Contents
Preface: What This Book Is About, xi
Acknowledgements, xix
CHAPTER 1 : Do You See Yourself in This Picture? 1
A set of nonfiction vignettes illustrating some of the ways that young scientists make their lives more unpleasant than necessary or fail entirely to establish themselves in a research career.
CHAPTER 2 : Advice from a Dinosaur? 19
Can you expect someone to be an effective mentor who emerged into the scientific marketplace in a world that looked very different?
CHAPTER 3 : Important Choices: A Thesis Adviser, a Postdoctoral Job 27
A discussion of what to consider: young adviser versus an older one, a superstar versus a journeyman, a small group versus a 'factory:' Understanding and attending to your interests as a postdoc.
CHAPTER 4 : Giving Talks 39
Preparing talks that will make people want to hire and keep you and that will make the information you present easy to assimilate.
CHAPTER 5 : Writing Papers: Publishing Without Perishing 53
Why it is important to write good papers. When to write up your work, how to draw the reader in, how to draw attention to your results.
CHAPTER 6 : From Here to Tenure: Choosing a Career Path 69
An unsentimental comparison of the merits of jobs in academia, industry, and in government laboratories.
CHAPTER 7 : Job Interviews 91
What will happen on your interview trip; the questions you had better be prepared to answer.
CHAPTER 8 : Getting Funded 107
What goes into an effective grant proposal; how and when to start writing one.
CHAPTER 9 : Establishing a Research Program 121
Tuning your research efforts to your own capabilities and your situation in life; for example, why not to start a five-year project when you have a two-year postdoctoral appointment.
CHAPTER 10 : A Survival Checklist 135
Do not attempt a takeoff before being sure the flaps are down.
Afterthoughts 141
A behaviorist approach to professional success.