What I wish I knew: 33 thoughts for early career researchers
Thirty three reflections I wish someone had shared with me early in my research career.
A quick note: this post is a little different from my usual topics. While most of my readers aren’t early career researchers, I’m confident you’ll still find something useful here. (And if you’re new, I mostly write about biodiversity, climate change, and water. Subscribe if that’s your thing!)
Every now and then I get asked to give career advice talks to early career researchers (ECRs). In preparing for these talks, I’ve realised that while it’s hard to find advice that hasn’t already been said, the most useful advice is often personal rather than universal.
The path from early career researcher to established scientist is rarely straightforward. When I began my own journey, I often found myself wishing for a field guide to the unwritten expectations and hidden challenges of academic life. I’ve certainly not mastered academia, but I have gathered some observations along the way that may be useful for those at earlier stages than me. During this journey, I've found that the most rewarding aspects of an academic career often lie in the unmeasured — in meaningful collaborations, moments of discovery, and watching students and mentees flourish.
These 33 reflections represent what I wish someone had shared with me earlier — from research strategy and building relationships to maintaining wellbeing and finding personal fulfilment in this demanding profession. They come from experience—often hard-earned—and are offered not as prescriptions, but as possibilities.
This is a living document, in no particular order, that will grow as I continue to learn. Some points may resonate with you strongly, others may not. Take what's useful, adapt what needs adapting, and chart your own path. I hope they offer helpful signposts as you navigate your own scientific career.
If you’re not an ECR, I hope you read on and find something useful here—or just enjoy the perspective shift. As mentioned, use what’s helpful, leave the rest.
33 reflections
Publish quality work. Fewer excellent things are better than lots of average things. Quality will always trump quantity in the eyes of any sensible postdoc advisor or search committee. But also…
Published is better than perfect. Peer-reviewed papers are our currency. If it’s not published, it essentially doesn’t exist in the academic world. A flawless paper sitting in your drafts folder has no impact; an imperfect but solid paper in print builds your reputation, advances knowledge, and opens opportunities. You owe it to the discipline to get it out there.
"He tangata, he tangata, he tangata" — Māori for "The people, the people, the people". Build relationships, both professionally and personally. Have allies. Have sponsors who talk positively about you behind your back without you knowing it. And, importantly, maintain these relationships.
Read widely. My most interesting ideas (well, what I think are interesting), don't come from reading in my field (ecology). But...
Read a lot within your field too. Ideas come from reading. Keep up with the literature as best as you can.
Learn to read efficiently. You don't need to read every paper from front to back. Focus on the five key paragraphs: abstract, first introduction paragraph, final introduction paragraph, first discussion paragraph, and last discussion paragraph. And of course, the figures. If the paper is well written, you can also read the first sentence of every paragraph (topic sentence) to get the main gist.
Concentrate on your niche (for a while). It helps immensely to be known for something in particular. This requires working in your niche to build up a track record of credibility. For instance, I built up credibility relatively early on in understanding biodiversity in rivers, particularly related to flow variability. This reputation helped me become known for that area and connect with others in the field. It wasn't always easy, but over time, it opened doors for collaboration and new opportunities.
Once you've done that, expand your niche. Let yourself collaborate widely and explore shared interests with interesting people. On that note...
Be flexible—sometimes the funding leads the way. Some of my best collaborations happened because I followed where the opportunities were. This helped me when I started my faculty job to quickly find a lot of research funding and set up new collaborations.
Follow your curiosity. Let this be your compass. It’s easy to lose it amidst deadlines and metrics. But it’s key for career sustainability.
Use your time wisely and enjoy the freedom that you have before responsibilities increase. Career progression means more demands on your time.
Once you need to, protect your time like it’s gold. Create space for deep work. Block out your calendar. Don’t let others choose how you spend your time (e.g. in meetings, admin etc.)
Apply for things (awards etc.) even if you don't think you deserve it. You're better than you think you are. You gotta be in it to win it.
Don't stay in the same place. Moving around institutions and lab groups is critical for your growth. This is particularly important early. I stayed in the same place early, but grew scientifically when I went overseas for postdocs in different groups. You miss out if you're exposed to limited ideas. Few people become brilliant on their own — you need to be exposed to different ideas, frameworks, ways of thinking to learn your own. I also fully acknowledge that mobility isn’t equally accessible to everyone. Receiving a diversity of experience and mentorship can be found in other ways though, such as through building relationships with collaborators and mentors online.
Remember you are the sum of the five people you associate with the most. So choose those you frequently work with wisely. They can either build you up or bring you down.
Drop everything if you get a big interview. This isn't always possible, but when I went for my Rutherford Discovery Fellowship interview, I put everything else on hold for weeks to ensure I could put every moment into prepping. The result was a career-defining fellowship.
Work with good people and cut ties with others. This one’s simple.
Say yes to opportunities early on. If it seems like a good opportunity, it's worth being in the mix. Then...
Say no, once you start to need to. At which point... say no to everything (almost). Remember the widely used saying "If it's not a 'heck yes', it's a 'no'". Our time is finite — saying yes to something means saying no to something else in the future.
When you start hiring people, choose wisely. PhDs and postdocs will be in your lab for a few years. Make sure they're good people.
It’s a numbers game sometimes. When you think you will never have a good enough idea for a Nature or Science paper, remember those that get them tend to have many papers or try regularly. i.e. it's a numbers game. Very few papers are worth submitting high, but if you can spare the time, have a go when you think it's worth it. Back yourself. (But also, if you have the choice, support society journals.)
Spend time de-stressing. Spend time in nature. Run, walk, have fun. Most importantly, spend time with, and nurture, the people you love (whether friends or family or both).
Mentors matter. Be proactive in finding them, but make sure you show up prepared. A good mentor brings more value than you realise.
Beware the slump. If you've been working towards a permanent job, it may be a bit deflating when you land one. It was for me. Much of my postdoc period was motivated by the desire to land a permanent position (I had kids already and wanted the security). When I got the 'dream job', it felt like anything but a dream job — I struggled a lot with motivation and focus for a period. I think that reflected the fact I achieved what I set out to. But...
Building a lab group is extremely rewarding! My slump disappeared when I started recruiting people. Enjoy the process. Enjoy mentoring. Enjoy building others up. Enjoy giving back.
Find what works for you. Comparison is evil! You don't have to have an H-index of 100. You don't have to have Nature and Science papers. This career is flexible. Focus on making it what you want it to be.
Talk to people who are different to you, who disagree with you, who have different values from you. Diversity of perspectives is critical for progress.
Hone your craft. Academic writing is a craft. It can be learned. Your papers, proposals, and emails are often the first impression you make—make them good. Editing is where the magic happens. Good writing can be the difference between a funded and non-funded grant.
Work on refining your message. Successful grants are those with a clear message, where a clear and important gap has been identified, and the solution to fill the gap is clear.
Be kind to future you. Document your code, keep a notebook. Future you will thank you.
Ask questions and engage. Don’t sit back and be shy. Be curious and show it. Good questions are way more valuable than good answers.
Have a digital presence. A website is useful for people to find you. It doesn’t need to be much, just a place to house your publication list, research interests etc.
Remember, rejection is the rule. No, you’re not being rejected more often than others. We all get rejected on a daily basis. I’ve had papers bounce through five journals before being published. Unfortunately, it’s the nature of science. It’s how it works. Don’t take it personally. The people with the most papers in the big journals are probably the who have received the most rejections.
Summary
Academia offers remarkable freedom to pursue curiosity, but also unique challenges that rarely come with instruction manuals. We all find our own ways through—stumbling occasionally, succeeding unexpectedly, and learning continuously.
These thirty three insights barely scratch the surface of what makes for a fulfilling academic career. The metrics—citations, grants, publications—are just proxies for what really matters: contributing meaningful knowledge, fostering the next generation of scientists, and building a community that tackles important questions together.
Your path will inevitably look different from mine. The academic landscape continues to evolve, and what worked for me might not apply in your context, which is exactly how it should be. Take what resonates, leave the rest, and most importantly, trust yourself to chart your own meandering path. Whatever stage you're at, remember that even the most accomplished scientists once stood where you stand now.
This is long—on purpose. I wanted to reflect on my personal experience—what worked, what didn't, and what I’m still figuring out—so that others might stumble across the thing they most need to hear.
I'd love to hear what insights have guided your journey. What would you add to this list? What counterpoints would you offer? I welcome your perspectives, as the diversity of academic experiences is precisely what makes our scientific community richer. So please do share your perspectives in the comments — I look forward to learning from you, too.
34. It's okay to update your dreams. You don't have to stay in the research world if you can't stand its typical negative aspects (particularly in universities) such as pressure for publishing, precarity, exploitation, ego.. Just know that even when you love your job you still are going to hate it from time time.
Jonathan, what a great and generous list.
I’ve been running my own company, on my own, for a long time. Before that I had a good run in a Fortune 500 company. Not academia but I think I may have a “wish I had known” in common. I wish I had known going in — what I would tolerate in a cultural change within the institution. My corporation changed rapidly from an equal focus on customers, stockholders, products, profits and employees to stockholders and profits. My moral compass had been warning me for at least a year and I finally resigned.
I imagine the DEI issues may weigh heavily on people relying on a steady paycheck. 🌱🌿💚