Other random advice
You can find a LOT of advice for all steps of your academic career on the internet. Forums and blogs are full of it. A lot of it is true - but a lot of it is *******, as well. However, have a good read around. The career sections of the major journals (e.g. nature ) are useful, too. Talk to other PostDocs / PhD students / Masters students to get an impression how life in other labs is like. Feel free to talk to me about what you read or heard to get my input, as well.
We also have some nice books about life in academia in our library.
In this section I have compiled some thoughts from others that think are an interesting read. This is not a comprehensive list, and I do NOT always agree with the thoughts expressed in the following documents.
Advice for PostDocs, PhD and Masters students
- Letter of Prof. Gassmann et al. to his students
- STRATEGIES FOR ONLINE ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT AND TIPS FOR HOW NOT TO BE TOO ANNOYING ON THE INTERNET
- Tips for PhD students and early-career researchers (read around the whole blog...)
- Advice for future PIs
Advice for young faculty
- Successfully navigating the early years of a faculty position
- Work-Life-Balance...
- Interesting advice and discussion about starting/surviving the tenure track
"Always look for clues, and follow good ones, even at the expense of existing priorities. Don’t worry about what you might miss, because the only thing that counts is what you find." K. Berry Sharpless