The Scientist's Journey: That Was then and This Is Now

Scientists evolve as they complete their formal education and move on to professional positions. Recognizing promising opportunities and taking advantage of them is a hallmark of successful scientists. A scientist must be true to his or her self, find a good mentor, be an attentive mentee, nurture and improve strengths, and acknowledge and correct weaknesses.

Several tenets are important to becoming a good scientist. One must learn to focus one's efforts and intellect; recognize and understand logic, learn to think critically, appreciate the power of teams, become a good communicator, recognize, understand and deal with uncertainty. A scientist must realize that people pay for science and it is people that will encourage or discourage, facilitate or impede, significant scientific accomplishments. Meaningful communication of science to the public is essential to its success.

Mentors and mentees grow together as they jointly pursue scientific endeavors, both growing as individuals and as partners in science developing necessary skills as outlined above.