Supporting Mental Health for Early Career Professionals - Lessons Learned from the National Center for Atmospheric Research

Early career scientists and faculty have demanding careers that often include the challenge of supporting students and peers while navigating tenure, career progression, and the pressures of publishing and securing grants. The relentless demands of careers in science education and academia in the context of national and international events carries the risk of burnout. This risk has become even more apparent over the past couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened attention on systemic racial injustices and inequities. An additional stressor for early career scientists and faculty in the Earth system sciences is a growing anxiety over climate change impacts - for themselves, their students and society at large. The Education, Engagement, and Early-Career Development (EdEC) team at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) creates supportive programming for early career professionals, with a new emphasis on mental health considerations since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. NCAR’s virtual, hybrid, and in person workshops on self-care, mental health and burnout are designed to empower early career professionals in identifying stressors and nurturing mental health. Currently, our workshops serve early-career scientific and technical professionals at NCAR and, on occasion, early-career Earth system sciences faculty. During our trainings, we spend time sharing practical strategies, and talking together about how we attend to self-care and build a supportive and empathic community. Topics include: maintaining the passion and energy for work alongside the reality of climate change, racial injustices, systems of oppression; tips on setting boundaries; balancing empathy with/for students with institutional realities; and building a community at work while maintaining a personal life. This presentation will share NCAR EdEC’s holistic approach to supporting mental health in Earth systems science and outcomes of the time spent together discussing these topics with early career professionals at our workshops.