Stress is a rather typical aspect of most research projects because every research project has five characteristic emotional phases: You start with naïve enthusiasm, become competent and disillusioned, you want to give up (the stress phase, slump or dip), you recover, and finally, you round up and exit. How do you survive PhD stress and postdoc stress?
Young scientists often get conflicting advice on how they should publish. Every generation of young scientists has to address similar questions: Should I publish several smaller papers or should I focus on one big paper with a high impact factor? What is the effect of my publication strategy on my career and the possibility to raise grant money? How important is my publication list for a non-academic career?
Young scientists are often in a dilemma when applying for funding. Should they submit grant proposals under their own name with the risk of not getting the money or should they submit under their supervisor’s name with the risk to be scientifically dependent?
Many young scientists fear that they are not investing enough in their scientific career, however, it is often not clear what exactly they should do and how important different aspects are such as publications, grants, teaching, mobility, technical skills and just being a good scientist. Find some directions here.
In order to get grants or academic positions it is often necessary to show scientific independence. But how do you do that? The following strategies will help young scientists to develop and demonstrate scientific independence.
Choosing the best postdoc position for your future career in science is essential. However, most young scientists have no plan how to find the position(s) that fit best and how to choose with care. A number of key questions will help you to find the postdoc position which fits your needs, talents and skills.
Many young researchers struggle with their work-life balance. Especially for researchers with a family, it is challenging to divide their time and energy between home and work. The question “is it possible to be a parent and have a career in research?” keeps many researchers up at night.
