For a successful researcher career, constant and ongoing development is critical, regardless of what stage you are at on your academic journey. A lot of external factors and individuals such as your work place, mentors, seniors as well as your peers and colleagues have a role to play in shaping up and advancing your scientific career as a researcher. However, the biggest factor that can influence your research career path is your own ability to keep learning and growing with every opportunity you get. This article provides with some useful tips to put your researcher career on the fast track and create opportunities for growth and learning.
- Invest time in networking
As a scientist, you are more likely to advance your researcher career if you invest consistent time and effort in networking. While the popular notion is that only extroverted and outgoing people are good at networking, introverts can also engage in networking effectively.
Networking depends upon the ability to take a genuine interest in another individual’s professional journey. By engaging in active conversations with scientists or researchers in your field of interest, you can pave the way toward building a professional network and, in turn, your scientific career.
A lot of time, patience and persistence is essential for maintaining and growing this network, but the reward is huge access to a variety of career development opportunities. Donning a ‘networking hat’ at all times, but especially during department seminars, conferences and relevant academic events will help tremendously in advancing your researcher career and building your standing as a scientist.
- Make conscious use of social media platforms
Social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn provide scientists with the opportunity to share and promote their research easily and rapidly with a global audience, which adds to your researcher career. When used consciously and effectively, these social platforms are also some of the best ways to foster digital networking skills, especially if you are someone who feels underconfident about in-person networking.
As a researcher, career development can be achieved via social media platforms by connecting with scientists in an informal setting. This will help you set up the base for prospective additions to your professional network.
Creating a digital presence on social media will also give you an opportunity to interact with non-scientists, which can help you develop a better understanding of the impact and outreach of your research. Finally, social media platforms are also a great place to learn about some scientific career opportunities that may not be advertised formally on a job portal, thus improving and accelerating your process of job search.
- Keep learning new skills regularly
Career development as a researcher is nearly impossible without dedicating sufficient time toward upskilling yourself. If your job profile is not flexible enough to provide you with these opportunities to level up your researcher career, you can look for avenues and tools outside your work place. If your work place allows such flexibility, look for projects and opportunities that will test your existing skillset in a different manner, or provide you with an opportunity to learn completely new skills. It is important to not limit yourself to your area of expertise, especially after gaining initial experience in it. Moving beyond your comfort zone and expanding the scope of your scientific career will help you grow both personally as well as professionally and widen the horizon for possible job opportunities.
Consider every step you undertake on your research career path to success as a new opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of your core strengths and areas of improvement. Developing and advancing your researcher career becomes an easier process if you are able to incorporate some of your analytical abilities for self-introspection.
Career opportunities that support growth and learning are instrumental toward building a satisfying professional journey and accelerating your researcher career. Investing time in understanding the impact of a job on your skills and strengths, and the specific components that were instrumental in that process, will help you choose the next steps in your scientific career. This practice of self-analysis will also give you an overview of how far you have come in your professional journey and provide you with the necessary dose of optimism whenever job pressures weigh you down.
