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When I started graduate school a few years back, the plan – like most of my peers – was to pursue a career in academia. But grad school has a way of wringing the enthusiasm out of many who tread the tortuous path. Luckily (and I do think it is just that for most), my excitement and wonder is still going strong over four years in. But there are aspects of the academic job description that I’m having trouble accepting. Mainly, the ridiculous hours and incessant grant writing.
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I guess I’m at the stage where I’m debating the trajectory of my future. And not being particularly interested in any of the science talks offered today, I decided to shun science for the Why Academia? workshop (my first workshop at any SfN). Perhaps it should have been titled “How Academia?” because the majority of the presenters focused on how to succeed at the post-doc and young investigator levels. The consensus: put in work, learn from your inevitable rejections, be persistent (research is a marathon, not a sprint), and drink beer. Seriously, almost every presenter mentioned the importance of decompressing with a few beers. By that metric, I think many of us are well on our way to tenure. Some additional tips I found helpful:
The first speaker (sorry, I never caught his name) also had a pretty good quote when speaking about an investigator’s research progression that my memory only allows me to paraphrase: If what you did last year still looks good, then you haven’t done anything good since. Anyway, that’s all I really got to today, the morning session being a casualty of last night’s party. But I’m here until the bitter end, so let’s see how this thing wraps up…
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