Maintain the Long-Term Vision Posted on October 19, 2007 Husseini K. Manji (bio) tells early researchers not to get discouraged when there are setbacks.

So I think one piece of advice for junior faculty, people getting started in research, etc., is that it really – try and maintain the long-term vision, that it’s really for the long haul you want to try and establish your career and make your contribution to science. Sometimes it’s easy to get frustrated early on when things aren’t quite going the way one would like them to go. We’ve all been through that. We’ve all had the grants turned down, the manuscripts turned down, etc., and most of the time the people who make the biggest contributions are the ones who have over time made solid, consistent contributions, rather than someone who may have had one flashy, eye-catching finding that doesn’t get replicated or, you know, simply was one of those flukes.

So I think maintaining the long-term view is very important. I think recognizing that, in many cases, we’re dealing with humans, so whether they’re manuscript reviewers or grant reviewers, etc., I believe the system is the best there is, but it’s imperfect, and there is subjectivity. There are other factors that come into it, and to not take any single setback, you know, too personally or to wonder about one’s own qualification, etc., because as I mentioned, we’ve all experienced these things, and often it was, in fact, the review committee or the manuscript reviewer who was at fault, but that’s part and parcel of the process, and to take them in stride and to learn from them, and eventually things work out, and eventually, if the person’s, you know, got the right stuff and is dedicated and hard working, they’ll make it.

« Back to Article