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I am using the time wisely and, right now, I feel like I'm the lucky one

A key indicator of your ‘lab cred’ is whether people you’ve never met know who you are when you first meet them.

Now is the time to make the most of getting published, even while unpaid.

"Admit that sooner or later you need to be yourself when you're at work--and that's when you'll start to enjoy it."

You are asked a particularly awkward question after your conference presentation. Do you: a) Blurt out 'I was afraid someone would ask that question.'

If you read things at face value and don't wise up to the hidden meanings in paper-speak, you might get left behind.

"If you can give a good account of why you did what you did, you are already a long way to winning your examiners over."

Fancy having a Ph.D. and not being able to get a job!

Whilst I deliberate on my next move, the view from this narrow ledge is interesting.

"You want your student to be able to turn the handle and watch at least some decent results slowly emerge."

"Scientists might be portrayed as geeks, but a successful one certainly has to be a people person."

"There is always a local wave to catch (often with some money floating in it), and you need to get yourself and your surfboard right in there."

It’s amazing how often I’ve sat next to a famous face on the way to a conference.

You want things to run smoothly and students to get the message, not to stick to your schedule at all costs.

"Teachers everywhere are gagging for enthusiastic support."

So I asked myself, "What is an undergraduate practical meant to achieve, and how do you prepare a successful one?"

I successfully figured out an incomprehensible map of the underground while wondering who would be in the audience and if they would subject me to a tough interrogation.

"My reputation in the eyes of the very people who could determine my future may be at stake, but we postdocs would be very foolish indeed if we only pursued one opportunity at a time."

My euphoria at being a scientist raises the disturbing question of how I might cope with, well, not being a scientist anymore.

"Expressing a willingness to learn more or admitting a small weakness will make you appear honest."