Career Column

The scale of funding cuts in the United States means that countless scientists will lose their jobs. It would be naive not to start thinking about alternative career paths.

When researchers cede their scientific judgement to machines, we lose something important.

Julian Kirchherr craved a role with real-world impact. A career that straddles academia and management consultancy helped him to achieve his goal.

Doing a PhD is really hard. Here’s how I’ve learnt to enjoy the process.

Three-month summer holidays as a child in northwest Italy helped Stefano Sandrone to hone his relaxation and holiday-planning skills. Here’s his advice for scientists.

SandClub launched as an informal discussion forum to draw students out of their post-pandemic shells. Now, it’s so much more.

When I was a postgraduate, two of my close mentors died. Here’s how I coped.

Academia relies on unpaid labour — but researchers should think carefully about what kind of work they’re willing to give to for-profit organizations for free, says Dritjon Gruda.

In her new role as a biotechnology entrepreneur, Maya Gosztyla relies on tried-and-tested strategies to plan ahead and avoid burnout.

Artificial intelligence is perfect for teaching novices, but less good for experts. Use it with that in mind, says Hannah Hackney.

Chia-Hsuan Hsu waited 18 months before chasing an editor for a decision on a paper. The answer surprised him.

I should have paused and asked myself some tough questions. Instead, I started to type.

Some data practices can lead to statistically dubious findings. Here’s how to avoid them.

By considering the central statement of your entire PhD, you can structure your writing around it, says Tuuli Toivonen.

Two scientist parents who often help their children with homework deal with acceptable — and unacceptable — errors in course materials.

My work in making artificial intelligence fair has been noticed by US officials intent on ending ‘class warfare propaganda’.

Graduate students are not machines. Behaving like one during your programme will leave you frustrated and unfulfilled, says Gauthier Weissbart.

As I watch US researchers respond to threats against science, I’m reminded of when scientists in Brazil navigated a similar storm.

Good ideas — and impactful tools — don’t just come from rich, Western nations, says Aleksandra Lazić, a social scientist in Serbia.

Learning how to influence the way people see me when I enter a room has been key to boosting my confidence in job interviews.