In my time in the lab, I came across people with lots of different work ethics. The lazy scientists, the let-everybody-else-do-all-the-hard-work-for-me scientists, the strictly-nine-to-five scientists, the nocturnal scientists, the always-on-holiday scientists and, of course, the workaholic scientists. Science is no easy trade. It’s time consuming, and the pressure to get results can be huge. It’s [...]

Let’s face it: when you said you read that paper, what you really meant was that you read the abstract. And that conference you went to? You probably scanned the abstracts of the posters instead of actually attending the poster session and chatting with the presenters. It’s a dirty little secret and a time-saving tool [...]

Most scientists I know approach the publication process with fear and trembling: the endless discussions about what journal to submit to, the agonized consideration of impact factors, comparing the all-important “time to first decision”, etc. Now that I’ve been working for a scientific publisher for a few months, I’m surprised at how many manuscripts still [...]

Following on from the previous article about Developing your Analytical Skills, this article will be the last in this series and looks at how to properly plan out your lab days and manage your time. Good time management is invaluable for researchers. For example: Imagine finally getting to the end of your cytofluorescence and you’ve been probing [...]

They say scientists are highly skilled… and rightly so! While many people would think that we’re shy, retiring types who sit at our lab benches obsessing over teeny-weeny molecules, science (and particularly the process of obtaining a PhD) sets us up as highly skilled members of the workforce. I can hear you all groaning as [...]

I always thought that doing a speed-reading course would be a good thing to do as a scientist. With the amount of literature we need to consume, speed-reading (the art of reading faster without reducing comprehension) would save a lot of time. But it turns out that you don’t really need to spend any cash [...]

Relating to my post last week on jobs in industry, concerning the slight disconnect between jobs in academia versus industry — the NatureJobs podcast has a special episode this past week from NatureJobs: From Academia to Industry [mp3]. In it, Pfizer’s Anthony Harrison talks about transferable skills that could help you move from a university-based [...]