{"id":4783,"date":"2015-11-11T20:36:06","date_gmt":"2015-11-11T19:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/athenedonald\/?p=4783"},"modified":"2015-11-11T20:36:06","modified_gmt":"2015-11-11T19:36:06","slug":"choosing-your-path-seizing-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/athenedonald\/2015\/11\/11\/choosing-your-path-seizing-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Choosing your Path, Seizing Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"

I gave a talk today with this title at the Institute of Physics\u2019 Careers Day \u2018Taking Control of Your Career as a Female Physicist<\/em>\u2019. What I said is relevant to anyone setting out regardless of gender and, I suspect, regardless of discipline. They are, I believe, home truths from which most of us can benefit. Although women (and other minorities) may face more substantial obstacles than men simply by virtue of being present in small numbers in physics, often feeling isolated and unsupported, the basic \u2018rules\u2019 for what you need to do to take control are pretty generic. In writing my talk I came up with a list of ten such rules. There are no doubt more and the whole issue could be tackled in many directions. But, for what it\u2019s worth, here are my golden ten.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Don\u2019t be passive: Ask questions of yourself and others.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you don\u2019t know what you want to do next it\u2019s important to try and work it out. Sitting around waiting for a bolt from the blue to reveal all is not a good strategy so it is wise to start by asking others the questions that are bubbling away inside. Ask anyone and everyone (and particularly those just a little bit ahead of you) about what they do and what skills they need to do it. Ask the careers service for advice. Ask your supervisors and those around you what your strengths and weaknesses are. All this will help you build up a picture of what might<\/u> be the next step you want to take.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Don\u2019t be passive: Don\u2019t sit and wait for things to happen.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      There\u2019s no point just waiting for that next step magically to happen, for someone to tap you on the shoulder. You have to keep an eye out for the opportunities. You<\/u> do. Not your supervisor, your best friend or the head of department. Perhaps one of them will come up trumps and draw a good opportunity to your attention \u2013 if so you\u2019re lucky. But it doesn\u2019t always happen that way and the more proactive you are the more you can make things go the way you want. Even if the first thing you do isn\u2019t your ultimate goal it may help you in the right direction and alert others to what it is you\u2019re trying to do next.<\/p>\n

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      1. Seize opportunities.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        And if someone does draw something to your attention you then have to be willing to give it a go. You may feel it\u2019s risky but could help you on your way. If you turn it down you\u2019ll never find out. (Of course sometimes it may be risky and irrelevant, in which case you\u2019d be right to turn it down). But doing something that isn\u2019t quite what you want but could take you nearer your goal has to be wise. If you feel it will stretch you \u2013 that\u2019s healthy. If you only do things that are obvious and easy you are not going to progress very far.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Don\u2019t assume you\u2019re stupid just because things are tough.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          On the other hand, if you do things that stretch you it will feel difficult. You may know, indeed are likely to know, less than those around you when you first start a new role. This is natural. It does not mean you\u2019re stupid. Stretching is all about learning new skills (and knowledge) and it is inevitable that it will take you a while to master these. It is far too easy to fall into the trap of thinking because you aren\u2019t as good at something as others around you, that somehow you\u2019re a fool. Wait a while and you\u2019ll find you improve. Maybe soon it will be you helping the next newcomer and trying to support them.<\/p>\n

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          1. Don\u2019t assume other people are \u2018better\u2019 than you because they act confident.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Some people\u2019s way of coping with difficulties and novelty is bluster. They cannot lose face by admitting they haven\u2019t a clue what\u2019s going on and so they look ultra-confident. If you yourself are shaking in your shoes, this can be very dispiriting. However, a loud voice does not mean the content is right; answering a reasonable question by raising eyebrows and looking shocked that you don\u2019t know the answer already is almost always a sign of someone who doesn\u2019t know the answer either but isn\u2019t prepared to let on.<\/p>\n

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            1. Networking is not a dirty word.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Somehow people seem to associate networking with sucking up to people. Maybe some people use it like this, but I see it as little more than taking an interest in the people you meet. If sometime later you can be useful to them or they vice versa<\/em>, so much the better. Talking to your peers may be illuminating in the present and provide you with names of people to invite to conferences\/give seminars etc in the future. So, when faced with a roomful of people you don\u2019t know (as at a conference) take your courage in your hands, introduce yourself and see where it takes you. The worst that can happen is that the conversation goes nowhere.<\/p>\n

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              1. Failure in one situation does not mean YOU are a failure<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                As with rule 4, if you are pushing yourself to try out new things it is likely that sometimes you will fail. Failure is not unusual nor is it a sign that you will always fail. The author Samuel Beckett said \u2018Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.<\/em>\u2019 In science failure is a necessary staging post in the development of new ideas. The important thing is to learn from failure and do something that gets nearer the truth. In the wider world, this is equally true. Do not give up at the first setback, but learn from it and try to get nearer the right answer next time.<\/p>\n

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                1. What matters is not failure itself, but how you cope with it.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  And that leads directly into my next rule. If you give up at the first hurdle you will never get to where you want to be. Failing is always unpleasant, but so is not getting to where you\u2019re aiming. So, it is worth picking yourself up and either trying again or finding an alternative route to your goal. Despairing, assuming you\u2019re rubbish is simply self-destructive. It takes courage to keep going, of course it does, but you have to convince yourself the goal is worth the effort of dusting yourself down and trying again.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Always be true to yourself.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    People, blogs (like this one) are liable to give advice. You\u2019re entitled to pick and choose what bits to follow and to reject things that don\u2019t fit who you are. In particular, if someone tries really hard to convince you to do something your inner self says is not right, ignore them. Ultimately you have to be the judge of what would work for you. If you feel you\u2019re forcing your round self into a square hole you are likely to be right. Seek further advice, keep working on what you\u2019re told until you feel comfortable. This is as true if someone says be loud and extrovert when you know you\u2019re an introvert, as when they try to convince you that you really do want to take up that position in Alaska.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. Rule 10 Don\u2019t kid yourself luck doesn\u2019t have a role to play.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      It\u2019s always easy to assume everyone else got where they did solely on merit and it\u2019s only you who has succeeded because of a bit of luck. That\u2019s rubbish. Most people will have been affected by luck at some critical juncture (just as they will also have been set back by bad timing, ill health or some other kind of misfortune). You may \u2018make your own luck\u2019 as they say \u2013 and I would agree, particularly if you start networking, seizing opportunities and being willing to be proactive about looking for opportunities \u2013 but for just about everyone at some point chance will have contributed to their progression. Just because luck has played a part doesn\u2019t mean that merit hasn\u2019t too.<\/p>\n

                      I hope the early career physicists who heard me illustrate these rules by my own examples this week felt reassured. Life is uncertain and frequently does not go according to plan. But you have to live with the hand you\u2019re dealt with and get on with it. Good luck!<\/p>\n

                       <\/p>\n

                       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      I gave a talk today with this title at the Institute of Physics\u2019 Careers Day \u2018Taking Control of Your Career as a Female Physicist\u2019. What I said is relevant to anyone setting out regardless of gender and, I suspect, regardless … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,5],"tags":[990,989,991],"class_list":["post-4783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-careers","category-science-culture","tag-failure","tag-opportunities","tag-resilience"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/athenedonald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/athenedonald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/athenedonald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/athenedonald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/athenedonald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/athenedonald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4783\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/athenedonald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/athenedonald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occamstypewriter.org\/athenedonald\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}