Ruy Beck

Students and postdocs! Many of you will face rejections, failures, and disappointment in the future. All is because you do not want to actively learn from older colleagues and experienced professionals. ▫️ My observation: - Students rarely seek general advice and mentorship from experienced colleagues (both undergrads and). - Students do discuss their challenges, thoughts and questions BUT mostly with fellow students who are equally inexperienced. - Most students start thinking about what lies ahead ONLY at the end of their PhD, effectively skipping tons of mentorship they could have received in 3-4 years. ▫️ I see many students aspiring to pursue academia without exploring what lies ahead. But few of them want to explore what lies ahead. And even fewer want to know HOW to achieve success and which pathways can give best chances. ▫️ I've encountered so many cases when students had bizarre or simply wrong understanding of how to become successful (especially in science)! Instead of learning tons of useful tips and opinions from faculties, advisors and senior staff around them, students and postdocs rely on small fragments of "information" they get from poor sources. ▫️ Yes, some advisors don’t mentor. BUT in fact most students don’t even look for mentors and don’t want to strategize their future. Seek mentors, put energy into it - they are around you! Find people who have real experience for your career path. Ask them questions. Your future is at stake! There are two ways to learn - from others or from your mistakes. I suggest the first option. #AcademicTwitter #AcademicTwitter #phdchat