Overview
- Assists in development and improvement of key skills to become a successful research scientist
- Presents “hard” and “soft” skills that are not often taught in a scientific discipline, such as networking and “self-branding”
- Provides necessary know-how to improve career options and carve your own research path at an early stage
Buy print copy
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Table of contents (21 chapters)
-
Front Matter
-
Introduction
-
Front Matter
-
-
In the Laboratory
-
Front Matter
-
-
Writing
-
Front Matter
-
-
Your Interactions with the Outside World
-
Front Matter
-
Keywords
About this book
Research scientists play a pivotal role in society. Their passion for science will drive them forward, leading to new discoveries that will ultimately make the world a better place. Unfortunately, as the professional environment becomes more and more competitive, research scientists today cannot just rely on technical knowledge to carve successful careers. Besides technical skills, they will need to acquire other skills, such as how to communicate their science to the outside world. A Survival Guide for Research Scientists is a one-stop-shop that will help you to develop those core skills not often taught at school or university.
The book has been written by an author with more than 20 years of scientific research experience (across different scientific disciplines). She has not only been a research scientist but also a writer, a consultant, a sole-trader and a project manager.
A Survival Guide for Research Scientists takes on a holistic approach in order to help you pave the way for success. As such, it features practical guidelines on how to:
• conduct your scientific research (how to: do literature review, design experiments, adopt best practice, ensure health and safety, etc.).
• write and edit (reports, bid proposals, peer review publications, etc).
• interact with the outside world (be a team leader, manage a project, network, deal with difficult people, do presentations, organise meetings, etc.).
• look after your career (and get your dream job).
• look after yourself (and how to manage stress).• look for a job (develop your CV, prepare for interviews, etc.).
• become self-employed (and achieve business success).
• deal with redundancy (and move forward in life, etc)
Whatever your scientific background may be, this book is the perfect accompaniment, to guide you at every stage of your career.
Reviews
“I recommend Tantra’s book to all readers of PHYSICS TODAY. Group leaders will gain perspective on the difficulties novice researchers face and will perhaps also gain some empathy toward their junior colleagues. Graduate students will benefit from tips that could help them avoid painful learning from experience.” (Pedro C. Marijuán, Physics Today, June, 2020)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Dr. Ratna Tantra has been a scientist for over 20 years. She has vast experience across different scientific disciplines, having worked in academia, industry and government research. She got her PhD. from University College London in electrochemistry. She then became a research associate specialising in microfludics, first at Imperial College London and then University of Glasgow. In 2002, she moved to the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), in which she worked in a biotechnology group before specialising in nanoanalysis. In 2016, after working at NPL for 14 years, she took redundancy and since then has become self-employed, with a portfolio of different activities, from launching a soap business (originating from her hobby) to working as a scientific expert for the European Commission. Her inherent passion for writing and genuine interest to help others has led her to write this book.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: A Survival Guide for Research Scientists
Authors: Ratna Tantra
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05435-9
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Chemistry and Materials Science, Chemistry and Material Science (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-05434-2Published: 11 September 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-05435-9Published: 31 August 2019
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVII, 232
Number of Illustrations: 19 b/w illustrations, 30 illustrations in colour
Topics: Nanotechnology, Popular Science in Chemistry and Materials, Magnetism, Magnetic Materials, Nanochemistry, Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering