Recent replies to "Core competencies"

Reply from Paul Smaglik

Paul Smaglik — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:40:29 -0000

Responsible conduct of research
This, like “professionalism” (above) is somewhat amorphous. There are more “don’ts” than “do’s” to this category. Still, it pays to pay attention to research codes by your granting institution. if you haven’t read them, check them out. Careers aren’t necessarily improved by following codes of conduct—but they can be instantly derailed when one veers away. There are many headlines about disgraced researchers faking results, plagiarizing another’s work, or putting pressure on underlings to do the same. Some researchers’ stars have risen stratoscopicaly by cutting corners. But they almost always burn up in their fall back to earth. Don’t be one of them. And know what to do when you encounter potential misconduct.

Reply from Emil Chuck

Emil Chuck — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:04:16 -0000

A brief comment on professionalism (as the author of this section in the Core Competencies): professionalism is also about representing the profession of science to others who are not in your profession or your institution. How you live your life as a scientist, work with others from different backgrounds (professional, nationality, family members) affects the career choices of many people who are considering your career path. How you are treated by your colleagues, your institutional officers, your peers, and your family influences your assessment of your chances for success in the field.

By keeping in mind that professionalism is based on one’s identity and pursuit of self-satisfaction, professionalism justifies any search to pursue career paths and learn about assuming additional identities. What it is like to be an employee of an industry firm, or a policy advocate in an NGO? What difficulties do minorities have in science, and is my behavior insensitive to the historical concerns of these groups? How much does one place importance on balancing family responsiblities, and how would that affect the way you choose your identity as an academic, a scientist, etc? Do you have a plan for yourself to succeed in science, and do you have mentors or additional plans that may carry you to enhance your professional interests?

To be a proper professional, yes, you have to motivate yourself to learn more about the science you are in, the career paths that might appear on your radar, the technology that assists your work, the communications and leadership skills to become a world-class expert, the management skills to get the work done and gain others respect, and the ethics to conduct your science properly. Professionalism may be abstract but it fuels the “passion” one has for a specific career and the ability to transition to different paths. If anything, it is the standard of ideal professionalism that should motivate one’s pursuit to excel in all the other competencies in the document.

If anything, professionalism should be applicable to ALL scientists regardless of training stage. The way I describe professionalism in the document can even apply to individual professions even if they are not grounded exclusively in the performance of science.

Please contact me if you have any questions on this section. As Paul describes, this is a very abstract concept, and I write this section in a way that is meant to provoke discussion.

Reply from Paul Smaglik

Paul Smaglik — Wed, 14 May 2008 22:47:09 -0000

Professionalism
This is a really squishy one—unquantifiable, abstract and highly subjective. But it’s still worth pursuing. Think about how you like to be treated as a researcher, then try to practice your ideals on your students and technicians. Things like meeting deadlines and following through on promises are important—but respecting co-workers may be even more important. Many top researchers get their pick of students and postdocs because they develop a reputation for professionalism. Strive to be one of those people. When advisors DON’T act professionally, bad things happen—both to them and their proteges. See our Surviving Science series for tips and examples.

Reply from Paul Smaglik

Paul Smaglik — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:38:30 -0000

Leadership and management skills
As a postdoc, you probably already set and follow a budget, set research goals, and recruit and monitor staff.

Do those responsibilities leave you overwhelmed? If so, you might want to improve your time management skills and learn how to better juggle responsibilities. Still struggling? Then you might consider checking out a book published by the Howard Hughes Medical Institution, ‘Making the Right Moves, or even taking some management courses.

No matter what your approach, this is an area worth focusing on; whether you go on to academia or industry, you will need to manage people, money and projects. Learning to excel in this area—from holding regular lab meetings and setting clear research goals and timelines to communicating these goals and celebrating their completion, will help you reach your broader scientific and professional goals.

Reply from Nils Moeller

Nils Moeller — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:08:43 -0000

Looking at Paul’s last entry it may be worth mentioning this year’s Source Event, a large science career event organised by Naturejobs.
At the conference we will have a senior NPG Editor talking about how to get published and there will also be a talk by a Senior Programme Manager at the BBSRC on hints and tips on successful grant applications.
The event will take place on 26th September in London and there is a group for the event on Nature Network.

Reply from Paul Smaglik

Paul Smaglik — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:15:45 -0000

Communication skills
This is a pretty broad category, encompassing grant- and paper-writing, presentation practice and day-to-day conversations with labmates, both in person and via email. Try attending at least one grantsmanship workshop (many scientific organizations have them at national conferences) and one “how-to-get-published” roundtable (many journals, including Nature) offer these opportunities regularly. Practice helps, but first, familiarity. Carefully read instructions for both grant and journal submission. Many papers and grant applications are rejected simply because the writer doesn’t follow the format or answer all the question the process requires of them. Don’t fall into this trap. Then, consider reading a few successful grant apps or journal articles submitted by people in your lab, or institution. Finally, apply for a grant and submit an article for publication well before you expect to exit your postdoc. The process takes time and success comes only intermittently. When you get feedback, don’t take it personally, but try to incorporate it into your next attempt.

As for oral presentations, it’s almost certain that for your first job—whether in academia or industry, you will be asked to give one. So start thinking about it now, put it together, refine it and practice it for your peers. This will make you more familiar with your own material and will make you more confident about your grasp on it going into a prospective job interview.

Reply from Paul Smaglik

Paul Smaglik — Wed, 07 May 2008 23:36:04 -0000

Research skills
It’s essential to bring research experience into a postdoc, but its perhaps even more important to leave with new skills. Postdocs should set goals to finish their fellowships with a few new tricks in their bags—from lab techniques to data analysis and beyond. Again, it’s helpful to talk about this with an advisor—ideally before you accept the fellowship, but this conversation is better late than never. Your main goal, as the above post stated—is establishing your independence
As for new technical tricks, short courses are a good bet. Plan ahead, as the hottest classes at places like Woods Hole Marine Biological Lab, Jackson Lab and Cold Springs Harbor, are often over-subscribed). But if you don’t have the time or funding to get away, try trading tricks with technicians and students in your lab. Or, better yet, consider going interdisciplinary
and seek an education from a different lab that has some possible overlap.

Please let us know which techniques have worked for you and if you can recommend any short courses that have been particularly helpful—or would like some guidance about what courses to consider over the next year.

Reply from Christopher Edwards

Christopher Edwards — Tue, 06 May 2008 13:17:16 -0000

The skills mentioned in the draft are all important for a successful scientific career—whether in academia or industry.

I don’t believe you can trust PIs to train young scientists in all of those skills—partly because they may be poor mentors who don’t have those skills themselves. However, putting pressure on the departments or institutions to provide some basic training in these skills is important. I believe this can be done more easily and effectively by persuasion than through regulation.