Tag: Self Reflections

In 2018, a group of early-career researchers shared insights and advice about career development. Read the full series. Preparing an impressive CV: The DO’s and DONT’s of it The Transition from Postdoc to PI: Part 1 introduction, by Amanda Rasmussen The Transition from Postdoc to PI: Part…

Part of the "Self Reflection" series by and for early-career researchers In the era of digital media, science communication has advanced in an unprecedented way. Several years ago, we used to subscribe printed magazines and journals. Scientists prefer to subscribe digital version of magazines,…

Part of the "Self Reflection" series by and for early-career researchers In the era of digital media, science communication has advanced in an unprecedented way. Several years ago, we used to subscribe printed magazines and journals. Scientists prefer to subscribe digital version of magazines, journals…

Part of the "Self Reflection" series by and for early-career researchers These chapter of the “Self-reflection Series” was conceived to provide an insight for early-career scientist into options after defending their PhD dissertation, especially because many natural science degrees are (almost)…

Part of the "Self Reflection" series by and for early-career researchers Scientists are sometimes obsessive with their work: this is both a cliché and many times a reality, at least during certain periods of their professional life. The infamous “Publish or perish” saying comes to mind. However,…

Summary: Mentors have crucial roles in supporting the development of young scientists, but one mentor may not be enough. Previously I wrote that It takes a community to raise a scientist, here I elaborate on the roles of mentors. One mentor to rule them all? Nope. As scientists progress through their…

Part of the Self-Reflection; series by and for early-career researchers Turn on the TV, browse the internet, or simply go outside. Branding is everywhere. What do you think of when you hear Nike? Lady Gaga? Are your thoughts about them positive or negative? Each is very different and has unique ways…

Part of the Self-Reflection; series by and for early-career researchers Outreach is defined as “any scientific communication that engages an audience outside of academia” (Varner J., BioScience, 2014). Most scientists and scientists-in-training are aware of outreach as something that is included…

Self Reflection Blog Series : For and by Early Career Scientists I do not see myself being particularly talented in negotiation since I grew up in a culture where a well-behaved is often rewarded with a certain degree of entitlement. Being modest and humble were the two virtual values emphasized during…

Part of the Self-Reflection; series by and for early-career researchers We all are different. We all like different things. We all think, behave and react differently. Therefore to suggest a list, to actions to follow with the aim to develop a niche and instruct how to be noticed in…

By Yasin Dagdas Part of the Self-Reflection; series by and for early-career researchers You have been studying for ~15 years and finally you are at a crossroad where you will make an important decision to start cashing out your “delayed gratifications”. Although I strongly believe there are…

Part of the Self-Reflection; series by and for early-career researchers Your application has arrived at the top of the stack and you have passed the phone/web interview evaluation! Now all you have to do is ace the academic interview to land that faculty position you’ve been dreaming of for…

Part of the “Self Reflection” series by and for early-career researches After an hour-long search, you’re pouring over an old notebook from a previous post-doc in the lab, trying to recreate a protocol that your lab thought you would never use again. There's an upside-down y with a squiggle…

Part of the "Self Reflection" series by and for early-career researchers -OK, so you just got a job as a new PI where you are busy setting up your lab (a big challenge) and teaching your first course (another big challenge), BUT wait there’s more… “We need you to be on this committee, and…

Part 7: Don't forget - IT IS EXCITING! by Amanda Rasmussen This has turned into quite a long article based on the advice and insecurities of 8 PIs of varying experience (see details at the end). Our intention is not to scare anyone off making the jump from post-doc to PI…but rather to let you know…

Part 6: Academic Imposter Syndrome (AIS- pronounced Ace) by Amanda Rasmussen Academic Imposter Syndrome (AIS): (I’ve decided to call it AIS (pronounced ace) because that sounds more positive) I’m not going to lie, this is something I struggle with on an almost daily basis. There are so…

Part 5: The Importance of Mentoring by Amanda Rasmussen Finding and making the most of good mentors is incredibly important (dare I say in particular for the transition from post-doc to PI?). There are blogs elsewhere about this (here) including my comments and experience so I won’t restate the…

Part 4: Building a team by Amanda Rasmussen As reflected by the length of this section, building a team is perhaps one of the biggest challenges to new academics. My team started as me, myself and I. And we don’t always agree! Aside from diluting the Gollum-style conversation, building a team is…

Part 3: Hitting the ground running - but not too fast! by Amanda Rasmussen Momentum/Time management: “I was told that starting your PI position will be slow, but I didn’t realize quite how slow it would be. After six months, I’m delighted that I’ve cleared all the paperwork and other hurdles…

Part 2: Isolation Busting by Amanda Rasmussen “I was told to expect the isolation, but it's still difficult to move from a big, functioning lab with lots of people to being on your own.” –Erin Personally I was used to working independently having come through two fellowships but for me the isolation…

Part 1: Introduction by Amanda Rasmussen A cloudy day in June. I wait patiently outside an office for a meeting for which I’m 10 minutes early. The meeting is with a professor (Prof K) who has recently begun at Nottingham and whose research is of interest as a potential collaboration. As a newly…