There are many different careers to be had in science, of which academia only encompasses a fraction. Here’s an overview of the whole spectrum. Continue reading
How to…
Bookworms (a short guide to staying on top of the scientific literature)
Scientists are taught how to to plan their experiments, but not their reading. And if you don’t read the literature, how can you ask the right questions or do the proper experiments in your chosen field?
Here’s some tips for getting started. Continue reading
Please allow me to introduce myself… (a short guide to writing postdoc approach e-mails)
TIR offers a few tips on those all-important introductory e-mails. Continue reading
On message (a short guide to getting started in science communication)
TIR offers a few tips for people thinking about getting involved in science communication. Continue reading
Setting up shop (a short guide to starting a research group)
Starting your own research group is a daunting proposition. TIR offers some pointers to help you on your way… Continue reading
Check the technique (a short guide to critical reading of scientific papers)
Artwork by Oliver Hoeller.
In the latest “How to…” guide, TIR offers a few tips and recommendations on the critical evaluation of scientific papers. Continue reading
Remembrance of experiments past (a short guide to keeping a lab book)
Keeping a lab book is a simple and utterly indispensable aspect of benchwork. TIR offers a few tips on how to make your record a reliable one. Continue reading
Centre stage (a short guide to scientific presentations)
It’s arguably never been more important for young scientists to be able to present their data in person. Here’s TIR’s guide to preparing and delivering scientific presentations, and how to handle the questions afterwards. Continue reading
Seeing triple (a short guide to experiment reproducibility)
With the reproducibility crisis in science showing no signs of abating, it’s never been more important to clearly communicate how rigorously your data were obtained. Here’s TIR’s short guide to technical replicates, biological replicates, independent experiments, and what they do and don’t tell you. Continue reading
Apprentice yourself, part 2 (a professor’s perspective)
We have a guest posting this week from Prof. Tim Skern of the Max F. Perutz Laboratories in Vienna, Austria. As well as providing a counterpart to TIR‘s earlier post on how to choose a PhD position, Tim also offers a number of recommendations for how to handle yourself in PhD interviews.
Total Internal Reflection 