After multiple postdocs for long years, and failing to get a tenure, the author provide eight pieces of advice for researchers. Here is what I understood from this article.
1. Don't over check your results. Believe your data:
After getting very good result, most of the time, you may have a feeling that the result is good and anything wrong with the experiment, or calculation. These kinds of thinking should be avoided. Of course, you should cross check your data and confirm that they are correct. But, too much thinking would not be healthy. The author simply put this as "Accept your data".
2. Don't ask what I should do further. Instead, tell what you have done and got and what you are going to do further.
Most of the postdocs ask their supervisors what should they do further. Instead, you take responsibility to the project, do experiments, calculations, and everything without waiting for an approval. Do something useful and get progress and inform to the supervisors that you have done this and that and got this result. In addtion, you may give a hint on what you are going to do further. This would be useful to get feed back and advice from your supervisors.
3. Don't think like a postdoc. You treat yourself like a co-PI.
Treat your supervisor as a future collaboration and you like a co-PI of the current project.
4. Have confident in what you are doing.
Some times, your supervisor may not realize the importance of a result. If you beleive that something is important, do it and try to convince the importance of your experiment or calculation or result.
5. Keep track on the timeline of the project and publish as soon as you get results.
As a postdoc, the term will be renewed every year or so. This is the time to show your potential in a short duration of the time. Publish your results at as soon as you get results. This will also increase the chance of getting renewal and a good boost for you.
6. Think ahead what you want to do next.
While in Ph.D, think about what you want to do in postoc. During postdoc, think about what you want to when you join an institution and where would you apply. Always think ahead of future.
7. Take decision quickly and act on it.
You should take quick decision and act on it. At the same time you should have multiple ideas and have to follow your intution.
8. Finish what you start.
Michael Faraday said "Work, Finish, Publish", finish what you start and publish. If you are trying to unravel big problems, reveal as soon as you find some thing.
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