Author 丨 Wang Shanyong, source 丨 Science Network Blog (with deletions)
I recently chatted with several young academics who had just received their PhDs, and they asked me which was better to go back home or develop abroad. I said, this is difficult to talk about, everyone's specific situation is different, people have their own aspirations, can not be generalized.
But when it comes to choices, we must conform to the trend of the times, and there is always no mistake. "Good winds rely on strength" is this truth. The so-called conformity to the trend of the times is to see whether your field is currently in the ascending stage or declining in countries around the world.
A person's vigorous academic life is also twenty or thirty years. In life, the choice of path is crucial if you want to achieve decent results, especially at a young age.
Gossip aside, here are a few suggestions, I hope it will be helpful to young people.
#1 Be sure to teach, teach the core curriculum if you want to teach
If you have the opportunity to teach international students in English, it is of course the best. The importance of teaching is self-evident. This is especially important for a young PhD who has just graduated.
Why is it important? First of all, the title "Doctor" does not mean that it is broad and profound, and everything is understood. On the contrary, as the disciplines become more and more finely divided, most doctoral topics are actually very narrow. In other words, the knowledge of doctoral students is actually not wide.
Some people may say that doctors have learned a lot of basic courses at the undergraduate, master's, and even doctoral levels, and now emphasize teaching undergraduate or graduate students, how much help can the accumulation and improvement of doctoral knowledge be? Would it be a waste of time? My understanding and experience are very different.
The main purpose of the undergraduate and graduate courses of young doctors is to obtain a good grade or credit. And when you really teach, in order to really teach others to understand, the depth and breadth of knowledge on the textbook will be very high, which forces you to read a lot of related books and literature in a short period of time, and it is very important to consolidate a person's foundation in a few years.
#2 Build your own team
One person is also a team. That is to say, there must be a sense of independent scientific research. Of course, there are outstanding graduate students and doctoral students to join, warmly welcome! The training of graduate students should not be a handshake, but grow up with them.
A person's academic peak period is the five years of doctoral graduation, which basically determines the height that a person can reach in his life, in fact, the height that a team can reach.
Some people think that it is also important to integrate into the team at the beginning, and there is nothing wrong with it, which is actually not contradictory to doing scientific research independently. The best fit is to have something unique, and you have irreplaceability in a large team, not optional.
#3 Keep producing results
The most important form of expression of the results mentioned here is the paper, a high-level paper. How to define a high-level essay? That's the paper published in the mainstream journals in the field.
The so-called "only papers" opposed by the state management level have nothing to do with you, it is just something that needs to be improved at the management level. The purpose of issuing papers and high-level papers is to communicate with counterparts from all over the world. Papers are the best vehicle for communicating with peers.
Why keep publishing? This does not conflict with "ten years of grinding a sword". "Ten years of grinding a sword" is just a metaphor, not a decade without results. The advantage of continuous publication is to maintain continuous communication with domestic and foreign counterparts, and through repeated exchanges of papers, you can get feedback.
This feedback will tell you what level you are in this field. The advantage is that you will neither be arrogant nor arrogant.
In addition, a good publication record is very helpful for you to continue to receive funding, which is common in academic circles around the world.
#4 Actively participate in social service work that is closely related to academia
For example, reviewing high-level journals. Many young people feel that this kind of unpaid work is a waste of time and does little benefit. This is a bit short-sighted.
Judging whether a young scholar is active, in addition to his or her own work for peers to see, it is also important to contribute to various services in academia, such as the editorial board of a journal. The criterion for journal editors to absorb new editorial boards is to look at the quantity and quality of your review.
So, don't be too utilitarian. The mentality of dedication and free help to others will not only make you happy, but also have unexpected gains.
#5 Continue to learn English well
The importance of English, needless to say. I have many friends who have been back to China for many years and still insist on listening to English news and reading a lot of English literature every day.
What impressed me the most was a recently rare academician in China. At an international conference, the academician gave a report in English, and a professor next to him could not help but sigh that the English of this old gentleman was awesome!
Later, I learned from the chat that this old gentleman has been learning English in China for decades, and has developed a habit, not only the academic level is first-class, but the English level surprises foreigners.
#6 Always fight on the front lines
We have an old saying, "He who works hard rules people, and those who work hard rule over people." This statement is wrong in contemporary times, especially academically.
Some people often lament, "I am a man who works", which means that there is no scenery of those tall leaders. In fact, what's so bad about being a person who works on the front line? People who really work always have first-hand information. When you discuss with people and make reports, you are the most bottom-hearted person.
Academically, what everyone really looks up to is always those real skills and opinions. Therefore, there is no need to spend too much time on relationships with big bulls, because the most important thing for powerful characters is always your dry goods, not anything else.
#7 Keep learning new skills
In today's fast-growing world, relying on eating the old books of the doctoral stage, it will soon be eliminated. So what should be done? My answer is: lifelong learning.
Specifically, it is to make a plan for yourself, what books you must read every year (especially winter and summer vacations), especially most of the professional books, what new skills in programming to master, what new instruments, equipment and what need to be learned, mastered, and so on. In short, it is "endless learning".
#8 Some people say: "Returning to China to develop, emotional intelligence is very important"
In my opinion, the highest emotional intelligence is to have a flat mind, do things reliably, be honest and trustworthy, and be positive. No one doesn't like such a young person, such a colleague, such a friend.