Nobody starts graduate school thinking, “I’d like to be average. I’ll be happy just blending into the background and having to remind my PI of my name on my graduation day.” We all want to do our best, become a great graduate student and ultimately blossom into great scientists. Yet, there’s often one little wrinkle in executing the plan – what exactly is a great student and how do we become one?
What Makes a Great Student in the Lab?
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The Qualifying Exam: The Earlier the Better?
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Ben Franklin famously declared that two things in life were guaranteed – death and taxes. For scientists, Ben may have updated it to “death, taxes and the qualifying exam.” Although graduate programs vary with regard to degree requirements, the qualifying exam seems to be one hurdle they’ve all agreed to include.
Toaster-Oven Trail Mix Biscotti
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A healthy, on-the-go breakfast is a challenge anywhere, let alone the Food Desert. I love biscotti, and had been searching for a recipe that yielded the light, crispy cookies I like best but they eluded me. Finally, one day, I asked the owner of a local upscale Italian bakery – she smiled and said, in her lilting accent “you know, it’s only cake!” Of course – biscotti (Italian for twice-cooked) is really toasted cake, and the lightest cake there is is angel food cake, based on healthy, protein rich, fat-free egg whites!
The Graduate School Survival Guide
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(In honor of the beginning of the academic year, we’re revisiting our Graduate School Survival Guide Series that was previously posted.)
All over the country this week a new crop of eager young scientists begin their journey of discovery. Graduate school is a great time of learning and exploration, but it can also be stressful – especially the beginning. Perhaps the hardest part about the transition to grad school is the uncertainty involved. When will I graduate? Who should I work for? What’s expected of me? Can I drink the lab ethanol?
Don’t Mislabel Me (Just My Bottles)
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Dear Dora,
Is it wrong to intentionally mislabel buffer bottles to keep people from stealing them?
– WV, grad student
Chuck Norris, Scientist?
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Many of us may recognize Chuck Norris as a late-night exercise equipment peddler. In fact, he was the undefeated Professional Middleweight Karate champion title for six consecutive years, before retiring with a karate record of 183-10-2. He was the only man in the western hemisphere ever to be awarded an 8th degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. That’s serious.
The Lab Family: Benefit or Cause-a-fit?
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Anyone who’s ever been to a wedding or listened to an oldies radio station for more than five minutes recognizes the lyrics to the Sister Sledge classic We are Family. “We are family / I got all my sisters with me / We are family / Get up ev’rybody and sing.” It’s probably unlikely that we’ve ever huddled around with our labmates to sing the words “We are the ___ Lab / I got all my labmates with me / We are the ___ Lab / Get up ev’rybody and work”… but should we?
The Seven Habits of a Highly Successful Scientist
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It’s been over twenty years since Stephen Covey first published his best-selling self-help book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. That means it’s also been over twenty years that we’ve been pushing “reading it” to the bottom of our to-do list (“Let’s see, I could either set up another experiment or read some cheesy self-help book…”). But 15 million copies don’t sell themselves, so we figured it was time to take a look under the cover. In the interest of your to-do list (and wallet), we’ve adapted Covey’s principles to create The Seven Habits of a Highly Successful Scientist…
Hurdles to the Non-Research Career
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At BenchFly, we love science. In fact, our mission is to make science a better career for current and future generations of researchers. Within the larger profession, careers in science may fall into one of two categories, non-research or research-oriented, although the distinction between the two is not always black or white. While those in non-research careers may not physically stand at the bench, their roles in the research process are often just as important. Therefore, as a profession, it is to our advantage to make sure that the best and brightest scientific minds stay in the field in some capacity- whether in a non-research or research capacity.
Dear Boss: Time to Trust Me (or Bust Me)
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Dear Dora,
My PhD boss does not trust me at all and according to him I am a thief who is selling his lab work to others, but of course I am not doing that. He checks my results five times – keeping watch on me. It’s really bothering me…please help.
– Rohit, grad student
