Good scientist or successful academic? You can’t be both

Reflecting on the plight of the early career scholar prompts Xenia Schmalz to draw up a research manifesto …It all comes down, then, to what is important to me as a person. I want to be successful in my career, of course, but I also want to be a good scientist. I chose this career – and, despite some ups and downs, I have never regretted this decision – because I find it interesting to find and connect puzzle pieces that make up a bigger picture of how the world works. Engaging in practices that are currently required in order to be a successful scientist goes directly against this ideal. In other words, when I chose my career, I did not want to play a dirty game of selling myself, sucking up to the right people, and publishing results that I don’t even believe in myself.

If I have a choice between being a good scientist and possibly having to leave academia once my postdoc contract runs out, and between engaging in practices that go against my principles and ideals, I choose the former. This is the conclusion that I came to, and I decided to write up a set of guidelines that I will follow, with the hope that I will be able to continue my career in science, which so far has been incredibly interesting and rewarding, while staying true to my ideals.

Source: Good scientist or successful academic? You can’t be both

Sadly, it is very true that the pressures of being a good scientist versus being a successful academic are conflicting, as are the pressures of being a good student versus getting good grades … the important thing is to know what choices you are making in everything that you do 🙂

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