You may also be describing science careers :( Science PhD programs have a 50% attrition rate. Getting in is hard, and getting through is hard. If you get thr

You may also be describing science careers :( Science PhD programs have a 50% attrition rate. Getting in is hard, and getting through is hard. If you get through, you compete for post-docs. Then you compete for faculty positions, and then you compete for tenure and funding. To end up with a tenure track physics position in Berkeley, Palo Alto, or Cambridge means you have truly survived repeated cuts. The reward is a salary almost certainly too low to buy a house and raise a family in any of those locations. This isn't the only problem for women in science, but it's silly to discuss it without talking about these problems.