CLB Mentor Profile: Professor Tesla Jeltema

Interview by Heidi Molga, CLB Undergraduate
(under the supervision of Professor Amy Ralston)
October 24, 2013


Heidi: Could you give us a quick introduction to your personal life?

Tesla: I am in the dual career couple category. We are both faculty here, and we have two kids. The first one was born while I was still in my post-doc, the other one was born last year.

Heidi: So how was having your first child during your postdoc?

Tesla: It was not my plan. The year that I was first applying for faculty jobs was the
year the market crashed, so it was actually quite frustrating. My plan had not been to have kids before I had a stable job, but then I came to realize that there were parts of my life that I could control (having kids) and parts that I could not (the economy), and I did not want to delay what I wanted for my personal life any longer. Also, frankly my schedule was more flexible as a post-doc than it is now.

Heidi: Do you feel as though there would be a more appropriate time to start having children in your career, or do you feel like it worked out perfectly?

Tesla: There is no time when it’s easy, and there is no time when you cannot do it. My second child was born last year, during my second year as a member of faculty. It was not particularly easy, but, for me, I believe it was the right time. What it does is maybe slow my track down a little bit… because you end up having to say no to more invitations, and decrease the number of hours you are going to work when the kids are very little. You just have to do what is right for you. I don’t think there is any one ideal time to have kids. You just have to work it out.

Heidi: Do you feel as though having children has changed your approach to research and teaching?

Tesla: I think, when you have kids, you are more efficient with the time you have at work. You don’t have the same hours, and I think you prioritize more. I try to do everything well, but I also try to only say yes to the things I know I can commit to and do a good job on, and not overwhelm myself with unnecessary tasks. When I go home, I want some time with my kids. When I need to, I work on nights and weekends…but I try to avoid it, if I can.

Heidi: What do you think is the hardest thing about being a scientist?

Tesla: I really like what I do, and I always wanted to do this, but it was a very stressful process getting to the point of having a more stable job, and it is very uncertain. There are a lot of nonlinear factors that are taken into account when people are ready to hire for a position. Just because someone does not hire you, does not mean you are not just as good as the person they hired. They are looking for particular factors. It can be emotionally draining.

Heidi: What is your next big career goal?

Tesla: Tenure.

Heidi: What is the best way to increase the number of women in STEM tenured positions without compromising excellence?

Tesla: I think that culturally, and in terms of university programs, there needs to be support for families. It’s hard, because it is a financial burden. I would say yes to conferences that had daycare so that I could bring my kids along. I was asked to serve on a NASA committee last year, and I had to say no, because childcare was not financially supported.

Heidi: What kind of support do you feel would be most helpful to professor parents?

Tesla: The University has decent leave policies for faculty, but the leave policies need to be better for students and post-docs. In general, one advantage of academia is that, even in my post-doc position, I could often work from home, but the ability to take family leave as a post-doc depends on what your research is, and who your supervisor is. This is why having some support for junior scientists would be helpful, because it is very situation dependent. It is not system dependent. If you are not tenure track faculty, there are no guarantees for programs like this.

Heidi: What are important goals of graduate school, postdoctoral fellowship, and the first years as assistant professor?

Tesla: That is very person dependent. You have to make whatever decision is right for you at the time, without giving up things that are important to you. It is possible to have it all, but you have to decide if that is worth it to you. Is it making you happy or not? I would absolutely not discourage people from doing everything.

Heidi: Tell us something about you that would surprise others.

Tesla: I am a swimmer. When we moved here, I got back into swimming, because there are races that go from San Francisco to Alcatraz, and I always wanted to do that, so I began to do a number of open water races. In the end, my husband, who had gotten into running when we moved to Santa Cruz, competed with me. We did an Alcatraz challenge that is a swim-run as a relay. We have won twice! The second time was in between the two kids. Sometimes, we really do try to do too many things. At the same time, we strive for balance in our lives. Sports are important to the both of us, because it gives us something to strive for and work towards outside of our career and our kids. It gives us independent time, and allows us to recharge. On the weekends, one person babysits and the other goes out and does their activity.

Heidi: When you are in a rut, how do you inspire yourself?

Tesla: Sometimes, just taking a little break from what I have been doing, like going swimming, or spending time with the kids, is all it takes. The farther along you get in science, the more things you are doing all at the same time. When I feel like I cannot really focus on anything, it helps me to just pick one task and focus on it for a day or two. It’s nice to feel that sense of accomplishment. I get really excited about my work when I get to focus on it.

Heidi: If you could do it all over again, is there anything that you would change?

Tesla: It’s hard to say. There are things that you cannot see differently when you are in it. Maybe I would have picked different projects as my graduate school research, but that is not something that you can see at the time. At each step I have built up new skills, based on what I was passionate about at the time.

Heidi: One final question, what is the best advice that you have ever received?

Tesla: When you have kids, you have to pick and choose what you say yes to, and use your time wisely. If you say no, you say no, and even if it slows you down a bit, that’s okay.

Heidi: What are your best strategies in terms of attaining an appropriate balance between work life and home life?

Tesla: I don’t know that I have specific strategies. I will say that from when I get home until when my kids go to bed, I don’t work, period. I also try to spend an hour or so swimming or doing something else just for me a couple times a week.

Heidi: What are your greatest weaknesses in terms of attaining an appropriate balance between work life and home life?

Tesla: Not feeling guilty.

Heidi: What advice do you have for students desiring an academic career as well as a family?

Tesla: Expect it to be stressful and be self-aware about how important work and family are to you. But if it is what you want, absolutely go for it all.

Heidi: Would your advice differ if you were advising a male student vs. a female student?

Tesla: No, but my advice might differ depending on the career and goals of the persons’ spouse/partner of either gender.

Heidi: How has your approach to career-life balance evolved over the years/through each stage of the journey?

Tesla: When I was younger I was not at the point where I wanted a family and career was much more important to me. As I have gotten older, gotten married, and had children, the balance has changed.