Most read on Naturejobs: July 2015

Posted on 31 Jul 2015 by Julie Gould

What makes a good scientist; Leaving academia; ERC funding and much more from Naturejobs this month.

This month on the Naturejobs blog we’ve published 17 blog posts (18 if you include this one!). That’s a lot of words, and a lot of advice from your peers.

On the last Friday of every month we share the top picks, as chosen by you. Feast your eyes:

1. What is the biggest missing piece in how we educate scientists? Responses, from a range of thought leaders, ranged from the practical to the philosophical in STEM education: to build a scientist on Nature Careers.

2. Insider Knowledge, by Chris Woolston, offers insights into what others might have already learned in a career that you have chosen to follow. His advice: take the time to seek out what inside information you can get to help decide whether or not this career is the right fit for you. Continue reading →

In conversation with Brian Schmidt

Posted on 30 Jul 2015 by Julie Gould

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.

Inspiration: It couldn’t be done

Posted on 29 Jul 2015 by Julie Gould

In any aspect of a scientist’s life, obstacles should not deter them from pursuing their goals.

{credit}PhotoDisc/ Getty Images \ Barton Stabler{/credit}

We’ve all been there. Hit a brick wall. Been through emotional turmoil. Found a problem that we couldn’t face. In science, probably more than any other field (whether academia or industry), researchers face this almost daily. An experiment that continues to fail, lack of inspiration for a report, difficulties finding a job, difficulties finding funding, the list goes on. Yet the way scientists tackle these obstacles all depends on their perspectives.

Is this what the scientific endeavour is all about anyway? If a scientific theory runs out of steam and a particular experiment shows it can’t possibly be the right theory, scientists don’t just give up. They go back to the drawing board. They think about the problem from a different angle and try again. If that still doesn’t work, and all avenues have been explored, sometimes, someone else might come along and bring with them an idea that completely shifts everyone’s thinking. Breaking up the current mindset with a new paradigm that completely shifts the perspective of the problem and letting science advance.

Why is it then, that many scientists don’t apply this dogged determination to other aspects of their lives? Why look at obstacles as obstacles?

Think of them learning opportunities, a chance to look failure in the eye and say: OK. That wasn’t how it should be done. Let’s try again. What did I learn and what could I do differently this time? Then you might make some breakthroughs in other parts of your life and surprise yourself with what you are capable of.

Last weekend a friend of mine shared a poem with me that I want to share with you. I’ve never been a big fan of poetry, but this one struck a chord. I hope this poem comes as some inspiration to all scientists that are currently stuck on a problem, about to give up. Think of it as a challenge: If you say you can’t do it, then you need to turn around and say to yourself: YES I CAN!

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it;”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure,
There are thousands to point out to you one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

-By Edgar Albert Guest

Mentoring: The perspective of Nobel Laureates

Posted on 28 Jul 2015 by Julie Gould

The first of a three-part series on the mentoring experiences from Nobel Laureates.

Contributor Michael Gatchell

{credit}Getty Images{/credit}

One group of people that have experienced the greatest thrills science has to offer has to be the Nobel laureates.

Science is about discovering and understanding the unknown. To do this you need an open mind and follow paths that no one else has walked down before. The classes you take as a student and books you read provide the basic knowledge, but it is the interactions with people around you that mold you into a true scientist — ready to take on the greatest problems that nature has in store.

Every Laureate has a unique story of making choices along a nonlinear career path. But as any of them will tell you, it is important to have an ensemble of mentors that you trust for advice at any point along the way, not only when you are young and inexperienced. “You cannot learn science from books — you have to learn science from other people, who give you the right imprint,” says Carlo Rubbia, 1984 Nobel Laureate in physics. Continue reading →

Science communication: A new generation of communicators

Posted on 24 Jul 2015 by Julie Gould

Part three of Emily Porter’s journey into science communication shows that the field is gaining momentum.

Contributor Emily Porter

British-Science-Association-SciCommConf15

The British Science Association’s Science Communication conference is a great place to do some networking and meet like-minded people{credit}Image credit: British Science Association{/credit}

As part of the effort to be exposed to as much science communication as possible, I signed up to attend the British Science Association’s science communication conference in Manchester. All I can say is – WOW! It was initially slightly overwhelming to be thrown in at the deep end with so many people who had seemingly been doing ‘SciComm’ in one form or another for years. However, I quickly learnt that there was a hugely varied audience there, some with as little experience as me, with jobs ranging from university press or public engagement officers, radio broadcasters, scientists or entrepreneurs to name but a few.

A few common themes seemed to keep cropping up throughout the conference giving me plenty to think about, some more controversial than others. For example, there were arguments around whether we should create formal definitions of ‘science communication’ and ‘public engagement’. Continue reading →

Leaving academia: Do’s and Don’ts

Posted on 22 Jul 2015 by Julie Gould

Elizabeth Silva’s six Do’s and Don’ts on transferable skills before looking for a job outside of academia.

Contributor Elizabeth Silva

In a previous article I discussed the importance of honing the soft skills that are central to a research PhD, which are useful regardless of career path. Experiences outside the lab primarily provide the opportunity to develop hard skills. There are thousands of different skills, requested by thousands of employers, in an infinite number of combinations. It’s no wonder PhDs are daunted by the prospect of navigating the options and give up before they begin. The good news: many of these specific skills can be readily learned by someone who has already mastered dozens of ridiculously specific, esoteric and finicky experiments.

First, a few dos and don’ts:

Don’t be tempted to develop an array of skills with the hope of marketing yourself to whatever job happens to arise. Start exploring different careers to get an idea of what you want to do, then develop skills that are related to that job or career. Continue reading →

Data transparency: Making the most of your data

Posted on 20 Jul 2015 by Julie Gould

How to bring your hard-earned data from the lab to the world.

Contributor Anthea Lacchia

Catherine Goodman

Amongst the scientific community, there is increasing awareness of the value of data transparency and reproducibility. But how can we achieve transparency in practical terms? Catherine Goodman, Senior Editor at Nature Chemical Biology, delivered a workshop on handling scientific data during the Boston NatureJobs Career Expo 2015.

“Careful experimental design is the foundation of data transparency and will also avoid wasting time with referees later on,” said Goodman. Different scientific fields have different requirements as to how much data are needed to make meaningful interpretations and how they should be collected, so it is important to be aware of your community’s standards.

Keeping good records can help clarify why a given experiment didn’t work. “If you are collecting data in a field new to you, it is useful to consult the experts in the field, follow protocols and collect all the data you can,” Goodman said.

Proper training in the lab and good communication among team members is fundamental to achieving high standards of data collection and interpretation. In fact, many of the papers that end up on Retraction Watch, a blog that reports on retraction of scientific papers, are born out of a disconnect between PI and postdoc or trainee. “Getting the killer paper is not as important as doing science properly and rigorously, because you want to contribute positively to the scientific community, not find yourself on Retraction Watch,” Goodman said. Continue reading →

Transferable skills: Seek development opportunities

Posted on 16 Jul 2015 by Julie Gould

Team work and good communication are the two most valuable soft skills an academic can develop, says Elizabeth Silva.

Contributor Elizabeth Silva

Working effectively as a team means you need to understand how different people communicate.{credit}PhotoDisc/ Getty Images \ Brad Goodell{/credit}

PhDs commonly assert that their skills and experience are specific to their research niche: valuable at the bench but nowhere else. This perception is reinforced by the extraordinary time spent trouble-shooting experiments and analyzing data in detail. It is certainly true that any PhD moving away from academic research will need to learn new techniques or tools, referred to as hard skills, but most trainees are well-equipped to acquire these as needed. More important is the recognition that the real worth of a research-based PhD is in the development of highly-valued soft skills. It is these skills that many PhDs fail to see in themselves. It is also these skills that PhDs can and should be cultivating during their research, regardless of career goals.

At its best, a PhD selects for creative, rigorous and independent thinkers. A PhD’s greatest training is not in learning the details of a scientific problem but in how to find the answers they seek and critically evaluate the evidence underlying them. It is up to you, as a trainee, to actively seek opportunities to improve these skills, and these abound when you simply look for them at conferences, in journal clubs, in collaborating with colleagues, engaging in seminars and in broader scientific one-on-one conversations. It can be incredibly tempting to narrowly focus your attention on the science and techniques that are relevant to your research niche, but pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone will make you a better researcher and a more valuable employee. Continue reading →

From Scotland to Brazil: The final broken puzzle piece

Posted on 15 Jul 2015 by Julie Gould

Careers don’t always follow the plans you set, as Gina Maffey is currently experiencing whilst in Brazil.

Contributor Gina Maffey

sunset-panatal-gina-maffey-naturejobs-blog

Sunset in the Pantanal{credit}Image credit: Gina Maffey{/credit}

I shut the door behind me and walked to the end of the corridor. Unsure what to think of what had just happened, I dropped my bag on the floor and leaned on the windowsill. I felt like I’d just found the final piece of a puzzle under the sofa, except it didn’t quite fit into place.

My meeting had concluded in a positive but unexpected way. After a lengthy discussion with colleagues on a developing project, one of the professors had asked if I had heard any news on the postdoc that I had applied for. I told her that I was not expecting news any time soon because of the strike that university staff were engaged in. The strike had begun the day after I submitted the application, and the campus had been a very quiet and desolate place for the previous month. Continue reading →

Metrics with meaning: Shaping your scholarly identity

Posted on 14 Jul 2015 by Julie Gould

Tracking scientific output can be beneficial to a researcher’s career, says Catherine Chimes.

Contributor Catherine Chimes

{credit}Image credit: Getty Images/Thinkstock/Catherine Yeulet{/credit}

Establishing yourself in your field is a challenge faced by many early-career researchers and academics. Accruing status as indicated by traditional methods (such as journal citation counts, public speaking opportunities and, at the pinnacle for some, being awarded tenure) can be fraught with difficulty in more ways than one.

As more and more scholarly work is reviewed, published and made publicly available each year in an increasing variety of formats, one question stands out: what other indicators are there that scholars can utilize to evidence the impact of their work?

Achieving recognition and credit for the work accomplished is crucial to advancing any scientific career. Recent articles have discussed the danger in publishing for publishing’s sake – instead, experts enthuse, the emphasis should be on publicly available, reproducible, robust data and outputs that extend far beyond the journal article. Continue reading →

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Monthly Archives: July 2015