"Десять привычек очень успешного энтомолога" - дайджест американского блогера-энтомолога
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Josh Lancette
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Ten Habits of Highly Successful Entomologists
By Josh Lancette
What makes a successful entomologist? Undoubtedly, there are many factors,
including intelligence, a hard work ethic, educational opportunities,
relationships, character, perhaps even luck, just to name a few.
However, while these things might be replicable to some degree, we wanted to
dig a bit deeper. What do successful entomologists do day in and day out? What
are their consistent practices and habits?
So we decided to ask some people who would know: successful entomologists. We
talked to folks from all kinds of areas of entomology and asked them if they had
any habits that they thought helped them to be successful. Some clear trends
emerged.
Without further ado, here are 10 habits of successful entomologists:
1. Start the morning right
- "I begin each day with several minutes of meditation, which helps to focus
my mind on positive thoughts and gives me courage to face the challenges of
the day." - Eric Riddick, PhD; Research Entomologist, Biological
Control of Pests Research Unit, USDA-ARS
- "Daily, set specific goals for yourself to succeed, then strive to exceed
those expectations. As much as possible, don't let others define your success.
Attempting to satisfy the expectations of others can cause frustration,
anxiety, and disappointment." - Marlin Rice, PhD; Senior Research
Scientist, Pioneer; Professor (Collaborator), Iowa State University
- "I begin the day by building a to-do list. This organizes the tasks and
goals for the day and provides me an outline to follow, keeping me on track as
unexpected objectives arise." - Travis Prochaska, PhD; Crop Protection
Specialist, North Dakota State University
2. Make time to think
- "I have a habit of tinkering with ideas for difficult-to-solve problems
while I'm falling asleep. This usually puts me to sleep rather quickly, but my
brain seems to go into auto-pilot mode and continues to work on the problem
even as I sleep. Interestingly, I usually wake up with some ideas on how to
solve the problem. These may not be the final solutions, but they are
something to move forward with." - Nan-Yao Su, PhD; Distinguished
Professor, Urban Entomology, University of Florida
- "I spend 20 minutes or so each day just thinking, while sitting at my desk
in my office. I write down any career related ideasЧregardless of how silly
they may seem at the timeЧthat pop into my mind, determine what projects I
need to concentrate on today rather than tomorrow, and decide who I need to
consult (colleagues, technicians, etc.)." - Eric Riddick
3. Find a mentor, be a mentor
- "Find a mentor and be a mentor, both in and out of science.I have my
non-scientist community and my scientist community, and some relationships
fall in between. Almost everything I learn from a friend in business is
something I could not have learned in academia or from a fellow entomologist.
That can give you a career advantage. At least once a month I'm sitting down
for lunch or coffee with someone with a career I admire and seeing how they do
what they do. Likewise, helping those who are just starting their careers
helps you really pinpoint what got you to where you are today, both the
mistakes and the good decisions." - Phil Torres, Science
Correspondent, Science Communication Consultant, and Television
Presenter
- "Find a mentor or mentors at various levels of the organization that you
trust and that you can turn to in order to help advise, provide feedback,
generate examples, and provide perspective when you encounter situations that
you've not had to deal with before." - Floyd Shockley, PhD;
Collections Manager (Acting), Department of Entomology,
National Museum of
Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
- "Seek advice from trusted mentors. Run your ideas and concerns by
knowledgeable people who've had experiences similar to what you are facing.
Mentors will help you think things through, and you'll be building your
network, which is also important." - Carol Anelli, PhD; Professor and
Associate Chair, Department of Entomology, Ohio State University
4. Get some exercise
- "To manage life's curveballs (whether work or home), I find it helpful to
walk or get some sort of moderate exercise. I prefer outdoor walks to help me
reconnect with why I became a biologist. If circumstances don't permit, I'll
settle for a treadmill type thing. Walking clears my head, gets rid of nervous
energy, and allows me to sort through tangled thoughts. When a colleague needs
to talk through a difficult situation, I'm about as likely to suggest going
for a stroll as suggest going for a cup of coffee." - Susan
Weller, PhD; Director of the University of Nebraska State Museum of Natural
History
- "Each day, I attempt to save time for an activity. I may use this time to
go for a run, to go for a bike ride, or to just take a break. This provides a
short period of time to de-stress and provides the brain a short break." -
Travis Prochaska
- "After leaving work for the day, I often spend 60 minutes in the gym.
Physical exercise helps me eliminate work-related stress and condition my
body." - Eric Riddick
5. Value relationships
- "Align with positive, supportive folks as a student, and thereafter with
positive folks professionally. I had the great pleasure of working with
lepidopterists at the National Museum of Natural History who were always there
to answer my questions and to make positive suggestions for projects and/or
solutions that were results oriented. Ask questions and more questions.
Graduate school is an opportunity to act like a sponge that will not come
again." - Alma Solis, PhD; Research Entomologist, Systematic
Entomology, USDA-ARS
- "Spending time with family is very important. During challenging times in
my career, the support and encouragement I received from family (e.g., my
wife) was invaluable." - Eric Riddick
- "Cultivate friendships. My friends inspire me to stay dedicated to my work
and profession." - Gadi Reddy, PhD; Superintendent and Associate
Professor of Entomology/Insect Ecology at Montana State University
WTARC
- "Treat other people the way you would like to be treated. Everyone has
value even if you don't initially recognize it. Put others ahead of yourself.
That respect often will translate into more opportunities someday down the
road, for both of you." - Marlin Rice
- "Be kind and respectful to EVERYONE you work with. Custodial staff,
clerical staff, IT staff. These are often overlooked groups of people in the
workplace, but being kind and respectful to them can make so many other issues
that arise easier to handle. Plus, it has the benefit of just being the right
thing to do." - Floyd Shockley
6. Follow your passion, flexibly
- "Careers and scholarly endeavors in our discipline can take many forms. If
you find you have an affinity for some ancillary areaЧe.g., public engagement,
teaching, history of science (the last two are two passions I discovered in
grad school)Чstart developing those interests. They may open future career
doors. (Warning: Don't lose focus on your thesis/dissertation!)" -
Carol Anelli
- "Be flexible and open to new ideas for areas of study. Life is not linear,
but a series of forks in the road that lead you down paths that are
surprising. I was an English major, until I discovered the organismal world as
an undergraduate in college, and changed my major two years in to biology. In
graduate school I was very interested in Hymenoptera and pollination, but
during my first field course to Costa Rica, I discovered that I was allergic
to bee stings, so I was gently pushed into Lepidoptera by my major professor.
I went from ecology to systematics when I discovered that the diversity of
neotropical moth fauna was practically unknown." - Alma
Solis
- "I love entomology. I am committed to all my work related to my
profession, making sure to always work hard and make entomology a priority." -
Gadi Reddy
7. Step outside entomology
- "Nurture your non-scientific interests. Many entomologists have interests
outside of their specialty areas. Continue to develop and enjoy thoseЧthey
feed your soul, keep you sane, and make you a more well-rounded, interesting
individual." - Carol Anelli
- "Practice explaining your research (or another scientific concept) to
people outside of your field, all the time. I make it a point to try different
analogies, different order of ideas, different assumptions about starting
points of knowledge in the person I'm talking to. Observe the reactions. I've
had reactions ranging from boredom to disgust to fascination. Obviously, I
prefer fascination and work to get that result nine times out of 10. Honing
the craft of communication allows you to write better papers, apply for better
grants, impact more of society, and spread the good word about insects." -
Phil Torres
- "Take every opportunity to learn something you don't know so that you
understand all of the moving parts of whatever organization you are working
with. This nearly always is the hardest thing to do, but very quickly you
become "the go-to person for logistics,Ф which makes you indispensable and
helps grow your responsibilities. So long as you can manage, always say yes to
opportunities when they present themselves, especially those that offer you
access to network with people outside of your immediate department. Some may
not seem very important in terms of their scope, but they often serve as a
pathway to other greater opportunities later and in directions you never
expected." - Floyd Shockley
8. Stay organized and pay attention to details
- "Pay attention to details. Learn to criticize your own work, always
looking for improvement and giving attention to the small things, especially
in writing and presentation. Be meticulous." - Marlin
Rice
- "Time management is critical, and developing a method of keeping track of
appointments is key, especially if you are heavily overprogrammed or
understaffed. It doesn't really matter if you do this electronically (I live
and die by my Outlook calendar) or via a paper calendar. But keeping your time
organized is critical to success." - Floyd Shockley
- "Create project calendars with intermediate goals 'with good to achieve by
date' and 'drop-dead' deadlines. In a constant quest to stay on top of work
and home demands, I create project calendars (typically sketched out by hand)
that, in a glance, can help me keep projects on track or recognize when they
are off track. These are especially important for me when working with
colleagues so I get my deliverables delivered! (And rewarding yourself with a
small treat when you hit a 'good to achieve by' date is positive
reinforcement.)" - Susan Weller
9. Get outside your comfort zone
- "Getting outside your comfort zone is hard for introverted people like me,
and I had to make an effort to become more extroverted when I entered graduate
school. The gradual change began with the support of my major professor, who
first encouraged me to give talks at ESA Eastern Branch meetings, then at ESA
Annual meetings. Many years later when I became Research Leader of the
Systematic Entomology Laboratory, I could quickly gauge interests and become a
chameleon at will. I could interact with different groups of people and
organizations as needed." - Alma Solis
- "ESA has a plethora of opportunities where you can serve, which allows you
to return back something to your fellow entomologists. Committee membership,
student competition judging, and volunteering at annual or branch meetings are
great ways to meet others and develop leadership and teamwork skills.
Volunteering introduces you to others outside your universe, many of whom will
become lifelong acquaintances, and often friends. We are, all of us, like
bees. Success is sweeter when we work together." - Marlin
Rice
10. Harness the power of social media
- "Tweet, blog, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Tumblr Е Use these! Often. It
is hard to pinpoint exactly how social media has helped my career, but in just
the last 24 hours I've had a turtle ID'd, a publication process explained, and
seen important discussions happen about issues like equality in academia.
Those interactions add up and help shape your professional community, and
therefore your career." - Phil Torres
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Phil Torres
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