My experience
As I progressed in my career transitioning from post-doc to principle investigator (PI) I naturally became more distant from the lab work. Ultimately I found myself one step removed from the excitement of data generation.
Whilst I was still enjoying the experience of finding something novel when my lab group showed me new data, years of failed experiments had left me highly sceptical. As all good researchers learn, additional results are required before affirming trust in any data you are presented with.
For some reason (and ultimately a completely selfish one) I found that sharing the data generation with those in the group had taken a bit off the buzz I felt around discovery. Whilst I had supported the lab member in generating that data, I didn’t feel as if I had complete ownership over on-going projects, because the day-to-day duties were co-ordinated by individual group members. This was unexpected given that I was the one responsible for the results the lab was producing and the work was essentially being conducted in my name too.
I suspect I just found it hard to let go of the everyday micro-management of the research and focus more on the ‘bigger picture’. Weird eh? My ultimate problem was that deep down I guess I just didn’t enjoy being a PI as much as I had originally thought I would.
Ultimately this was the tipping point in my career where I started to lose my mojo as a researcher and it was concomitantly the start of my professional rebirth.
Losing excitement for your research is a problem
The feeling that you might be out of place in your research career can strike at any time and can affect people for a myriad of different reasons. Subject boredom, an unpleasant work environment, role change (promotion, more teaching etc.), development of an interest in other things and a change in personal circumstances are just some examples of why people might lose the joy of conducting research.
If you’re lucky it’ll never happen to you, but this loss of excitement in your research work can potentially strike at any moment. So is this an issue?
The academic system is a harsh one in which to forge a life-long career – it takes no prisoners and (at least financially) provides little reward back to the majority of its workforce.
Therefore the joy of scientific endeavour needs to be prevalent for researchers to be able to survive long-term in such an unforgiving industry.
What can you do about losing interest in your biomedical research?
For those of us that do lose our research mojo or for those who never had it (the latter of whom I can’t imagine why you’d want to be a biomedical researcher in the first place), this is a strong signal that it’s probably time to start weighing up your options and think long, and hard about your future.
A good place to start researching your options is with the help of blogs and social media sites that provide news sources, career advice and contacts for professional transitions, particularly those focused towards research scientists.
Subscribing to sites like this one will provide you with ideas about new career opportunities to investigate, but there are a variety of other information sources out there too.
The jobs.ac.uk blog offers impartial advice and support for biomedical researchers looking for career support both within and outwith academia. The cheekyscientist.com offers advice and networking opportunities for PhD qualified individuals, with a focus towards STEMM subjects. Finally, the Science magazine offers career tips for research scientists on a range of general topics. Using sites like these will help you hone down your interests and take a targeted approach towards networking, and marketing yourself in a particular career niche.
Ultimately you need to explore the options and think about what would be good industry to get into that fits well with your personal career and life-style objectives.
After this you need to take a systematic approach and take it to the next level, by cementing any decision you have made.
Keep tuned for more advice on how best to execute this… Until then, remember to stay focussed on your goals and keep learning how to be a badass in your biomed career.
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