During your PhD, it’s a good habit to ask yourself what the coolest thing is that you could be doing next. When you realize many new skills are needed, this might point the way to your postdoc. You can dramatically increase your chances of getting the postdoc you want if you contact your potential advisor early…

If you hate your research, don’t think about quitting. You are likely on the verge of tremendous growth as a scholar.

Many people are surprised (even frustrated) to learn that it’s often possible to negotiate your postdoc salary. You might not have any luck—your future advisor might only have $x left in the grant budget—but it’s a good idea to ask. Here’s how…

For those innocent lambs out there, Reviewer 2 is the nickname that academia has given to the peer reviewer of your manuscript who gives a laundry list of criticisms, demands eight months of new experiments totaling $300,000 in supplies alone, insults your knowledge of the literature or ability to spell your name correctly, insists your study is boring, or some combination of the above. They lurk at the core of the peer review process….

The sooner you realize that rejections are a large part of doing research and not direct measures of your skill or potential, the happier you’ll be. You’ll probably improve faster as a scientist too…

When I finished my PhD, I think I had something like an 18" stack of papers I was still meaning to read. It had caused me a near-daily pang of stress and, if I’m honest, shame for years. I currently have several thousand papers in my Paperpile, but I feel a lot better…