Sarah Bellum  Ask Professor Sarah Bellum  After a much-needed
sabbatical, Professor Sarah Bellum has returned to answer your
questions on navigating the often-uncharted waters of early
career development. Professor Bellum is communicated by Patricia
L. Clark, founder of the Early Careers Committee and a member of
Council. Do you have a question for Professor Bellum? Send it to
Your privacy is assured!  Too Many Distractions!  Q: I am a
fifth-year graduate student, in the midst of finishing up the
experimental work for my dissertation. I know what I need to do
to finish; I just need time to do it. My advisor insists that I
also attend one or two seminars a week, in addition to our
weekly two-hour lab meeting! I am happy to go to seminar if the
topic is relevant to my thesis project, but most of these
seminars are not. How can I be expected to get my work done with
all these time-wasting meetings and seminars?  Q: I have a
fifth-year graduate student in my lab, in the midst of finishing
up his experimental work