I exactly remembered that wonderful feeling of wide-open potential, and I wondered what had happened to it. I honestly didn't know what to tell Scarlet about a career in science. You can set this field on fire if you aim high enough and stick to your dreams. But part of me wants to caution her too, tell her about the ongoing struggle I've had in this line of work. Tell her how you never get to rest, never get to fit in, never get to feel like you're good enough.
Astronomy is a competitive, high-pressure profession.
It's a profession that favors aggressive, politically astute, independent people. Still, both men and women find this attractive. That's not a simple question to answer. Like it or not, men and women are socialized differently. This really hit me in the face when I began to study physics at Harvard.