Jennifer Calderini
BIO
Senior associate scientist at Pfizer, mom of one (another on the way).
Instagram: @jenn.calderini
Jennifer Calderini
“Being a mom is harder and more rewarding than any project or set of experiments I’ve ever encountered.”
I initially began my career in a PhD program but struggled to find balance between my personal goals and professional goals. I knew I wanted to be a mother, but I also wanted to be a scientist with enough flexibility and income to support a family without having to wait too long to have children.
I decided the best path for me would be to complete a Master’s Degree and pursue a research position in industry. This enabled me to continue doing research I was passionate about, in the area of my expertise (immunology), while maintaining a work/life balance that suited me better than what I experienced in academia.
I had my first son, Nathaniel, in 2020 during the height of Covid and while working at a small vaccine development company.
The anxieties of being a first-time pregnant woman and then first-time mom, combined with the state of the world, were staggering. However, the experience taught me to truly value myself and my family’s needs. I was able to pinpoint company policies and strategies that absolutely did not work and ones that were quite supportive.
I ended up leaving for a position at a larger company with more flexibility and have been better able to juggle motherhood and work since.
Above all, being a mom is harder and more rewarding than any project or set of experiments I’ve ever encountered. But the struggles moms in STEMM still face are real, and they can be crippling.