1、Obtaining a PhD is like swimming across a big lake. Some studentscan’t swim, so they will sink. That is the way the academic system selectsthose who will win.

2、Before you even get started on your PhD research, you have alreadymade a decision that will have a major impact on the success of your project,and perhaps even on your future career.

3、Life is filled with ups and downs and this is no less true than inyour life as a graduate student.

Before you even start your first set ofexperiments in the lab, take some time(a fewdays if necessary) towrite downyour short-termand longterm goals and objectives.

4、Only 20 percent of your efforts produce 80 percent of the results.Learning to identify the 20 percent that produces the majority of your resultsis thekey tomaking themost effectiveuse of your time. An increased awareness ofthe way you work and the time you spend on a variety of activities will helpyou learn to make use of this remarkably effective principle.

5、”Observation”, “Constructing a hypothesis”, “Carrying outexperiments to test the hypothesis”, “Formulating a theory”,these four steps,taken together, are what is commonly known as the scientific method. Useproperly designed experiments to prove your hypothesis, rather than rely on‘obvious’ assumptions.

6、An important check on bias is to promote open communication amongthemembers of a scientific field in the formof publications and conferences.

7、Somehow, in spite of all your hardwork, you are not approaching yourgoals. Soon this may even become your daily mantra:Why am I not approachingmytarget when I’m running so fast? It may feel like you’re making one stepforward and two steps back. You need some sort ofmonthly evaluation to bridgethe very wide gap between your one-day and one-year plans.

8、Setbacks in the lab and in life are inevitable. It’s how we deal withthem that will turn a setback into an opportunity for growth. If you think ofsetbacks as not being failures, mistakes, or wrong turns, but rather a chanceto learn and grow, you will be much better equipped to put yourself back on theright track. Take heart from the fact that many things will go right, so trynot to focus on all that has gone wrong. Also, it helps to remember that anegative result from one, or a series of your experiments, may be asinformative as a positive result.

9、Keep in mind that having a PhD doesn’t mean you have to go on inlife as a bench scientist or work your way up the ranks of academia. There aremany different career paths you can follow, from jobs in policymaking,journalism, communication, teaching, and consulting.

10、At a minimum, your attendance at the conference will bring you up todate on the latest research findings in your field; you can start building yournetwork within the academic world; and the feedback you receive at themeetingwill give your research additional momentum.

11、Part of being a good scientist is not just designing goodexperiments, but being able to present your work and to write it up in clearand simple language.