Mentorship advice comes in many forms and from many sources, say Nobel laureates.
Contributor Michael Gatchell
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Mentors are fundamental in molding young scientists into independent researchers. These relationships can take on many forms and evolve along the way, but they never stop being important for a scientist.
Relationships with mentors change as a young scientist’s career progresses and they gain experience. But it is naïve to think that you are less dependent on the advice from your peers as you grow. “I think you need more advice in a way, but different types,” says Martin Chalfie, 2008 Nobel laureate in chemistry. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, 2009 Nobel laureate in chemistry, agrees that it is important to have somebody who you trust to discuss major decisions with. He maintained a close relationship with his postdoctoral mentor as his career progressed, “He was always very honest — I didn’t always agree with him — but I always found it useful to talk to him.” Continue reading →
Mentors create environments where early career researchers can grow and develop.
Contributor Michael Gatchell
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For a young scientist the possibilities are endless, but a good mentor can make all of the difference in helping their career off to the right start.
Those who choose to become scientists can often point out one or several people who influenced them and started them on the journey that is their career. Already at an early stage in one’s education, there can be that one professor who made a longstanding impact. Even seemingly small actions make a big difference. This was the case for 2008 Nobel laureate in chemistry, Martin Chalfie. He fondly remembers a special teacher while he was an undergraduate student at Harvard, who personally ensured that Chalfie had a key to the library and could read the papers needed for a course. “He went out of his way — that was a wonderful thing,” Chalfie says.
The first experience that many people have of actually practicing science is during graduate school. The advisors naturally take on the role as mentors and create an environment where they can grow. This can be manifested in many different ways. For Brian Schmidt, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics, having frequent meetings with his PhD supervisor at Harvard were important. “Every morning I would bring in a plot of what I did the day before and we would talk it over,” he says. “He really imprinted lots of how to do science to me.” Continue reading →
A PI’s job is more than just training researchers; it’s to help scientists become more developed, happier people, says Brian Schmidt.
The number one concern that students have, according to Brian Schmidt, 2011 Physics Nobel Prize winner, is “not knowing the future of how they’re going to be a researcher.”
This is Brian Schmidt’s opening statement in this podcast. He’s concerned for the students.
Many young researchers feel that after having done the PhD training only sets them up for a career in academia. Schmidt likes to think otherwise. A PhD in science sets you up for more than just a career in academia, it sets you up for a career in anything.
In this podcast he talks about his own career, and how he almost left research and might have missed out on being part of the team that discovered the expansion of the universe was accelerating! The lessons he learned from this experience are now ones he shares with his own students and postdoc researchers. And now, also with you.
Here’s a list of some of the key lessons that he touches on in our conversation:
Scientific training at undergraduate and postgraduate levels is interesting, you learn interesting things to do an interesting thing of some description.
Research is a great job, but not the only job. Every job is interesting if you make it interesting.
Be open: There are many ways to apply what you learn in academia to other jobs.
Revel in the moment: Don’t chase uncertainty
Do the best you can
Take time to self-reflect: consider what you enjoy doing, what you’d be willing to sacrifice to do this job.
Talk to supervisors and other scientists to find out what they’ve done, whether in academia or outside of it.
Proactive, eager to learn, motivated, driven, enthusiastic and balanced people make good scientists.
DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY!
This last message is one that I want to stress too. If you’re not happy with what you spend the majority of your life doing (those careers we keep talking about), it will begin to affect other parts of your life. And any career is just not worth sacrificing your happiness for.
