![\"mentors-mold-naturejobs-blog-small\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/files\/2015\/08\/mentors-mold-naturejobs-blog-small.jpg\" "\\"mentors-mold-naturejobs-blog-small\\"")
<\/a>{credit}iStock\/Thinkstock{\/credit}<\/p><\/div>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Relationships with mentors change as a young scientist\u2019s career progresses and they gain experience. But it is na\u00efve to think that you are less dependent on the advice from your peers as you grow. \u201cI think you need more advice in a way, but different types,\u201d 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, \u201cHe was always very honest \u2014 I didn\u2019t always agree with him \u2014 but I always found it useful to talk to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even Nobel Prize winners can be in need of advice. \u201cWhen I won the Nobel Prize, I called up Steve Chu and Paul Nurse, and asked, \u2018what the hell am I supposed to do?\u2019\u201d says Brian Schmidt, winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in physics. \u201cI used them as mentors, because I knew they had done it and they are people who I respected how they dealt with things.\u201d<\/p>\n
While one role of a mentor is to give spoken advice, equally important are their actions. The mentee can often learn by emulation. Just the experience of working with skilled people can teach a young scientist new ways to think. Carlo Rubbia, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984, found this important whilst at CERN. \u201cI met a lot of very nice people, very intelligent people, not necessarily much older than me, but which had their own personality, and so by interacting with them I could build myself much better,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
The role of a mentor is one that is inherited. As you gain experience as researcher, you will find yourself giving advice to new scientists. This new role is not one that them mentor explicitly trains for; it is instead the result of natural interactions and personal chemistry between individuals. What defines a good mentor can vary depending on the needs of the person seeking guidance. \u201cIt\u2019s somebody who technically understands what your issues are, but also has empathy for you as a person in the situation that you are in,\u201d says Eric Betzig, Nobel laureate in chemistry in 2014. \u201cIt\u2019s not enough to have one or the other. If it\u2019s just empathy, then it\u2019s your mother, and if it\u2019s just technical then it\u2019s too sterile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the uncertainties involved with pursuing a career in research, most of those who do choose to do research could not imagine having any other job. Luckily for them, there will always be people who are more than willing to offer advice for those who seek it. In the end, the most important advice to any young scientist, according to the Nobel laureates, is to follow your passion and make sure that you are really interested in what you are working with. If you do this, then you might end up being as happy as Richard J. Roberts, 1993 Nobel Prize winner in physiology or medicine. \u201cI don\u2019t consider that I work \u2014 I love what I do so much \u2014 it\u2019s my hobby, and they pay me to do it; it\u2019s wonderful!\u201d<\/p>\n
Futher reading:<\/em><\/p>\n Mentoring: The perspective of Nobel laureates<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Mentoring: Before they were laureates<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Why peer mentoring is important<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Contributor Michael Gatchell … Read more<\/a> Continue reading