Developing experimental techniques that can be applied to multiple projects will help broaden your scientific experiences.
At the 2015 London Naturejobs Career Expo, Frances Aschroft, physiology professor at the University of Oxford, and James Hadfield, manager of the genomics core facility at the University of Cambridge, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute, gave advice on how to develop skills that will avoid you getting pigeon-holed into one field of research.
Top tips:
- Follow your passions and interests. If you succeed, it won’t be a problem. Determination, application and patience will help.
- Learn experimental techniques that can be applied in different situations.
- If you want to set up a lab, long term, you need to be able to adapt.
- Find the question you want to answer, then find the technology to help you do so.
- Don’t spend all your time working on one research question. Find time to stay up to date with research on the fringes of your field.
Further reading:
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