Building a Successful Career in Scientific Research: A Guide for PhD Students and Postdocs

by Phil Dee

• ISBN13: 9780521617406
• ISBN10: 0521617405
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-20
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

From PhD student to post-doc, Phil Dee has been sharing his career experiences with fellow scientists in his regular and acclaimed Science Next Wave column since 2000. Now his invaluable and entertaining advice is available in this compact warts-and-all guide to getting your science PhD and subsequent post-doctoral employment as a researcher. Phil Dee offers you the inside track on what life in the lab is really like with down-to-earth suggestions for making the most productive use of your time, dealing with personal relationships in science and maintaining your morale, as well as dealing with more practical issues like how to design a good poster. As well as being based on the author's own experiences, the book brings together a wealth of advice from other scientists who have made it in science, and from a few who haven't. The book will be accessible to all early career scientists worldwide.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Preface	xi
PART I The first couple of years
Choosing and handling your Ph.D. adviser	3	(7)
Motivation, time management, and multitasking	10	(7)
Handling the literature	17	(6)
Report writing	23	(3)
Powerful presentations	26	(5)
PART II The end of the beginning
Writing papers and abstracts	31	(12)
Conferences and poster presentations	43	(9)
Writing and defending your thesis	52	(7)
Coping with pressure and stress	59	(8)
PART III The transition to post-doctoral research
From graduate student to post-doc	67	(8)
Collaboration and visiting other labs	75	(10)
Supervising students in the lab	85	(6)
Teaching	91	(6)
Writing grant proposals and fellowship applications	97	(6)
PART IV Making it in science
Culturing your image	103	(6)
You and your big ideas	109	(5)
Planning for a permanent job	114	(6)
Do you have principal investigator (PI) potential?	120	(4)
Epilogue	124	(1)
Web-links	125	(2)
Index	127