If you work in an academic research role it’s likely that teaching already takes up a significant amount of your time, but have you ever thought about going the whole hog and switching to science teaching as a career? Following last week’s announcement of the 2011 US Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, Naturejobs spoke to three of the awardees who chose teaching over traditional research. What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of this career path, and would it necessarily mean the end of your interest in original research?

Staying professional

Moving from research to teaching does not make you any less of a professional, emphasises William Wallace, a former molecular biologist who now teaches physiology and research methods in biology at Georgetown Day School in Washington DC. “You can be a leader in the field and you can be challenged intellectually,” he says. “I’ve had as much professional satisfaction teaching as I did being a research scientist.” Continue reading →