2. 外语
  3. Postgraduate dilemmas [A] Deciding whether or not to become a postgraduate can be a daunting (令人畏缩的) prospect. Even if you are s

Postgraduate dilemmas [A] Deciding whether or not to become a postgraduate can be a daunting (令人畏缩的) prospect. Even if you are s

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问题                                                                 Postgraduate dilemmas
[A] Deciding whether or not to become a postgraduate can be a daunting (令人畏缩的) prospect. Even if you are sure you want to press ahead, the chances are you’ll have a list of unanswered questions about the best approach. That’s why New Scientist has asked those in the know to talk frankly about what postgraduate life is really like and how to make the most of it.
How do I choose the right project?
[B] One thing all postgraduates agree on is that you need to be passionate about your research topic if you’re ever going to finish it Starting off with fire in your belly will give you the best chance of seeing your work through. "During your PhD you will fall in and out of love with your project many times, so it is important to choose something that fascinates you and that you will want to persevere with," says Katherine Reekie, who is in the fourth year of her PhD in genetics at the University of Leicester.
[C] Think, too, about the mode of research, advises Rachel Walker, a second-year PhD student at the University of Cambridge. "You should consider whether the project will require mostly fieldwork or lab work and whether you are happy with this." It is also useful for your project to have some similar aspects to those of other students working in your research group, she says, so that you can help each other out when you get stuck.
[D] Funding availability might influence the exact area you choose to focus on. "Often there will be projects available with funding, waiting for a student to take them up. This was true in my case," says Jonathan du Bois, a PhD graduate from the University of Bristol. If you already have a specific project in mind, shop around for a department or supervisor that is interested in taking you on for that topic. Keep an open mind and spread your search as far as you can to find a university that fits your requirements.
[E] Watch out for projects that are linked to commercial ventures requiring students to sign a contract that limit their ability to publish, or narrowly define the scope of their research. "I know of one horror story where a student obtained funding linked to a project to develop a medical device," says Tristan Farrow, a fourth-year PhD student from the University of Cambridge. "Before he knew it, his hands were tied and he found himself working more on product development than science. His project took seven years and funding was a constant worry."
[F] Finally, don’t think too far ahead; the whole point of research is that you can never be quite sure where it will lead. According to Farrow, defining your research topic down to the smallest detail is like putting the cart before the horse. "PhD projects always evolve and final theses rarely cover the exact topics you thought you signed up for. You should have a clear aim but it’s fine not to know exactly how you’re going to get there," he says. "That’s not to say you should be casual about your choice of research topic, but there’s nothing to be gained by being too prescriptive."
Will I get a job at the end of this?
[G] "The market is worse than it has been for a considerable number of years, so you are not guaranteed a job," warns Stephen Kennedy, from the pharmaceutical (制药的) giant AstraZeneca, where up to 70 per cent of staff have a PhD. "But having a postgraduate qualification will help you give examples of your strengths and attributes in an interview," he says. You’ll also have good transferable skills that you can take away from science and apply to a totally different area, such as business.
[H] Lorna Crombie, director of Durham-based science recruitment agency CK Science, agrees that postgraduate study can prepare you for employment—as long as you know how to show your new skills in an interview. "You need to be able to go in and tell them what you got out of the course," she says. Focus on abilities like project management or working independently—skills that require discipline.
[I] Kennedy believes it’s these skills that give postgraduates the edge. "They tend to be more active, and have the ability to work autonomously and decisively," he says. "They tend to have a better understanding of the working world than a graduate." Overall, he says, postgraduates are "more likely to hit the ground running", which makes a big impact in the pharmaceutical industry because the sooner new employees are doing their jobs well, the sooner patients receive the benefits. Can I turn my PhD into a business?
[J] Ever been tempted to use a smartphone to lend a helping hand in the pub quiz? If so, then chances are you’ll still be stuck when it comes to the picture round. Now, Mark Cummins, a final-year PhD student working on computer vision at the University of Oxford has found the solution. For the last year, he’s been developing a new company called Plinkart—which has created a visual search engine application for smartphones. "You take a picture of an object with your phone, we recognise the object in the picture and return the relevant information," explains Cummins. For example, you can take a photo of a painting and the Plinkart application will find the relevant Wikipedia article.
[K] Because scientists tend to be good at finding solutions to problems it means that, like Cummins, they often come up with ideas that could work well in a business setting. But does that mean it’s easy to turn your science into a business?
[L] "Scientific training is intellectually rigorous so it is certainly not difficult for scientists to make a switch to business, but a significant shift in mindset is required," says Afua Osei of the Oxford Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation—part of the University of Oxford’s Said Business School. Instead of focusing on pure scientific discovery, they’ll have to focus on context, applications, market needs and customer behaviour, she says.
[M] Lecturer Davin Yap co-founded his company, Transversal, when he grew fed up with his students at the University of Cambridge emailing him masses of questions. He produced a piece of computer software which allows users to submit questions—in their own words—which the computer will understand and provide an answer to. His clients now include the Royal Mail and BBC iPlayer, but how confident was he that it would succeed at the start?
[N] "Blindly confident," Yap says. "It’s essential that you just get on with it. You’ll soon recognise what’s lacking and find ways to fill the gaps but only if you’re ’doing’ rather than ’thinking’."
[O] Cummins couldn’t agree more. "Intellectually, we were well aware that a high percentage of start-up companies fail but, almost by definition, start-up founders believe that that doesn’t apply to their idea" Nonetheless, the risk of failure is still real and "it’s a huge commitment of time, effort and personal savings," he says. However, the biggest investment is probably the opportunity cost: "Initiating a startup means not doing a postdoc or taking a well-paid job. Some people manage to combine a start-up with a postdoc, but it’s very difficult, especially because many universities now claim ownership of any intellectual property you develop during your research."
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