How to succeed in science on time?

Alexei Poliakov

Submitted to the Nature on 26 June 2008 andrejected on 3 July 2008

It was a favourite expression of Theophrastus that time was the most valuable thing that a man could spend.

Diogenes, the prominent Cynic

If you care about prospects of your career in science, you should have drawn your attention to Dr. Jonathan Yewdell’s essays “How to succeed in science: a concise guide for young biomedical scientists” published in the May-June issues of Nature Reviews of Molecular Cell Biology. My colleagues and I are thankful to the author for his attempt to steer us to discoveries. Notwithstanding the fact that the advice given to the young scientists is very detailed and thoughtful, it would be more objective coming from somebody who has just been through the career stages described in his essays. Unfortunately, my efforts to provide an alternative view through the eyes of a current post-doctoral scientist were unsuccessful and my letter was rejected from publication in Nature Reviews. My opinion was rebuked for being cynical when I tried to argue against the most questionable recommendations such as “skills, not papers”, “chasing fame is waste of time”, and “numerous career alternatives” outside academia. I feel honoured to be compared with the Cynics, great philosophers who lived a life of virtue in agreement with nature, free from all possessions. It is sad, however, that our virtues are valued solely based on the personal publication record. The author’s message would be spot on if we were endowed with the power to take the time out of equation. In the timeless world of Castalia1 without deadlines, fixed-term contracts, and age limits for grant and fellowship applications, the advice to master your skills infinitely would be invaluable. Unless we reconsider outdated career structures, inadequate assessment criteria, and ease time-related pressure, the feeling of happiness and personal value of every individual scientist will continue to diminish. I hope that in time my generation of scientists will ensure that our apprentices are happier and less cynical in their scientific endeavours. It is worth remembering words of Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Prize winner who said that “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful”.

1Castalia is a fictional province in the famous book of Hermann Hesse “The Glass Bead Game”, reserved for the life of the mind, where technology and economic life are kept to a strict minimum.