If you don’t like it, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude: Maya Angelou “It is a shame that you are cleaning septic tanks even after earning a postdoctoral degree. You should have become a lecturer in a university”— This is the refrain that I constantly hear from those around me, including my parents, for choosing to clean septic tanks for a living. Their objection to my choice of work is partially because of the outmoded ways in which septic tanks are cleaned in India. Their disapproval also stems from the association of academics with white collar jobs.
Fighting the stigma: Why I chose sanitation work after a postdoctoral degree
