Erin Rtc Blackwood

Some scientists say they are just too busy “doing their jobs” (as they see it) and are frantically chasing grants, publishing academic journal articles, getting citations, managing their graduate students and postdocs, and other aspects of running their research enterprise. That’s fine, and I know the feeling, but I think you’re fundamentally wrong about what your job actually is. It really isn’t to land big grants for your university, crank out obscure academic publications by the dozens, and amass a long list of peer citations. (If your administrators are actually telling you that this is your job, they should be ignored. And you might want to start looking for a job at a better institution.) As scientists, your real job should be to make great discoveries and share them with the world.