Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 What is science?
- 3 Choices, choices, choices
- 4 The adviser and thesis committee
- 5 Questions drive research
- 6 Giving direction to our work
- 7 Turning challenges into opportunities
- 8 Ethics of research
- 9 Using the scientific literature
- 10 Communication
- 11 Publishing a paper
- 12 Time management
- 13 Writing proposals
- 14 The scientific career
- 15 Applying for a job
- 16 Concluding remarks
- Appendix A Further reading
- Appendix B A sample curriculum
- Appendix C The Refer and BibTeX format
- References
- About the authors
- Index
16 - Concluding remarks
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- 1 Introduction
- 2 What is science?
- 3 Choices, choices, choices
- 4 The adviser and thesis committee
- 5 Questions drive research
- 6 Giving direction to our work
- 7 Turning challenges into opportunities
- 8 Ethics of research
- 9 Using the scientific literature
- 10 Communication
- 11 Publishing a paper
- 12 Time management
- 13 Writing proposals
- 14 The scientific career
- 15 Applying for a job
- 16 Concluding remarks
- Appendix A Further reading
- Appendix B A sample curriculum
- Appendix C The Refer and BibTeX format
- References
- About the authors
- Index
Summary
The best time to take action towards a dream is yesterday; the worst is tomorrow; the best compromise is today.
Simon, 1998Whether you are early in a Ph.D. program or further along in your graduate studies, an undergraduate contemplating graduate school and a career in science, a recently anointed Ph.D. embarking on a scientific career, or are somewhere beyond in mid-career, our hope is that various of the suggestions offered in this book can be of help toward your goal of a successful and satisfying professional career.
Much of the advice on doing research contained in this book involves practical skills. Regardless of the practicality of this advice, neither this nor any other book can provide a recipe that guarantees success. As argued in Chapter 2, despite its foundation in logic, science is driven by inspiration, insight, intuition, and creativity, all combined with technical expertise. No cookbook-style set of instructions based on a combination of just these skills, however, can offer a young scientist the guarantee that these ingredients, when mixed, will yield a fruitful and satisfying professional career. Our careers depend on not only our scientific talents, but also our personal ones and our attitude in life. In closing, we offer advice on the development of a mentality that helps foster success in the professional and personal aspects of a career in science, engineering, or humanities.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Art of Being a ScientistA Guide for Graduate Students and their Mentors, pp. 253 - 260Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009