Experience Report Uta Schwarz
Dr. Uta Schwarz works as Faculty Administrator for Quality Management and Public Relations
I had my daughter and my son while I was doing my doctorate and took 12 months of parental leave each. Thanks to the great support from my chair at the time, my husband and the local grandparents, the re-entry and the doctorate with children always worked out great. Even though it was challenging from time to time and of course the work rhythm changed. Since my husband took the children away early, I was often in the office as early as 8 a.m. By 3:30 p.m. at the latest, I would leave work behind to pick up the kids from the nanny or the daycare center and spend the afternoon with them. It wasn't uncommon or me to open my laptop again in the evening.
When I successfully defended my doctorate in April 2012, my children were 6 and 3 years old and I was faced with the questions of which path I should take. I enjoyed research and teaching, but I only brifely considered the option of pursuing a career in science. I'm therefore all the more pleased that I was able to switch to the Dean's Office after a one-year postdoc period. I also find my current work in science management very fulfilling, varied and absolutely compatible with my family. Incidentally, I wasn't the only one with children at my chair at the time. On the contrary, from 2009 to 2012 we were among the chairs with the most children in the faculty. It's also great that some of my former colleagues with children have made the leap to a professorship and are working at universities and technical colleges in Germany and France.