Guide for PhD students (and post-docs) aiming for a successful career in science.doc

Guide for PhD students (and post-docs) aiming for a successful career in science指导博士生和博士后科学目标对于一个成功的职业生涯roughly in order of importance, and with apologies to those who have worked these things out forthemselves!大致按照重要性和道歉到那些工作这些东西自己!This is not an official QIMR document and does not represent the views of QIMR or its committees. It does, however, reflect the collective view of some senior QIMR researchers who manage to enjoy very productive and intellectually rewarding careers in medical research, and who wish to pass on some tips to those who are considering a similar career. 这不是一个官方QIMR文档并不能代表QIMR或其委员会的观点。然而,它确实反映了一些高级的集体观点QIMR研究人员设法享受富有成效和在医学研究智力能带来回报的职业,和那些希望通过一些技巧给那些正在考虑类似的职业。Doing a PhD should be fun, rewarding and be seen as a privilege. Its the only time in your life that you can spend 100% of your working time learning to do research, finding out new things, having freedom to pursue new areas and getting paid for it, without any administrative or other responsibilities. Those who stick it out do so because, despite the relatively poor pay, long hours and lack of security, it is all we want to do because of the intellectual satisfaction it brings, the excitement of discovery, the freedom to make your own work schedule, the opportunities for travel, the pleasure of being in an international community of like-minded people and (for some people) the possibility that we might actually help the human condition!做博士学位应该是快乐的,奖励和被看作是一种特权。这是唯一一次在你的生活中,你可以花100%的时间学习做研究工作,发现新事物,拥有自由去追求新的领域,得到报酬,没有任何行政或其他责任。那些坚持到底,因为尽管相对贫穷的支付,长时间和缺乏安全,这都是我们想做的,因为知识满意度带来的兴奋的发现,自由,让自己的工作安排,旅行的机会,在国际社会的乐趣的志同道合的人,(有些人)的可能性,我们会帮助人类的处境!1.Choose a supervisor whose work you admire (find out first what work they have done and are doing, and search PubMed to see how productive they are!), located in a department or institute with good infrastructure (equipment, patient samples, seminar series etc), and who has enough grant funding not to limit your project too much.1。选择一个你喜欢的主管(找出第一个他们所做的,做什么工作,和搜索PubMed看到生产力啊!),坐落在一个部门或机构与良好的基础设施(设备、患者样本系列研讨会等),并有足够的赠款资金没有限制您的项目太多了。2. Get involved and take responsibility for your project. This is probably the most important transition from the Honours year. To be successful in research you need to develop strong skills in independent and effective thinking, critical analysis, problem-solving, and time management. The only way to develop these skills is to take responsibility for your project. You need to immerse yourself in your research and exercise your mind with every experimental plan and every experimental outcome, including failures. Embrace failures as challenges and training exercises for future successes, rather than looking around for people to blame. If you simply follow directions and close the door behind you at the end of the day you will never progress in research. Tenacity is essential! 2。参与和负责您的项目。这可能是最重要的过渡的荣誉。在研究你需要开发成功的强大技能独立和有效的思考,批判性分析,解决问题,和时间管理的能力。开发这些技能的唯一方法就是负责您的项目。你需要让自己沉浸在你的研究和锻炼你的头脑与每一个实验计划和每一个实验的结果,包括失败。拥抱失败作为未来成功的挑战和训练,而不是四处寻找人们指责。如果你只是遵循方向和关上门你后面在一天结束的时候你永远不会进步的研究。毅力是必不可少的!3.Work hard. Dont think you can get away with a 38-hour week. You will need to worklong days all week, and for part of most weekends. That gets you to closer to a 50-60 hour week, which is what you need if you want a successful career in academia (or indeed in any professional career). If research is your passion, this is actually easy to do, and if it isnt your passion, then you are probably in the wrong field. You should be going to work because you want to, not because you have to. Of course, ultimately, the number of hours doesnt matter - the only thing that matters is productivity, but unless you are a genius, and very organized, and very lucky, you will need to work this hard to get out enough good papers to make a good start in a scientific career. A three year stipend might seem like a long time at the start of a PhD but three years goes very, very fast and it might be difficult or impossible (depending on its source) to get an extension into a 4th year. The people who go home with a full briefcase of work to do at home are the ones most likely to succeed. Note who around you does this arent they the ones who have made it? The extra hours are the cause, not consequence of success! 3。努力工作。不要认为你能侥幸38-hour的一周。你需要worklong天整整一个星期,和大多数周末的一部分。让你接近每周50 - 60小时,这是你需要的,如果你想要一个成功的职业生涯在学术界(或者实际上在任何职业生涯)。如果研究是你的激情,这是容易做的,如果这不是你的热情,那么你可能是在错误的字段。你应该去工作,因为你想,不是因为你。当然,最终的小时数并不重要,唯一重要的是生产力,但是,除非你是一个天才,和非常有组织,很幸运,你将需要这工作很难得到足够好的论文在科学生涯中一个好的开始。三年津贴可能看起来像一个长时间的博士,但三年非常,非常快,它可能难以或者不可能(取决于其来源)扩展到4年。的人跟一个完整的公文包回家工作要做在家里是最可能成功的人的。注意你周围的人这样做不是他们的“制造”吗?额外的时间是事业,不成功的后果!4.Play hard. Take some weekends off, and reasonable holidays, so you dont burn out. But if your work is very dependent on people around you, dont plan to work over Christmas and New Year and then take your holidays when your colleagues are all hard at work. On the other hand, if you are totally autonomous and not using equipment that is liable to break down, the holiday season is a great time to work in peace, and without competition for equipment. If youre stuck with a problem in late afternoon or early evening it might be more productive to go home and tackle it fresh the next day. 4。全力以赴！带一些周末,和合理的假期,所以你不要烧坏。但是如果你的工作是非常依赖于你身边的人,不打算在圣诞节和新年,然后把你的假期,你的同事都在努力工作。另一方面,如果你是完全自治,而不是使用设备,很容易分解,假期是一个很好的时间在和平的工作,并为设备没有竞争。如果你坚持一个问题在下午晚些时候或者晚上早些时候,它可能会更有效率回家解决这新的一天。5.Read the literature, both in your immediate area, and around it; both the current and the past. You cant possibly make original contributions to the literature unless you know what is already in there. See it as a challenge to put an interesting paper on your supervisors desk before they put it on yours! The best time to read papers is between experiments, or in the evenings or weekends. Reading papers at your desk instead of doing experiments is a poor use of time. Most people find it challenging to understand some papers when they start out.Dont let this put you off. Instead, go back to the earlier literature or text books, ask questions and discuss the papers with your supervisor or other colleagues. Use this as an opportunity to spark thought-provoking scientific discussions. Your supervisor will be busy, but should always make time for these discussions (if not, find another one!).阅读文献,立即在你的区域,和它周围;当前和过去。你不可能做出最初的贡献,除非你已经知道什么是文学。认为这是一个挑战,把一个有趣的纸放在你的上司的桌子之前,把它放在你的!最好的时间去读报纸之间的实验中,或在晚上或周末。阅读报纸在办公桌上,而不是做实验是一个贫穷的使用时间。大多数人发现很难理解一些论文当他们开始。别让这让您下车了。相反,回到早期的文学作品或文本书籍、提问和讨论的文件与你的上级或其他同事。用这个作为一个机会火花发人深省的科学讨论。你的上司会很忙,但这些讨论应该腾出时间(如果没有,找到另一个!)。6.Plan your days and weeks very carefully. If you are in the lab, begin the week, and each day, by carefully dovetailing experiments so that you have the minimum of down time. Make lists of what you have to do tomorrow at the end of each day while todays work is in your mind. This also allows your mind to think about the next days work while you sleep. Unless you have domestic constraints, be flexible about what time you go home to cope with unexpected changes to this schedule (and remember, this is probably the most flexible part of your life once you have children, this goes out the window, so make the most of it). 仔细计划你的几天或几周内。如果你是在实验室里,本周开始,每一天,通过仔细燕尾榫接合实验,这样你有最小的停机时间。列出你要做明天的每一天,今天的工作是在你的头脑中。这也可以让你的思维考虑第二天的工作,而你的睡眠。除非你有国内限制,灵活的什么时间你回家应付意想不到的改变这个安排(记住,这可能是最灵活的你生活的一部分,一旦你有了孩子,这是窗外,所以充分利用它)。7.Keep a good lab book, and write it up every day. It will make thesis writing much easier, and will also help to protect any intellectual property that might one day make you rich. In particular, write up the details of your methods as you go along. They will easily convert to chapters in your thesis, and also to laboratory protocols which is useful for everyone. 保持良好的实验室的书,每天都写出来。它将使论文写作容易得多,也将有助于保护可能有一天让你的任何知识产权富有。特别是,写下你的方法的细节。他们在你的论文很容易转换为章节,以及实验室协议,对每个人来说都是有用的。8.Be creative. Think, think, and think some more about what you are doing, and why, and whether there are better ways to go. Dont just see your PhD as a road map laid out by your supervisor. Talk to your supervisor, and others around you, about alternatives and watch the literature for new discoveries and ideas that are pertinent to your project. Probably the toughest challenge for a successful scientist is to be creative, while keeping a sharp eye on feasibility. It is never too soon to start working on this aspect of your PhD, and at the end of the day probably the single thing that most distinguishes a great scientist from work horse. Ask Big Questions, and be sceptical about conventional wisdom, even if it comes from your supervisor. Dont be afraid to argue with your supervisor on scientific grounds they are not always right and should appreciate the debate.是创造性的。想,想,想一些更多关于你在做什么,以及为什么,是否有更好的方法。不要只是看到你博士作为一个路线图制定你的上司。跟你的上司,你周围的人,对新发现的替代品和看文学和思想相关的项目。可能最艰难的挑战对于一个成功的科学家是有创造力,同时保持强烈关注的可行性。它永远不会太早开始致力于这方面的博士,在一天结束的时候可能是单一的,一个伟大的科学家有别于大部分工作的马。问大问题,怀疑“传统智慧”,即使它来自你的上司。不要害怕科学依据他们与上司争论并不总是正确的,应该升值的争论。9.Be active, not passive, in your approach to research.Seek information and advice, and dont assume that it will just diffuse into your head. Your supervisor wont know everything (and may be technically less than competent anyway!), so find the right people for advice and dont be afraid to ask for it. Dont go for weeks without talking about your research with your supervisor and other members of the lab. If your supervisor doesnt seek you out regularly, go and talk to him/her. When you are inexperienced it is very easy to get off track and waste valuable time and resources. Those students and post-docs who sit back and wait for the magic to happen, or work in a vacuum, never get anywhere.是主动,而不是被动的,在你的研究方法。寻求信息和建议,不要以为它会扩散到你的头。你的上司不知道一切(和可能不到技术主管),找到合适的人寻求建议,不要害怕问。不要去好几个星期没有谈论你的研究与你的上司和其他实验室的成员。如果你的上司不经常找你,去跟他/她。当你没有经验很容易偏离轨道,浪费宝贵的时间和资源。那些学生和博士后坐下来等待奇迹发生,或在真空中工作,从来没有得到任何地方。10.Try to keep a three-part portfolio of sub-projects that are safe, moderately safe, and challenging (could this be a Nature paper if it works out?). That way you are pretty certain to get a PhD, but might hit the jackpot, and have the thrill of a really exciting discovery. 尽量保持一个由三部分组成的投资组合是“安全”的子项目,适度安全的,具有挑战性的(这是一个自然纸如果成功?)。这样你肯定能拿博士学位,但可能中了大奖,兴奋的一个非常激动人心的发现。11.Go to as many seminars as you can and all of them in your general area But dont just sit at the back like a sponge, or fall asleep; sit up the front and ask questions of the speaker in question time, or afterwards, and of your supervisor and others in the lab. Students who speak up in this way gain a much better understanding of their field and are the ones who are really noticed. Remember that at this point in your life it is difficult to make a fool of yourself. Just having the courage to speak up is really applauded! 去尽可能多的研讨会,他们都在你的区域,但不要只是坐在后面像海绵一样,或入睡;坐起来前面和演讲者的提问时间,或之后,和你的上司和其他的实验室。学生说话用这种方法获得一个更好的理解的领域,是那些真正注意到。记住,此时在你的生活中很难出丑。就有勇气说出来真是鼓掌!12.Make the most of any opportunities to attend a conference or workshop. If you are lucky enough to do so, dont treat them like a holiday; they are work. Make sure you go to every talk, no matter how relevant you think it is, or isnt. You will always learn something. Between talks, use every minute to meet new people, find out what they are doing, tell them what you are doing, and remember that this is where you are most likely to find a good post-doc lab. Dont spend all the time speaking only to people you already know or socialising with your lab; you can do that when you get back. Receptions and dinners are not optional; these are where most networking takes place and you need to be there mixing with new people, not hanging around the ones you already know. Likewise, dont take your partner with you and spend all the free time with them; they can join you before the meeting starts, or after it finishes, but during the meeting, including the social events, you are at work. If you are hung over from all of the socialising, dont miss the next mornings session, just take a bucket in with you. And when you come back, tell your supervisor (who has probably paid for all or some of it out of their hard-won grants), and others in the lab, what you got out of the meeting. 充分利用任何机会参加会议或研讨会。如果你足够幸运,对待他们不喜欢度假;他们的工作。确保你去每一个说话,不管你认为这是多有关,或不是。你总会学到一些东西。之间的谈判,利用每一分钟来认识新朋友,了解他们在做什么,告诉他们你在做什么,请记住,这是你在哪里最有可能找到一个好的实验室博士后。不要只花费所有的时间你已经认识的人或者社交与实验室;你可以当你回来。招待会和晚宴不是可选的,这是大多数网络发生,你需要混合有新朋友,不是挂在你已经知道的。同样的,不要把你的伴侣和你一起把所有的空闲时间,他们可以加入你在会议开始之前,或之后完成,但会议期间,包括社交活动,你在工作。如果你是挂在所有的社交,不要错过第二天早上的会议,把一桶在与你在一起时的感觉。当你回来时,告诉你的上司(可能已经支付全部或部分的来之不易的赠款),在实验室里和其他人,你参加的会议。13.Take a notepad and write down the action items when you meet with your supervisor, unless you have a perfect memory, and make sure they get done or go back to explain why they cant be done. 记事本,记下操作项当你会见你的上司,除非你有一个完美的记忆,并确保他们完成,或者回到解释为什么他们不能做。14.Practise your writing in any way you can. Most students with a recent Australian education have very poor writing skills, and this will severely impact on your ability to write a satisfactory thesis, get a grant, and get a paper accepted. Do a course in writing (if you can find a good one), use the grammar and spell checks on Word, try to learn from people around you who write clearly and concisely, and get feedback on everything you write from colleagues or even friends and family. Plan your project so you can get at least 3-4 good (or 1-2 extremely good) papers out of your PhD. Dont leave thesis writing until after your scholarship or candidature has expired. Start writing from Day 1, even if nothing you write in the first or second year ends up in your thesis, the experience will be invaluable. It will help to broaden and deepen your knowledge, prioritize experiments, and significantly increase your chances of publishing during, rather than after, your PhD. It will also make writing your thesis much, much easier. In addition, a good literature review is often publishable, so that can be another option that will help to make your name, particularly since reviews get good citation rates. 你可以练习你的写作方式。大多数学生与最近的澳大利亚教育有很可怜的写作技巧,这将严重影响你的写作能力令人满意的论文,格兰特,一篇论文被接受。做一个书面课程(如果你能找到一个好的),使用语法和拼写检查单词,试着从你身边的人清晰准确的写,你写的一切,并取得反馈意见的同事甚至朋友和家人。计划你的项目,这样你就可以得到至少3 - 4好(或1 - 2极好的)文件从你的博士学位。不要把论文写作之前,你的奖学金或候选人已经过期。从第一天开始写,即使你写在第一或第二年结束在你的论文,这些经验将具有无可估量的价值。它将有助于扩大和深化你的知识,优化实验,并显著增加你的机会出版过程中,而不是之后,你的博士学位。写论文,这也会更加容易。此外,一个好的文献综述是经常发表,所以,可以另一个选项,将有助于使你的名字,尤其是评论引用率很好。15.Buy yourself a lap top if you can possibly afford it, even if the lab is well supplied with computers. That way you can work easily between work and home, and if the lab gets busier you are still independent. 给自己买一个膝上如果你能负担得起,即使实验室提供电脑。这样你可以很容易在工作和家庭之间,如果实验室就忙你仍是独立的。16.Make the most of any opportunities to talk about your work. Use it as an excuse to read additional papers and to think long and hard about what you have (or havent!) achieved and where your project is going. A shoddy presentation, even at a lab meeting, makes you look bad and is a wasted opportunity. Try your hardest to pre-empt questions that you might get and try to have prepared answers. If you dont know the answer to a question, say so; people will invariably see through a bullshit answer! Talk about your work with family and friends they sometimes have useful insights (and as tax payers are ultimately your employers). 充分利用任何机会来谈论你的工作。使用它作为借口阅读额外的文件,认真考虑你所拥有的(或者没有)和您的项目在哪里。劣质表示,即使在实验室会议,让你看起来坏,是一个浪费的机会。尽你最难先发制人的问题,你可能会得到并试着准备好的答案。如果你不知道一个问题的答案,这样说,人们总是会看到通过胡说回答!谈谈你的工作与家人和朋友,他们有时有有益的见解和纳税人最终是你的雇主。17.Appreciate that most biomedical research is very expensive and is mostly funded by taxpayers money or private donations. You therefore have a responsibility to use these funds carefully and not to waste them on ill-conceived or poorly-performed experiments. Think carefully about everything you do and always seek advice if you are uncertain. Be aware that your productivity also has implications for others in the lab. If you take it easy and are unproductive this will affect the productivity of the lab, which in turn will affect the chance of the lab getting grants that support your research and pay the salaries of your colleagues. 欣赏,大多数生物医学研究是非常昂贵的,主要由纳税人的钱或私人捐款。你小心因此有责任使用这些资金,而不是浪费在考虑不周或poorly-performed实验。仔细思考你所做的一切,总是寻求建议如果你是不确定的。请注意,你的效率也暗示了其他实验室。如果你放轻松,效率低下这将影响实验室的生产力,进而会影响到实验室的机会获得资助,支持你的研究和你的同事的薪水。18.Look ahead. What are you likely to be doing 3, 6 or 12 months from now, and are there any steps you can take now to pave the way (e.g. HREC applications, collection of biospecimens or reagents, learning new techniques)? 向前看。你可能会做3、6或12个月以后,和有什么步骤你可以现在铺平道路(例如HREC应用,收集biospecimens或试剂,学习新技术)?19.Set yourself deadlines and try to keep them it is good training for the days when you have to adhere to grant application deadlines etc. 给自己设定最后期限并尽量保持他们这是好培训的日子你必须遵守授予应用程序期限等。20.Plan to work abroad at some point, not because Australian science isnt world class, but because of all the benefits of working with some real stars (it is a fact that the USA has more Nobel Laureates than any other country), and to get a better perspective of where you fit into world science. If you end up in the lab where the head gets more invitations to speak than he/she can cope with, some might be passed on to you, which is a major advantage for career advancement. 计划到国外工作在某种程度上,不是因为澳大利亚科学不是世界一流,但因为处理一些真正的明星的好处(它是一个事实,美国比任何其他国家有更多的诺贝尔奖获得者),并得到一个更好的角度你融入世界的科学。如果你最终在实验室的头被邀请说话比他/她可以应付,有些人可能会被传递给你,这是职业发展的一个主要优势。21.Think very early and very carefully about what you plan to do after your PhD. If you hope to stay in research you should be aware that you will be judged almost exclusively on your publication record. This judgement includes the number of papers, your position in the author list and the quality of journal in which the work is published. Without a good publication record your chances of getting a fellowship, or even a grant funded position, in research are remote. Salaries are hard to c