Tag Archives: work

Researcher mobility in a post-Brexit world

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Existing UK immigration rules can support foreign-born researcher movement after Brexit, but the attractiveness of the UK research environment may still keep the best and brightest away, says Erica Brockmeier

Whether you’re relocating around the block, across town, or to a completely new city, moving is not a trivial task. For many PhD students and early career researchers, moving to a new research group can play a key role in professional development. It’s a way to gain new perspectives for your research, expand your professional network, and to work in a prestigious or well-known group in your field. Sometimes the best move for your career isn’t just across towns or cities, but is one that involves moving away from your home country, either temporarily or permanently.

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Exploring science communication

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Science communication comes in many forms. Discover your favourite, says Andy Tay

There’s a few reasons why scientists may be discouraged from science communication. Here, I’m hoping to break down some of those barriers, and introduce channels and platforms where scientists can practise. First, here are some of the reasons stopping more scientists from practising science communication, as well as my rebuttals.

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How to wake up early

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Here’s another infographic — this time helping you to wake up early (and why that’s important)

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The way to success in science

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Young people working in any variant of science face many challenges. However, some tips can increase your chances of success, says Naturejobs journalism competition winner Sofia Otero

A degree in science is just one stepping stone on a long path with varied exits, curves and about-turns. Choosing wisely is not always an easy task, but there’s no right way to success: there’s a whole lot out there to choose from.

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At the London Naturejobs career expo on September 16th, there was a lot of talk on how to succeed in science, and an interview with the editor-in-chief of Nature, Sir Philip Campbell. Some tips came up repeatedly and are worth listing. Continue reading →

Why should we work so hard to make our work reproducible?

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Most scientific work isn’t reproducible. Andy Tay explains why that’s a problem.

The call for reproducibility has never been stronger in the history of science. Since two major pharmaceutical companies, Amgen and Bayer, reported in 2011/12 that their scientists were unable to replicate 80-90% of the findings in landmark papers, scientific news outlets have caught up on the issue. Their reports have catalyzed conversations among stakeholders (policy makers, funding agencies and scientists) to improve reproducibility in science.

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There are a lot of reasons why reproducibility is so important, and why Amgen and Bayer’s results caused such controversy. I’ll start at the individual level. Continue reading →

Babies or career: How to keep young researchers in science

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Could shared post-docs improve work-life balance and make academia more attractive for early career scientists?

Naturejobs journalism competition winner Ulrike Träger.

If you look for advice on work-life balance in science online, the message seems clear: it’s possible to fit a 10-hour work day around quality time with your kids and family as long as you’re organized. Flexible hours of working in the lab help. Experiments don’t mind when you do them, and can be postponed until your kids are asleep. But still, long hours are expected in order to be successful, and finding childcare during midnight experiments is not always easy if you don’t live close by. So for many (including myself, a post-doc in my late twenties pondering the right time to start a family) the prospect of having to plan each and every minute of the day to be a good parent and scientist is daunting. This leaves promising young scientists everywhere feeling like they have to choose between family and career.

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Can scientists really have work/life balance?

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To be a top performer you need to be happy – something academics tend to forget.

Naturejobs journalism competition winner Elisa Lazzari

Scientists spend a lot of time trouble-shooting. Every day we work on our protocols, and if something doesn’t work, we try again and again, until we fix it. We keep track of all the factors and accurately measure all variables, to find the perfect combination of parameters that work. If there is one thing we can claim after getting a PhD, we’re definitely great at problem-solving. Can we also trouble-shoot our way out of the everlasting dilemma on how to find work/life balance?

Elisa Lazzari

Elisa Lazzari

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