Feelings of insecurity in research have many triggers: when the remaining funding period ticks below a year; an argument with the boss; being scooped on a paper; a fellowship rejection. But feeling insecure can be even more damaging than job precarity itself. What does that chronic, pervasive, nagging doubt do to our research and to us? And how can we manage it better? The answer to both questions is ‘much more than we think’! (1) What makes us feel insecure? “It’s fixed-term contracts, of course” We often blame fixed-term contracts but it’s not that simple. They are a double-edged sword. For the first two years of my PhD, my main concerns were definitely not how to find a postdoc at the end. That seemed so far away and anything might happen first. First, I had to get my experiments to work and figure out how to write a thesis and hopefully a paper. The final year was different – dealing with a thesis, paper and job hunting all at the same time is hard. With a postdoc finally secured, I could breathe again, only for the same worries to resurface a few years later. This cycle repeated several more times with fewer positions suited to my increasingly specialised interests at each stage. What we often forget in academia, however, is that the early stages of a fixed term contract have more security than most jobs. Companies can – and do - close sites and let all staff go with little notice, regardless of anyone’s personal effectiveness. In contrast, at the start of a three-year research grant, most funders are legally locked into funding it for the duration. How to pay is their worry, not yours. And tenure, ironically, is the opposite extreme. From a security point of view it is unmatchable and game changing. It does, however, bring its own issues to be discussed in subsequent posts. Personal circumstances Security is not a ‘one size fits all’ thing. If you are free to relocate anywhere in the country, or world, you have more options than those tied to one place. A supportive family with the means to back you helps enormously even if it is never needed, as can a willingness to switch research topics or consider a period in industry before moving back to academia (I know many who have done this). If you need a job to meet visa requirements it can be particularly hard. With so many variables the trigger point for feeling insecure is different for everyone, a point that PIs and universities must never forget. Limiting beliefs We all have physical and mental limits. But the limits we believe we have are almost always wrong. Even if we can’t do something today, it doesn’t mean we can’t get there, or at least part way, with growth mindset and commitment. These are called limiting beliefs. Henry Ford’s alleged quote is as true in research as anywhere and I’ve seen it play out in many people: “Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right!”. Almost every PhD student asks themselves one question: “Am I good enough?”. It’s never long before the first failed experiment fuels confirmation bias for any doubts they have. A surrounding culture negativity doesn’t help. Tell a group of 10-20 students that only 5-10% become tenured PIs and every single one looks around the room asking whether it will be them. This is such a dangerous and unscientific way of thinking because it could be every one of them. The world has many more than 20 PI posts! This statistic sets up a classic scarcity trap. It changes behaviour to self-destructive ways of working, erecting the biggest single barrier to a successful outcome: our own mindset. “I’m not good enough” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, leading to fear of failure, overworking, overwhelm, burnout, loss of confidence and any sense of agency. It is not unusual also to unconsciously fear success. Promotion often brings challenging new responsibilities requiring a period of new learning. It is a classic trigger for imposter syndrome. Many forms of unconscious self-sabotage will block our success if we let them. (2) What feeling insecure does to us The impact on our science Feeling insecure is more than a self-fulfilling prophecy. Most insidiously, it affects our research. Our job is to challenge the status quo and explore new areas, but this feels less secure than sticking to well-trodden ground. Even many funders are cautious about taking risks, so grant committees often have a reputation for being more conservative than optimal. When we write a grant application, do we write the project we have a burning interest to pursue, convinced it will lead somewhere useful, or do we write the one we think is most likely to get funded? Sadly, these are often not the same. The impact on our workload Insecurity is a powerful driver of overwhelm. Research, by its nature, is uncertain. Nobody knows for sure which projects will succeed, however much some give the impression they do. So we often dilute ourselves following not only a sensible Plan B but also Plans C to H. This may be a useful strategy in the early stages of a post, until we figure out which direction has most mileage, but as this becomes clearer we need the courage to drop some projects and focus on an achievable few. That is particularly hard to do if we feel our future is still uncertain. The impact on our lives The personal cost of insecurity can also be very high unless we find ways to manage it. Steven Bartlett lists our job as one of ten things less important than our mental health, a view I strongly endorse. And physical health often follows where mental health leads. Managing the emotions around insecurity and self-doubt is one of the most important skills for any early career researcher. And crucially every single one of us can learn to do it. (3) Managing the feeling of insecurity Dealing with adversity Nobody escapes rejections. This includes world-changing, Nobel-Prize winning researchers and all of us, whether we continue in academic research or not. But it’s not the rejection that does the real damage. It’s how we deal with it. If we let it feed those limiting beliefs, a rejection will reinforce our insecurity and all its damaging effects. The moment we read “We regret to inform you…” our ‘not-good-enough’ beliefs go into overdrive, even if we thought we'd already dealt with them. We carefully ignore all the contrary evidence of our previous results, job offers, papers, positive feedback from others, and other indicators of success, together with the unquestionable role of luck. There’s more to security than our job It’s important to ask what is the worst possible consequence even if research is not what we are best suited for. If we have friends and family who love us, who will always have our back whatever any journal or interview panel decides, how much do those rejections really matter? If we build and protect those relationships in our private lives, it massively defuses feelings of workplace insecurity. By countering those self-destructive feelings, we actually raise the likelihood of us becoming more secure. It also helps if we can open up about our insecurity inside the workplace with people who have experienced similar things. We may be surprised how many others share our concerns. “If you believe you can…” Henry Ford wasn’t quite right. Belief alone does not guarantee success because there are always factors beyond our control, but it certainly gives us the best chance. Eliud Kipchoge, the first, and so far only person to run a Marathon in under two hours said between his first, unsuccessful attempt and his second, successful one: “Some people believe it is impossible…. I respect their views, but they should respect mine.” Had he not believed it was possible, he would not have trained so hard, would not have tried a second time and not have attended to every other detail that really did make it possible. “Who sets the limits anyway?” he asks. Too often it is us, and we constantly set them lower than they truly are. Is it even the right question? Einstein said that science was more about asking the right questions than being good at finding the answers. So is “Am I good enough?” even the right question? An alternative is to ask “Do I want this career, with all its ups and downs?”. And: “How far am I prepared to go to get it?”. For some the answer is “No” and that’s fine. It doesn’t mean you can’t, it means you choose not to. But if your answer, after considering all the rewards and challenges, is “Yes”, commit to it both rationally and emotionally, be prepared to learn new skills plus a few painful lessons, and don’t listen to anyone who says you can’t. Not even yourself!
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12/27/2024 11:38:31 pm
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AuthorProfessor Michael Coleman (University of Cambridge) Neuroscientist and Academic Coach: discovering stuff and improving research culture Archives
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