A question for the chemistry folk.
Our favorite niece—don't tell her siblings and cousins—is amazing as she works from both sides of her brain. She finds biology and philosophy equally interesting and challenging, and she can hear a song for the first time in the morning, and after some practice, play it on one of the three instruments she's comfortable with. If you see her on her phone or tablet, she's most likely reading a novel—I can't forgive her for calling
Pride and Prejudice “kinda cute,” however. And she's the warm, witty one, the one everyone loves to be with.
About college, she announced her decision to attend the local university with “in STEM, where you go to college for undergrad isn't as important for most people.” She was 17 at the time, and she was convinced about being right as 17-year-olds often are. Her cousins tried to convince her to attend Flagship U, but she argued, “I can watch sports here at home.” A friend tried to convince her to accept an offer from several well-known colleges, but she argued, “No debt for this girl.” The local university had come through with a full ride.
A junior at 19 she has decided she loves chemistry because it is interesting and challenging. In other words, she has to work at getting it and the good grades that come with getting chemistry. Recognizing that drive, the faculty have asked her to tutor her classmates. And poor fool, she loves helping them. And she is apparently excellent at it.
On a recent trip home, my partner and I had a quiet moment with her—hard to do with large families at times. She wanted to talk with the two college professors in the family: “I'm thinking that being a chemistry teacher at a university would be right for me.” She then quickly added, “I mean, I might be right for that.” Then finally, the question: “are there jobs for people who want to teach chemistry at a university? Just be a teacher?”
And here's my question for my friends here at Zooze the horse: are there? I can't go by my field, heavens! And my STEM colleagues here reluctantly teach to be able to do their research; I know from general consent that they are pressured to produce results for tenure and promotion and win huge grants.
Is getting a PhD in chemistry “just to be a teacher” something she wants to do? Can do? Stipends? Assistantships? Any way she can avoid debt? Can one even say that s/he just wants to be a teacher and get a job?
Will the necessary research to earn a degree fire a passion for research?
Warnings? Insights? Anything you can share to help a caring uncle and aunt give a favorite niece good advice?
—TubaPlayingProf
"A recent Urban Institute study found that from 2011 to 2015, one in five students attending a two-year college lived in a food-insecure household. A study from the Wisconsin Hope Lab found that in 2016, 14 percent of community college students had been homeless at some point. At LaGuardia Community College in New York, where I am president, 77 percent of students live in households making less than $25,000 per year."
