet not enough hours in my contract. Also, there are things that simply need to be done, and I won’t say, “Sorry, I’ve worked enough hours this week.” But mainly it is SO HARD to prevent yourself from working when you’re over excited and committed! But I’m learning to pace myself, I’m more used to juggling between the two jobs, and most important of all, I am happy. 

Cleyde Helena (@Doctor_PMS) is an Academic Account Manager, Analytical Instruments. This story was published on March 16, 2019, on Cleyde’s blog, Science Reverie (available here) and has been republished here with permission.