Recently, I have overheard this conversation between two researchers in a coffee-room: – So, are you expected to submit some grant proposals soon? – Well, it’s not that I have to do it but if I would like to get a job after this post-doc, then I should. I could, of course, potentially, get a position… Read More Do cars and grants have anything in common?
70% of people openly admit that they did not have a clear career path in mind when they started a PhD (see the blog post by Mili) but the decision to start a PhD studies was a decisive career step. Not to mention that many people changed their idea about their dream job for various reasons over… Read More Making Career Choices
Life as a scientist has many advantages. As Jakub has written in August, one of the greatest ones is the fact that you can travel for international conferences and meetings! While the weather in Stockholm seems to be a bit cold and wet, and the sky quite gray, I was given the opportunity to spend… Read More Lisbon immersion
Last Friday, while working from home, I received an unexpected phone call from my boyfriend: Pack our camping gear! Tonight we are going to hunt aurora borealis!
Just don’t ask me how I am? Is this going to be a post about one of the most famous songs of Suzanne Vega (“Luka”)? Not this time at least. This question does not bother me at all. Another question is on my mind a lot lately. It is rather the “Where do you come… Read More Just don’t ask me…
Inspired by Milica’s post ‘Publish and Perish’ I decided to write about alternative post-PhD careers;) Some of you who have made an attempt to exit academia might have noticed that it is a challenging task. There are quite a few hurdles on the way. This can result in a mixture of feelings which span between… Read More Ways in and ways out
When I came to Sweden, I decided to learn some standard important words and expressions such as: varsågod, god morgon, ursäkta mig. A bit later I learned the importance of ‘fika’ and that the right pronunciation is essential. Namely, you have to make the ‘i’ very loooong. Otherwise, you actually say ‘ficka’ which means a… Read More Tack för mig!
Ever since I left my home country, I am confronted with new languages and cultures. I have been also sometimes treated differently because of my accent, lack of knowledge of the local language, skin color. It makes me all very aware of the strength of stereotypes and prejudices. It also makes me think a lot… Read More Morals depend on language
In March an interesting paper by 4 prominent scientists was published in PNAS (http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/04/09/1404402111.full.pdf+html). In this paper, they discuss the flaws in the system of biomedical research in the US. I believe, however, that the paper describes the struggles and frustration of scientist in Europe as well. I think that it is important for all… Read More Systemic flaws in biomedical research?
We live in fascinating times. Our culture gives us overwhelming access to information. Some information is more reliable than other. One of the ways to make any piece of information sound more probable is to add words like ‘DNA’, ‘oscillation’ or ‘energy’ somewhere in the text. This combination of the features of the modern information… Read More Is it sensible to write another popular science article?
An inside perspective on being a researcher and career advice
An inside perspective on being a researcher and career advice
