AsianScientist (Oct. 7, 2016) – For regular readers of this column, you might remember that I’ve mentioned wanting to be a scientist since I was quite young. Like a true scientist, I regularly go over my findings to see what direction I should explore next, and while reading that entry I couldn’t help wondering: What did the child version of me really think being a scientist meant?
I’m pretty sure she didn’t think it was sitting for hours in the dark with the confocal, or staying up late at night writing grant applications. As I pondered over what Young Alice would have thought of the realities of being a scientist, a colleague scoffed at me.
“Oh please, at no stage do ANY expectations match the reality of what it’s like to be a scientist!”
And with that, the topic for this month’s column was born. For the sake of simplicity and not having to delve too deeply into the past, we’ll start from the point of truly heading onto the science path—university.
As a student
Expectation 1:
You were going to attend a prestigious university, and be educated in the very same hallowed halls where legends of the field had traversed years, or perhaps even centuries, before!
Reality:
You discover that the 100-year-old lecture theater and laboratory may make for great Instagram photos but the vertiginous staircases and tiny benches are pretty damn scary. Also, due to heritage issues, these buildings either don’t have adequate heating or cooling when the weather requires, or is this perhaps a sign of CLIMATE CHANGE?!?!
Expectation 2:
The library will be filled to bursting with all the latest textbooks, journals and cutting-edge research tools.
Reality:
The library is filled to bursting with all the latest textbooks, journals and cutting-edge research tools. It’s also filled with amorous young couples and frazzled-looking grad students who’ve clearly set up camp at particular desks for indeterminate amounts of time…
Doing your PhD
Expectation 1:
Your project will be amazing. You have to make a lot of hard decisions about what kind of data you’ll end up including in your thesis. And eventually, who knows? Maybe it will be internationally recognized with awards…
Reality:
Pretty much everything you did in your first year turned out useless and had to be thrown out. As a result of this and your scholarship funding coming to an end, you manage to answer one, maybe two, of your initial research questions. Your thesis is recognized within the department due to the eye-blinding color you chose to bind it in, in order to stand out from the others on the shelf.
Expectation 2:
You will produce papers and change the world’s body of knowledge!
Reality:
You do produce papers and change the world’s body of knowledge… for the few who are part of your field and have actually read your paper. But you know, keep on celebrating whenever Web of Science or Pubmed says your paper has been cited. That means it HAS been read!
