SCIENCE sciencemag.org 4 JANUARY 2 019 • VOL 363 ISSUE 6422 25ILL
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manages students ranging from under-
graduates to postdoctoral fellows. As a
scientist, I could remain silent and work
out problems internally. As a teacher, I
have to talk constantly, yet remain calm.
Sudhakar Srivastava
Institute of Environment and Sustainable
Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi,
Uttar Pradesh 221005 , India.
Email: [email protected]The training of a physician focuses on the
familiarity with medical knowledge and
clinical guidelines, whereas solid statis-
tics and a programming background are
required to become a data scientist. To
make the transition, I joined a Ph.D. pro-
gram after medical school; spent 3 years
taking classes on statistical inference,
machine learning, and computational
biology; and participated in programming
contests with undergraduates. As a result,
I benefited from both the medical domain
knowledge and the quantitative skills I
learned in my journey.
Kun-Hsing Yu
Department of Biomedical Informatics,
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 , USA.
Email: [email protected]Find community
When I transitioned from one field in
biology to another, I had to acclimate
to subtle differences between fields,
such as strategies for collaboration and
publication. Anyone who is planning
to change fields should make sure that
the new workplace has a good working
environment. It would have been impos-
sible for me to get started without the
help of colleagues willing to teach me
the nuances of my new field. In return,
I taught them skills I had developed in
my original field.
Karin S. L. Johansson
Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, 50411
Tartu, Estonia. Email: [email protected]After finishing my Ph.D., I made a career
transition from aquaculture to entomol-
ogy. I had to abandon a decade of fish
research experience and start studying
insects from scratch. Within the ento-
mology community in China, however,
a new researcher has little chance to get
a research grant, and my career stalled.
When our institute decided to launch
a new aquaculture research program, I
returned to the aquaculture field without
hesitation and reconnected and collabo-
rated with colleagues and old friends in
the aquaculture community. To those
transitioning from one field to another, I
recommend being prepared for setbacksand maintaining connections to your
original field.
Fengbo Li
Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences,
Hangzhou, Zhejiang 31002 1, China.
Email: [email protected]When I transitioned from a master’s degree
program in Colombia to a Ph.D. program in
the United Kingdom, I encountered cultural
shock and language barriers. To address
these challenges, I acknowledged the differ-
ences, maintained an open dialogue with
peers and supervisors to ensure accurate
communication, and tried to view setbacks
with perspective. I also surrounded myself
with other multilingual people who could
relate to the process of learning another
language and its frustrations, and I looked
for academic role models who weren’t native
English speakers. Rather than compare
myself to others who had different back-
grounds or experience, I took pride in my
ability to overcome obstacles.
Maria Fernanda Torres Jimenez
Department of Biological and Environmental
Sciences, University of Gothenburg, and Gothenburg
Global Biodiversity Centre, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Email: [email protected]Transitioning from a dental school in India
to a business school in the United States was
tough. Looking back, I was not adequately
prepared to appreciate the teaching peda-
gogy in a business school, which was in
stark contrast to what I had been exposed to
in dental school. Difficulties adapting to the
surroundings, environment, and culture of
a different country further compounded my
problems during my first year of graduate
studies. To those in a similar predicament,
I would recommend being a good listener,
setting achievable goals for each day, focus-
ing on seemingly small activities, being
detail oriented, and asking for help if you
need any. You will be surprised at how much
people are willing to help those coming from
a different country.
Veerasathpurush Allareddy
College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago,
Chicago, IL 60612 , USA. Email: [email protected]When I transitioned from undergraduate
to postgraduate (Ph.D.) studies, there was a
substantial change in my effort-reward sys-
tem. In high school and college, the harder
I studied, the better results I would get. In
contrast, as a Ph.D. candidate, substantial
effort does not always mean a visible reward
right away. I realized that outcomes do not
depend on me alone but also on supervisors,
available resources, and even luck. My advice
is to try to find small, perhaps unexpected,
rewards from that effort and to be patient
because a long-term important reward is
likely still to come.
Carmen Romero-Molina
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular
Biology, University of Seville, 4101 2 Seville, Spain.
Email: carmin 533 @hotmail.comTrust yourself
I transitioned from a position as a special-
ist in the pharmaceutical industry to a
position as a Ph.D. student. I went from
solving day-to-day tasks with short dead-
lines to doing research projects lasting for
several years. Sometimes, when weeks and
even months go by without results, I have
to remind myself that I made the transition
to challenge myself and develop my skills.
Remembering the reason that I’m here helps
me overcome frustration and setbacks.
Signe Mosegaard
Research Unit for Molecular Medicine,
Aarhus University, DK-82 00 Aarhus N, Denmark.
Email: [email protected]I left a research assistant position in a
20 - member lab to do my Ph.D. as the sole
member of a new lab. Our productivity
depended on my effort, and I understood
both the responsibility and the opportunity
the position entailed. I advise others to startBe patient
As a premedical student, I focused on
obtaining high exam scores and a compet-
itive GPA. When transitioning to medical
school, I realized that I was now studying
for my future patients, not an exam score.
The expectation that I would retain all
the information I learned for a lifetime of
clinical practice was daunting. I believe
it is important for students making this
transition to prepare themselves not just
for the sprint to the next exam but for the
“marathon” that is medical training.
Cody Lo
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V 6 T
1 Z 3 , Canada. Email: [email protected]Published by AAASon January 7, 2019^http://science.sciencemag.org/Downloaded from