A friend of mine once told me the difference between grad students and post-docs is that post-docs are able to leave both their successes and failures in the lab. Well, I think what he actually said was something to the effect of “Post-docs don’t cry when their Westerns don’t work”. The ability to compartmentalize life and work is a maturation step I have been looking for within myself – can I prevent my mood from going up and down with my work?

I have found that having my emotions linked to my work is desperately unproductive. I wind up making more mistakes in the current experiment while I am still mourning the passing of the last one. On the other hand, when things are going well (it has been known to happen… on occasion), I am flying high. I don’t see this as healthy. With time, it has become easier not to take my everyday failures in lab to heart, however, that may be more due to my rising threshold for a painful stimulus as opposed to maturation.

I am hoping that the underlying reason for the ability of (some, not all of course) post-docs to detach their emotions from their work is that they have already proven themselves in earning their Ph.Ds. They are no longer constantly evaluated and closely watched like students are. It is difficult for a grad student (ok, me) to become emotionally detached from lab work when I know that my successes and failures will likely reflect upon me, my dedication, and my abilities.

So for now, I don’t expect myself to forget all about lab the moment my work day ends, but I do hope that I will soon no longer need a drink after every failed experiment, or I may wind up earning cirrhosis of the liver instead of a doctorate.