ACADEMIC TRACK ADVICE – Tony Harris Lab

Advice on pursuing the academic track

Identify mentors, mimic them and seek advice

1) Identify successful people who are five years along the academic track

Ask their advice and simply watch how they conduct themselves

Start mimicking their work habits and intellectual rigor now!

2) Attend workshops and seek advice from scientific organizations

   American Society for Cell Biology
        Career advice for life sciences II
        www.ascb.org/newsfiles/cals2.pdf
        Monthly newsletter (Women in Cell Biology)
        http://ascb.org/wicb-committee/

   CIHR
        Career advice booklet
        http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/27491.html

The Journal of Cell Science
“Sticky Wicket”

3) Read autobiographies and biographies of scientists
Science sections of new and used bookstor

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AfrikaansAlbanianArabicArmenianAzerbaijaniBasqueBelarusianBengaliBosnianBulgarianCatalanCebuanoChichewaChinese (Simplified)Chinese (Traditional)CroatianCzechDanishDutchEnglishEsperantoEstonianFilipinoFinnishFrenchGalicianGeorgianGermanGreekGujaratiHaitian CreoleHausaHebrewHindiHmongHungarianIcelandicIgboIndonesianIrishItalianJapaneseJavaneseKannadaKazakhKhmerKoreanLaoLatinLatvianLithuanianMacedonianMalagasyMalayMalayalamMalteseMaoriMarathiMongolianMyanmar (Burmese)NepaliNorwegianPersianPolishPortuguesePunjabiRomanianRussianSerbianSesothoSinhalaSlovakSlovenianSomaliSpanishSundaneseSwahiliSwedishTajikTamilTeluguThaiTurkishUkrainianUrduUzbekVietnameseWelshYiddishYorubaZulu

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Stay Positive

The challenges of the academic track can create negativity

Ups and downs are normal, but exposure to negative environments must be minimized.

If you find that you are becoming consistently negative then it is important to consider your overall goals and motivations and
make appropriate changes.

Talk to your positive role models, friends and family.

Read self-help books.

Continually develop your skills

1) PhD and postdoctoral training

    To gain the training needed to run your own lab change two of the following from your PhD to your postdoc:
    i) The general research question
    ii) The model organism
    iii) The main techniques applied

Change universities. Go abroad.

2) Time management

Mimic your mentors.

Consistently put in extra hours.

        50 hours a week instead of 40 hours a week
        adds up to ~10 extra weeks of work in a year.
        (an extra year every five years)

The 10 000 hour idea for becoming an expert in a field
–Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers

        Most experiments and hypothesis don’t work out
        – many attempts are needed to make a new discovery
        – a lot of work is needed to develop an initial finding

Use your 50 hours effectively.

Dove-tail experiments with other experiments, analysis/planning and reading.

Fill 10-15 minute time windows with small tasks.

Give tasks the time they deserve (priortize!).

Save simple tasks for low energy times of the day.

Relax outside of the 50 hours to remain creative and focused.

3) Teaching and mentoring

Consider how your PhD and poctdoc supervisors mentor their trainees.

TA and supervise undergraduates as a graduate student.

Supervise undergraduates and graduate students as a postdoc.

Continually improve your lab meeting presentations and scientific talks. Talk to and mimic your mentors

Note effective presentation techniques in the talks you attend.

4) Small business skills

Learn how to write grants. Get advice from your PhD and poctdoc supervisors and other sources.

Consider how your PhD and poctdoc supervisors handle
personnel issues, delegation, sudden problems, finances etc.

Think of past work experiences.

Discuss these issues with family and friends who work in other areas.

Read small business advice columns.

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Take risks, be intellectually rigorous and publish

During your PhD, learn to be a good scientist.
    -develop projects from scratch
    -read the literature broadly
    -participate in lab meetings and talks

During your postdoctoral work, prove that you are a leading scientist
among your peers.
    – Can your postdoctoral work be summed up in a sentence?
    – Can a hiring committee say “That was the person that found…..”?
    – Critically, hiring and grant review committees evaluate the quality and
    number of your publications within the previous 5 years
    *a continual 5-year moving window*

Establish a network of colleagues (locally, nationally and internationally)
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