In 2006, I took an electrochemistry course during the third year of my B.Sc. degree in Industrial Chemistry. That course changed my life. The reason wasn't the topic, but something that happened during one of my lessons: my teacher asked the classroom where we wanted to work once we obtained our degree in chemistry.
My answer and those of my classmates included names of famous chemistry companies from Monterrey, Mexico (where I was born). However, my teacher seemed disappointed. After observing us for a few seconds, she asked us if none of us had thought about becoming a researcher. Then she explained to us that a researcher is someone that unravels "the secrets of science."
My head exploded!
I remember thinking:
"Wow! I would love to research. Especially if I can unravel strategies to reduce nature's pollution through research". That day, I found my new passion.
A couple of years passed, and I finally started my path to becoming a researcher by pursuing a Master's and then a Doctoral degree. However, the first "secret of science" I discovered was not what I expected. I didn't start my research career unravelling one of the many secrets of materials science. But I did find something. Something essential, actually.
Through the many days I spent in the laboratory, I discovered that studying and doing experiments are not enough to become a researcher. Many situations do not enter into such categories. Still, they are part of the journey to becoming a researcher. With each problem I faced, I discovered that the research world has secrets. And it is not that they are secret as such. Instead, they give the impression of being secret because hardly anyone tells you about them before or during the process of training you as a researcher.
I do not want the idea I want to express to be misunderstood, so I will clarify it as best as I can.
To become a researcher and dedicate yourself to science, you must first get a doctorate. But earning a doctoral degree does not automatically make you a researcher. It just transforms you into someone with a set of research skills. In most cases, other skills are missing, a LOT, actually. Some are not even part of the syllabus of most postgraduate courses.
Do you want examples? Here are four:
1. To obtain a doctoral degree, you must choose a program at a University or Academic Institution. You have to select a thesis advisor and a research topic. Those decisions are critical, and they can even change your life.
2. You must learn to efficiently write and publish scientific articles, which implies knowing how to choose an appropriate journal for your research (without falling prey to predatory journals) and writing a publishable text.
3. You must obtain funding for your projects, which implies knowing how to search for calls and write research proposals.
4. Finally, you must build a solid curriculum to obtain a research position in an institution. So you must know things like the H-index, ORCID, the Scopus profile, or the National System of Researchers (SNI) if you research in Mexico.
So, who gives you information on these topics?
Typically, your advisor. This person is like your mentor in the research world. However, and almost always for reasons beyond their control, mentors have limited time to thoroughly resolve their students' doubts. This is especially true if doubts are not directly related to the thesis or are not perceived as urgent (in other words, all those topics related to your life as a graduate student!)
So, all that information that would help you become a researcher looks like a secret, something that nobody tells you and that you have no idea where to find. Or even worse, something you are unaware you need to look for.
Many of us, at some point in our careers, have come across a mentor who is always busy. And the doubts we did not resolve, at some point, became very challenging issues. That's why I created "Mi asesor está ocupado" podcast. To help all the people who have decided to one day become researchers and have the same doubts I had while studying.
In this podcast, specially designed for the Spanish-speaking community, I share information (in the Spanish language) on topics such as choosing a thesis advisor, choosing a research project, writing scientific articles, and seeking postgraduate degrees abroad. And so many other issues!
Mi asesor está ocupado is freely available on YouTube.
Stay tuned, and please share!
My answer and those of my classmates included names of famous chemistry companies from Monterrey, Mexico (where I was born). However, my teacher seemed disappointed. After observing us for a few seconds, she asked us if none of us had thought about becoming a researcher. Then she explained to us that a researcher is someone that unravels "the secrets of science."
My head exploded!
I remember thinking:
"Wow! I would love to research. Especially if I can unravel strategies to reduce nature's pollution through research". That day, I found my new passion.
A couple of years passed, and I finally started my path to becoming a researcher by pursuing a Master's and then a Doctoral degree. However, the first "secret of science" I discovered was not what I expected. I didn't start my research career unravelling one of the many secrets of materials science. But I did find something. Something essential, actually.
Through the many days I spent in the laboratory, I discovered that studying and doing experiments are not enough to become a researcher. Many situations do not enter into such categories. Still, they are part of the journey to becoming a researcher. With each problem I faced, I discovered that the research world has secrets. And it is not that they are secret as such. Instead, they give the impression of being secret because hardly anyone tells you about them before or during the process of training you as a researcher.
I do not want the idea I want to express to be misunderstood, so I will clarify it as best as I can.
To become a researcher and dedicate yourself to science, you must first get a doctorate. But earning a doctoral degree does not automatically make you a researcher. It just transforms you into someone with a set of research skills. In most cases, other skills are missing, a LOT, actually. Some are not even part of the syllabus of most postgraduate courses.
Do you want examples? Here are four:
1. To obtain a doctoral degree, you must choose a program at a University or Academic Institution. You have to select a thesis advisor and a research topic. Those decisions are critical, and they can even change your life.
2. You must learn to efficiently write and publish scientific articles, which implies knowing how to choose an appropriate journal for your research (without falling prey to predatory journals) and writing a publishable text.
3. You must obtain funding for your projects, which implies knowing how to search for calls and write research proposals.
4. Finally, you must build a solid curriculum to obtain a research position in an institution. So you must know things like the H-index, ORCID, the Scopus profile, or the National System of Researchers (SNI) if you research in Mexico.
So, who gives you information on these topics?
Typically, your advisor. This person is like your mentor in the research world. However, and almost always for reasons beyond their control, mentors have limited time to thoroughly resolve their students' doubts. This is especially true if doubts are not directly related to the thesis or are not perceived as urgent (in other words, all those topics related to your life as a graduate student!)
So, all that information that would help you become a researcher looks like a secret, something that nobody tells you and that you have no idea where to find. Or even worse, something you are unaware you need to look for.
Many of us, at some point in our careers, have come across a mentor who is always busy. And the doubts we did not resolve, at some point, became very challenging issues. That's why I created "Mi asesor está ocupado" podcast. To help all the people who have decided to one day become researchers and have the same doubts I had while studying.
In this podcast, specially designed for the Spanish-speaking community, I share information (in the Spanish language) on topics such as choosing a thesis advisor, choosing a research project, writing scientific articles, and seeking postgraduate degrees abroad. And so many other issues!
Mi asesor está ocupado is freely available on YouTube.
Stay tuned, and please share!
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