22-12-2012, 05:59 PM
CHARTING A COURSE FOR A SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH CAREER
CHARTING A COURSE.pdf (Size: 1.87 MB / Downloads: 34)
INTRODUCTION
You have worked hard over the last few years to complete
your doctorate (Ph.D. or equivalent such as, for example,
the Dr.rer.nat. in the German-speaking community, or D.Phil.)
or you are in the process of completing it. You now have the
skills, expertise and above all the international recognition to
embark on a research career.
Over the last 5 to 10 years, competition for high profile research
positions has become much more competitive. Consequently,
although there is no substitute for an outstanding research
record, as a researcher who is beginning your research
career, you must also plan and work on a number of important
activities that complement your research record in order to optimise
your research career. You need a plan, and this Guide
outlines the major points you need to consider to formulate the
career plan that is best for you.
Although the Guide speaks to Early Career Researchers
(ECRs) it is also very important that senior researchers and
senior research managers are aware of the mentoring and assistance
that ECRs require these days. So you should either
give them a copy of the Guide or pass it on to them, after
you've finished reading it.
CAREER PLANNING
Those of you working in universities also have responsibilities
in teaching, community service and internal administration.
Researchers in research institutes or those working for commercial
companies also have a range of other responsibilities
in addition to the research they wish to carry out. Very few
researchers, especially at the onset of their career, are able to
concentrate solely on their research. There are plenty of other
demands on your time in addition to your research but this
Guide does not attempt to plan an academic or commercial
career in its entirety. It must necessarily focus on the research
component of these careers, but does attempt to take the
other demands on your time in to consideration.
It's largely up to you to decide how much time and effort
to put in to each of these other demands on your time. In fact,
because of them, it is probably even more important to include
them strategically as you chart your research career.
You need a plan. Stages in the plan may never come to
fruition, may change quickly, experience problems or even proceed
quicker than originally thought, but all of these can be
addressed and the plan revised in order to help you achieve
your research goals. Having a plan that needs to be adjusted
over time is very much better than not having any plan at all.
Whatever you do, you must make choices about the paths
you take made on informed decisions. No longer is it competitive
to have a Ph.D. and let your research career “drift” based
on what comes along. You must be proactive rather than reactive
in how you approach your research career. In fact, even
those of you who may decide to focus more on teaching, community
service or commercial outcomes in research should
also use a plan for those areas as well.
SELECTING ARESEARCH DISCIPLINE AREA
You have spent 3 or more years often working long days and
nights for 6 or 7 days a week in order to ensure the excellence
of your Ph.D. You are the world expert in your chosen Ph.D.
field of early Babylonian linguistics or the economic history
of ukiyo-e Japanese wood block prints. Perhaps you have discovered
new theories on galaxy creation in astronomy, or you
are the only person in the world that knows the sequence of
that specific Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus
gene. Such research outcomes of your thesis are clearly very
important but that is not what a Ph.D. is about. A Ph.D. is a
research training degree and in understanding or investigating
your specific research area you should have learnt and further
developed the research skills, training and expertise to carry
out research in a range of similar disciplines.
While Ph.D.s are often very specifically focused, ideally
the research produced should be put in an international context.
Even very specific local Ph.D. projects should be made
worthwhile to at least the discipline specific community to increase
its relevance to a broader group besides you, your family,
and your Ph.D. supervisor and examiners. This is even more
important later in your research career.