Bad Advice.

If I had to go back in time and give myself advice, I’d tell myself to be cautious of advice. Advice isn’t necessarily good or bad, but it’s often misguided or the wrong fit. In your scientific career, especially early on, it’s tempting to trust all the guidance tossed your way. More experienced scientists should know better than you, right? Not necessarily. 

Here’s some advice I received and learned — through experience — to disregard. 

1. Place the least amount of effort into your coursework and secondary responsibilities so that lab is your first and only priority. Why this advice is bad: As a graduate student researcher or any sort of trainee, you are a student first and a researcher second. There’s a reason why you only get a stipend and not a lab tech’s salary. Capitalize on your time as a grad student, and be sure to prioritize career development, networking, reading papers, extra-curricular activities, and more.
2. Stay in grad school until you have 4 or 5 publications. Why this advice is bad: 4 or 5 publications sounds great, but do you need that many publications to be a competitive job candidate? Likely, no. Remember that your CV is more than your publications. Many hiring managers look for qualities and skills over publication quantity.
3. Put as much content in your presentations as possible to show off how much work you’ve done. Why this advice is bad: Where do I begin? First, the purpose of a presentation is to share a story, not to brag about your work. Secondly, when communicating, quality is better than quantity. Thirdly, presentations should be digestible. A bombardment of data without context is unpleasant for your audience.
4. Work a strict 9-5 (at least) Why this advice is bad: Lab work doesn’t always fit neatly into a 9-5. Sometimes experiments run late. Other times they wrap up early. Reward yourself when you work late, like taking it easy the following day. And don’t force yourself to find busy work when you've already finished your goals for the day.
5. Pick up as many projects as time allows. Why this advice is bad: Time is not your only resource. Energy, attention, and patience are all resources that factor into your workload. You might have time to do another project, but you have time to do it well? Also, extra time in your schedule is essential for flexibility, networking, mentoring, and other responsibilities.
6. Don’t do [insert career move here]. I.e.: post-doc, PhD, go into industry….etc. Why this advice is bad: Absolute nay-sayers advise from their perspective. Advice should not be cookie-cutter but adjusted for each individual.  
7. It’s too early for you to worry about networking. Why this advice is bad: It’s never too early to start networking.

Advice about getting advice.

1. Consider who is giving the advice. Advice is often biased or is given with weak evidence. Ask yourself these questions to ensure the  source is reliable: Does the advisor have experience or empathy with the situation? Is there a reason they’d advise you against your best interest? Is the advisor up to date with the topic? 
2. Ignore advice that is not pertinent to your goals. Professors often give advice fitting for a career in academia, but if you plan on an alternate career, does the advice still apply?
3. Always ask more than one person.  Don’t blindly trust the guidance of one mentor, even for technical advice.

An upside to academia is the freedom to make your own choices. But with freedom comes uncertainty. Grad school and science careers are challenging to navigate. Suitable, appropriate guidance will help you through, while erroneous, biased advice can hold you back. Practice healthy skepticism, and in the end, always choose what's best for you.

Have you been given extraordinarily ill-fitting advice as a scientist? If so, tell us in the comment section below! Or, tweet at us, @BoldedScience, #BadAdvice. 

Author

Kerry McPherson, @KerrySilvaMcph 
PhD Candidate studying biomedical sciences. Researches proteins implicated in cancer chemoresistance. Bolded Science creator and editor. Also co-founded a STEM education outreach program at her University.