professional development lecture 2 2011

Professional DevelopmentLecture 2

Getting the Most from Your Graduate Student Experience

Philip E. [email protected]

PLoS Comp. Biol. 3(11): e229Thanks to Dr. Jenny Gu

Jan 14, 2011

mailto:[email protected]

Agenda

• Getting the most from your graduate student experience

• Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur or something else in addition, mentor, teacher …?

Professional Development Series 2Jan 14, 2011

My Bias

• Took 4 years (include 1 year off) to complete my PhD• About 6 months in, took one year off and went around the world• You are slave labor – there will always be a place for a good graduate

student• Poor graduate students are a significant drain• My thesis sits on the shelf in my office – I have not opened it for a long

time. It is a symbol of the PhD nothing more – the papers from it are all that count

• My 3 years of work could be done in about 1 month now – I try and see that as progress


Rule 0 – What to Have When You Graduate

• A break• A job which likely means:

– The maximum number of high impact papers in quality journals – (ranges from 2 – 20+)

– A post doc scholarship i.e. money– Excellent letters of recommendation from highly respected

scientists– A committee that had a dialog about your research– A plan


Rule 1 – (Here We Go Again) Let Passion be Your Driving Force

• You went into research with little experience – are you as good at it as you were coursework?

• Are you excited about your work?• Do you like this life style?• If the answer to any of the above is no, what is

your plan – you should always have a plan


Rule 2 – Is Your Mentor Project and Lab Right for You?

• Are you getting the right level of mentoring? If not talk to your mentor, consider a second mentor, use your thesis committee

• Is your mentor renown? If not, be sure to be able to get letters from a renown mentor

• Is your mentor as enthusiastic about your project as other projects in the lab?


Rule 3 – Think Independently

• Having said that different students require different levels of mentoring in the end to succeed (particularly in academia) you have to be independent – Ask yourself how independent are you? Can you formulate your own research problems and carry it through?


Rule 4 – Life is All About Balance


Rule 4 – Life is All About Balance

• It is my observation that the best scientists balance their career with other activities

• Leave an unsolved problem do something unrelated and come back to it – a solution will often be obvious

• Other activities often lead to scientific collaborations!


Rule 5 – Think Ahead

• Do not wait until you are about to graduate to find a lab to do a post doc

• Apply for Fellowships – money talks• Use your mentor and thesis committee to help

find the right position• Learn to parallel process


Rule 6 - Remain Focused on Your Hypothesis

• Step back once a week and consider the big picture – Are you moving towards your big goals

• Define the scope of your project with your mentor earlier rather than later – many mentors are happy to have cheap productive labor, but is it in your best interests to stay around?

• Do not be scared of what the future holds


Rule 7 – Address Problems Earlier Rather Than Later

• Your mentor should be more than a purveyor of good science they should be there for your professional development

• Issues you are having your mentor will likely have experienced before – take advantage of that experience


Rule 8 – Networking – Its Critical

• The literature is the most important vehicle for your work but it is impersonal

• Be personal - the connections you make are critical to your future career – give posters, do talks whenever you can both locally, nationally and internationally

• Scan for important meetings and discuss your attendance with your mentor


Rule 9 – Build Confidence and a Thick Skin

• Defend your work with knowledge not knee jerk reactions

• Stand up for what you believe in• Be prepared for periods of failure – learn what

you can from them, but get over them


Rule 10 – Make Your Thesis Committee Work for the Privilege

• Select a committee as early as possible – be involved in that selection criteria should be related science and how they can help you with your post doctoral career

• Communicate with members regularly – use them as mentor backups

• If you and your mentor seriously disagree consult other members of your committee


Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur, or something

else?

Jan 14, 2011

What it Means to Be an Entrepreneur

• Definition:Entrepreneur - A person who have a talent for

seeing opportunities and the abilities to develop those opportunities into a business

• Graduate students can be entrepreneurs!


Steps to Being an Entrepreneur• Have something of value (i.e. intellectual property) – an idea

that can be protected, a process that can be protected • Deal with your Tech Transfer Office• Register that value through a patent, copyright or trademark• Form a company (for or not-for profit) to develop that idea• Fund it• Play the role you want to play in the company• Be prepared to put off graduation, or do it after?

Jan 14, 2011 Professional Development Series 18

Other Opportunities?

• Somewhat location dependent. Here in San Diego:– Teach in extension– $50K Entrepreneurial challenge– ScienceBridge– Internships/rotations in industry, other

institutions

• Need to balance against the time to graduate and the value these activities brings

Jan 14, 2011

Jan 14, 2011

Discussion/Questions?

professional development lecture 2 2011

Education