A viewer wrote in and asked for a video about how to have a successful career in science
and how to succeed as a researcher.
These are not easy questions to answer because there are many paths to success in science
and each must find their own way.
I can only describe my own experience and what helped me.
As the title suggests, I think the main secret to becoming successful is to love what you
do and to set goals that ensure your emotional well-being throughout your career.
That's me at the beginning of my master's research in 1973.
Back then I had no idea how to be successful in a science career or what my goals should
be.
I just knew I wanted to be a scientist and that there were a series of hurdles along
the path.
Only later did I become aware of the intense competition in the field of science and the
various metrics used to evaluate a scientist's performance.
But if you set your goal to have x number of publications by a certain age or millions
in grant funding or thousands of citations, you are setting yourself up for unhappiness,
disillusionment, or possibly failure.
Those are false goals that bring only temporary satisfaction while stoking the desire for
bigger and better accolades.
Although numbers of publications and grant funding are measures of success that others
will use to judge you, take care that such measures don't take over your emotional
well-being.
I tried to focus on the joy of seeking knowledge and making discoveries, which is what drew
me to science in the first place.
In doing so, I enjoyed every aspect of being a scientist.
Well, maybe not the bureaucratic paperwork.
But the point is that if you don't love what you do and focus on false goals, becoming
successful will not be emotionally fulfilling and you are more likely to suffer burnout
at some point.
Here are a few qualities that I found to be helpful for me as a researcher.
One of the most important is to be persistent and don't get discouraged by setbacks, because
everyone has them.
I like to tell the story of a paper that a colleague and I had a terrible time getting
published.
We sent it to journal after journal and it kept getting rejected.
She and I would get together after each rejection and revise it.
We were really discouraged and at times wondered if we should give up.
But we persisted and finally it was accepted by a good journal in our field.
Moreover, a few days after it was published, it was selected by Science as a highlight
of the week.
The point to remember is that even the most prolific scientists experience failure and
rejection.
What sets them apart is that they don't give up.
You also want to nurture your creativity.
In the beginning, you may be given a project by your advisor or employer, but later you
will be expected to come up with your own research ideas.
To be successful at generating research ideas, you need to be curious and observant.
I always tried to spend time during fieldwork just to walk around and observe things.
Sometimes, I would spend hours in one area and observing what was happening in that habitat.
Invariably, I would see something that piqued my interest, which led to a question and ultimately
a new study.
You may have heard that networking is important to success in science and that is certainly
true.
But I found that developing reciprocal relationships, in which both sides benefit in some way, were
most productive in the long run.
For example, while doing my dissertation research, I developed a reciprocal relationship with
another graduate student working at the same field site in Belize.
She was studying herbivory of mangroves and I was investigating causes of mangrove growth
and distribution patterns in relation to soil chemistry and other factors.
I offered to measure soil chemistry at her experimental plots.
That led to a long-term collaboration and more than ten joint papers.
You can offer to help fellow students with fieldwork or labwork.
Even if it doesn't develop into a long-term reciprocal relationship, you may learn a useful
technique.
It's also important to develop good work habits
This point is something often overlooked by people listing qualities for success.
However, I've found that not all researchers are equally diligent in their work habits,
which can have a huge impact on their productivity.
For example, I always kept detailed notes and photographic records, which helped save
time and to avoid errors when I tried to write things up.
I also adhered to a daily work schedule to avoid procrastination and I made sure to include
time every day for writing.
It's also important to be flexible.
You may set out with the goal of getting an academic position, teaching and doing research.
But sometimes that may not work out, and you want to be prepared for work in other sectors
such as government or private industry.
If you are a student or postdoc, volunteer or apply for internships at science agencies
or other organizations to see what it might be like to work there.
You'll get valuable experience and also meet people who may later help you get a job.
For example, I supported postdocs and many undergraduate student workers some of whom
were later hired as technicians by me or others in my science agency.
And some got unique research experience, such as this student who conducted research with
me in Belize.
Learn to be an effective communicator.
When I first started graduate school, I had no idea that to be successful as a scientist
I had to have excellent communication skills.
I naively thought that science just involved doing fieldwork, setting up experiments, and
analyzing samples in the lab.
After a few painful experiences, I realized that my writing and oral communication skills
were holding me back.
So I made a conscious effort to gain those skills and to even use communication as a
way to stand out from the crowd.
I tried to write papers that people would enjoy reading and that reviewers and editors
would respect.
I also worked hard to become an effective speaker.
And now, to be successful, it's important to know how to communicate with a variety
of audiences.
In addition to other scientists and students, you may have to communicate your work to resource
managers, the news media, policy makers, and the general public.
Knowing how to explain your research to any audience is really important for today's
science professional.
Well, those are a few qualities that I found to be important to me in my career.
There are many resources online that have additional advice for those just starting
a career in science.
You can also talk to your professors or other science professionals and ask what helped
them to succeed.
In the end, it's up to you to decide what kind of scientist you want to be and work
to enhance those qualities.
Thanks for watching and don't forget to like my video if you found it helpful
And leave a comment if you have a question or a suggestion for another video.