Creating a Dynamic Training Path

Keywords

Pathways; training; planning; serendipity; travel; lifestyle; network; seizing opportunities; time-out

Contents

2.1 Pathways to Success

A training path refers to the steps you choose to take out of a variety of possibilities to achieve the training objectives you set for yourself. Usually it is a combination of short- and long-range planning. You should focus on acquiring very high-quality training in a timely fashion. Some students thrive in programs that offer considerable flexibility to achieve the best training while others do well in more structured programs. Ultimately, your training will be the result of a carefully crafted long-range career plan, often referred to as an individual development plan (see Chapters 3–5 and 7), and serendipitous opportunities that appear as you follow your training path. These opportunities seem to appear by chance, but as Louis Pasteur said “Serendipity favors the prepared mind.” Surprised though prepared for such an outstanding opportunity, you will have to decide whether to take this detour from your path or not. By treating your plans as dynamic and subject to change, though not on a whim, you can evaluate such opportunities in collaboration with your advisors and mentors. In any case, you should revisit your plan every six months.

Within the rubric there are several different pathways that you may take to reach your ultimate goal: some traditional and some novel involving interludes and diversions that help you define your goals by being exposed to a variety of experiences in and out of science. The traditional path is high school biology followed by undergraduate studies with an emphasis in life sciences that include a hands-on laboratory research experience that may take the form of research course projects. Summer research in a laboratory is highly regarded. Following graduation, graduate school and postdoctoral training are what comes next in sequence. Having taken this solid path, you are well prepared to take on an academic or a nonacademic job. However, you will find that even in taking this traditional path, your own personal circumstances are important in determining the steps you take along the way. Remember that although the outcome is important, the journey must be pleasant and enjoyable, but as direct as possible, so that you do not become a perpetual trainee. Furthermore, while trying to establish a deliberate career pathway based on the best information available, remember that flexibility is necessary to respond to chance opportunities that appear from time to time.

Career pathways may also be more novel including breaks along the way. This usually includes stepping out of university and working for a while. Such a break will provide income to support future studies, and it will provide the change of environment necessary to allow you to gain a better perspective on where you are heading. Such a time-out is not uncommon. Sometimes the time-out still keeps you in a research laboratory environment as a technician, but sometimes it allows you to explore other spheres in science or outside of science. You may travel the world but attempt to maintain a career focus in part by choosing to use some of your time-out to travel to other locations and explore future study opportunities.

One of our students was set on a well-trodden path to enter a specific discipline. She had been moving in this direction for several years. She took the opportunity between semesters to carry out an international volunteer placement in a third-world country which opened her eyes to new career opportunities that she did not even know existed. She then took a year off to pursue her new work. Upon her return, she discussed her experience with her mentors, carefully gathered as much information as possible, and after weighing the pros and cons, altered her course of study to provide her with the required knowledge to pursue her newly found passion.

2.2 Lifestyle and Community Status

The lifestyle is desirable. You work in an extremely fast-paced and competitive environment whether you are in the academic or nonacademic spheres. Life sciences tend to attract people of great intelligence and creativity. In addition to science, many are also immersed in life-enriching pursuits in music, art, and literature. This is a very exciting environment to be in. Stimulating professional conversations often revolve around research challenges to be overcome and novel experiments to try. These discussions are full of energy as new ideas to tackle issues flow freely.

I have found a very collegial community in life science and biomedical research. In the laboratory group, conversations always spill over into local and world issues. We avidly discuss politics, religion, health care, poverty and the income gap, to name but a few. The arts, the latest play in town, the newest film, and, of course, sports are also firmly on our radar. Although I live in a hockey city, baseball, basketball, and football also catch our interest. At World Cup time, the debate about soccer was especially intense. This stimulating environment and true collegiality are but some of the benefits of a career in life sciences.

Although the work is hard and consumes a lot of time and energy, you have the opportunity to travel to present your findings to colleagues at universities, research institutes, and scientific meetings around the globe. Through this interaction, you develop a group of like-minded friends and acquaintances with whom you share wonderful experiences. For many of my colleagues, the opportunity to see the world and interact with some of the top minds in the international scientific community make the trials and tribulations of life science’s research well worth it. For most, the career journey in life sciences is fun and immensely rewarding, for as a life scientist, you are at the forefront of biology and of the knowledge and innovations economy, part of an international like-minded fraternity advancing human knowledge and quality of life.

As if this were not enough, choosing a career in life sciences also commits you to life-long learning even once you have settled into a job. Everyone in the discipline is constantly learning new ideas and concepts as well as new techniques and technologies. Being a life-long learner is an essential ingredient for my own success and also provides me with a contemporary knowledge base for civic engagement. I have found that my training in life sciences has improved my capacity to carry out my own professional work as a pathologist and laboratory physician. Your knowledge similarly can and should propel you outside the life sciences sphere and into the community. There, you can provide guidance and leadership to many civic causes that will benefit greatly from your unique knowledge.

For many in the discipline, the research is ultimately focused on solving questions in human life sciences, although the domain of life sciences is very broad and includes all types of biology, botany and microbiology, to name but a few. Such a specialization gives you insight into many biological and biomedical issues that you come across in daily life. On a personal note, you will understand how your own body functions, in sickness and in health, and how environmental agents may cause injury or disease. You will have a better understanding of how particular lifestyles can benefit or harm your body. You will understand nutrition better than your neighbors. Ultimately, a career in biomedical and life sciences is more than a job; it is a lifestyle, an exciting and challenging lifestyle that is satisfying and rewarding at the professional and personal levels. As you immerse yourself in this lifestyle, you should actively join the international community of scientists through collaborative research, topic specific networking, and active participation in national and international scientific and discipline societies that foster research, training, career development, and education.

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