Shirley M. Tilghman is president emerita and professor of molecular biology at Princeton University.
Q. What stage in your career did you have kids?
A. I waited quite late before starting the family. I was at this point the equivalent of an assistant professor at a research institute in Philadelphia. I had a lab, it was already established. I was in my thirties. For me that was the right decision. I don't think there is a right decision. It depends tremendously on who you are, what you're doing, and what kind of support you have. I divorced when they were very young so for all intents and purposes I raised them from the ages of two and six months. I don't recommend it as the ideal way to raise children. It’s much better if you can do it with two parents. In fact it’s probably better if you can do it with five parents. It’s a lot of work raising children. I think it was also one of those things where I just said, “Ok. I am not going to acknowledge that this is difficult. I'm just going to carry on.” The key was building really great support systems, so having really good after school programs, having really good babysitters, having people I could call on a minute's notice if something came up that I couldn't deal with by myself. In the end they both are fantastic human beings. My daughter is an art historian and my son is a sound engineer. They both went into the arts. It all worked out in the end, but I don't pretend it was easy. There is no good time or bad time. I think it's going to be an individual decision.
Find Ms. Tilghman’s full interview here: [ Ссылка ]
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