SCIENCE science.org 7 JANUARY 2022 • VOL 375 ISSUE 6576 21than you are giving yourself credit for!
I suggest that you make a list of all the
things you’ve accomplished during the
pandemic—both academic and non-
academic—and take a moment to be
proud that you persisted. Then, compile
a list of short- and long-term goals that
you can use to improve your CV, and
start going after these goals with a fresh
mindset. I’ve found that taking one step at
a time makes the transition back to semi-
normal work more manageable.
Ashley Barbara Heim
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 18453, USA.
Email: [email protected]
Share stories
Have you considered reaching out to
the labmates that have been, from your
perspective, exceptionally productive? The
academic environment can sometimes be
more competitive than cooperative, but
talking to your colleagues might help.
They might be struggling as well in ways
that you can’t see. In my experience,
comparing myself to others’ achievements
without actively trying to understand how
they got there was not constructive. I also
recommend that you acknowledge and
respect your own limits. Doing your best
should not mean sacrificing your physical
or mental health.
Camila Fonseca Amorim da Silva
School of Arts, Science, and Humanities, University
of São Paulo, Araçazal, São Paulo, SP 3821000,
Brazil. Email: [email protected]
What do you think about looking for a
mentoring program or a mentor whose
career was not smooth and easy? I
recently joined a mentoring program
as a mentee, and meeting others who
have struggles similar to mine has been
therapeutic. Their stories have made me
realize that there is no single, correct path
to career advancement. I am sure it feels
like you fell far behind everyone else, but
most of us struggled like you. Every path
to career advancement is different, and
talking to someone who has overcome
challenges may be just what you need to
get inspired.
Monika Lewinska
Biotech Research & Innovation Centre, University of
Copenhagen, 2100 København, Denmark.
Twitter: @LewinskaMonika
Reconsider priorities
Have you considered finding a science job
outside of academia? In my experience, a
career in academia is highly competitive
and demanding: You need to be good
at writing, presenting, and teaching;
you have to study abroad and travel
frequently; and you face long working
hours and the whims of luck. A position
as a scientific adviser at a company, a
researcher at a start-up, or a writer or
editor at a scientific journal or science
communication organization would give
you the satisfaction of scientific work
without all the stress and pressure to
publish and compete with your peers.
Anna Uzonyi
Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann
Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Email: [email protected]As you reflect on the past months, what
life priorities have emerged as being
most important to you? The demands
in my work life increased exponentially
during the pandemic. Simultaneously, my
wife and I moved out of state to provide
in-home care to my 100-year-old mother-
in-law. This experience reminded me that
we all go through dormant periods in our
careers and lives. Rather than making
social comparisons, try working with
your most trusted advisers to establish
achievable and realistic benchmarks
and timelines that will allow you to
make meaningful advancements toward
accomplishing your most important
personal and professional goals.
Bradley J. Cardinal
Kinesiology Program, School of Biological and
Population Health Sciences, Oregon State
University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA.
Email: [email protected]Adjust expectations
Please do not compare yourself to others.
Keeping those kids alive during the
pandemic is a tough job; do not worry
about work too much at a time like this.
Just know you will feel your life is back
on track soon. Focus on your priorities
and find your rhythm again slowly. I am
a mother of twin toddlers. My co-workers
have also fallen behind, and we all show
compassion toward each other. Don’t focus
on what else you should be doing. Just
focus on what is important now.
Dieddra Atondo
STEM Program, College of the Sequoias, Visalia, CA
93292, USA. Email: [email protected]When we worry about other people’s
progress, we often forget that all of them
started from scratch at some point. My
daughter was born in 2021. It has been
tough to look after her while lecturing
in an online environment. She is the
priority, of course, so I’m not focused onmaking progress as fast as my colleagues;
I’m focused on the progress I’m able to
make. We endure and we will succeed
because we have a family, not in spite of
it. With that in mind, get a good cup of
coffee, select your best idea, and focus on
it. A good, well-written idea will always
be welcomed by funding boards, no
matter how much or how little you have
accomplished in the past year.
Wagner Eduardo Richter
Federal University of Technology–Paraná, Paraná,
Brazil. Email: [email protected]Be pragmatic
Have you thought about listing and
ranking the stresses you faced? In my
experience, solving problems in order
of importance is a good way to cope
with complex challenges. As a graduate
student, I faced a series of stressors,
including experiments, writing, job
searching, and family. My mentor
suggested that I write down these
challenges in order of priority and then
solve them one by one. In your case, you
might rate your lack of papers and grants
most important. To address this, you
could organize your existing experimental
results and ideas, prepare and submit
manuscripts based on existing results,
and apply for some grants. Next, you
could do some experiments, which will
cover the shortage of papers and provide
preliminary results for grant applications.
Bo Cao
Core Research Laboratory, The Second Affiliated
Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi’an Jiaotong
University, Xincheng District, Xi’an, Shaanxi
710004, China. Email: [email protected]The experience you have described has
been pervasive. Have you considered
gaining some feedback by networking
virtually? As the time in research
decreased, I tried to increase my online
presence, especially by reviewing papers
and grants and doing outreach activities
like Skype-A-Scientist. These options
are still available. You may also want
to ask your university administration
if they can provide any extensions and
ask your departmental mentors to
help you extend your network to gain
speaking engagements and collaborations.
Remember to schedule time to think,
read, and plan. This will allow you to take
care of yourself as an individual, not as a
scientist or a parent or a family member.
Naga Rama Kothapalli
Trudeau Institute, Saranac Lake, NY 12983, USA.
Twitter: @rama_k_n
10.1126/science.abn2374