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How to overcome your academic midlife crisis (Part 1 – navigating your feelings and establishing your goals)

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How to overcome your academic midlife crisis (Part 1 – navigating your feelings and establishing your goals)

Academic training takes many twists and turns, and, over time, our passions and goals may evolve. This can be confusing, but it offers an opportunity to reflect upon what brings us joy. Here, Nele Haelterman shares how she faced this uncertainty and came out with a clearer view of her path forward.

6 Mar 2025 • 5 min read

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How to overcome your academic midlife crisis (Part 1 – navigating your feelings and establishing your goals)

How to overcome your academic midlife crisis (Part 1 – navigating your feelings and establishing your goals)

Academic training takes many twists and turns, and, over time, our passions and goals may evolve. This can be confusing, but it offers an opportunity to reflect upon what brings us joy. Here, Nele Haelterman shares how she faced this uncertainty and came out with a clearer view of her path forward.

Nele Haelterman

6 Mar 2025 • 5 min read

How to overcome writer’s block to share your ideas

How to overcome writer’s block to share your ideas

Writing plays a central role in the life of Early Career Researchers. It might seem daunting at first, but with time it becomes easier and even fun! Here, Angel shares some tips on how to set yourself up for success when writing.

30 Jan 2025 • 4 min read

Overcoming hardships for internationals in academia

Overcoming hardships for internationals in academia

Doing research abroad is a dream for many scientists. However, the road is not always smooth: it takes time to master the social and bureaucratic aspects. Here, Yseult, Ankita, and Ruchika explain some of these challenges and how to help our international colleagues feel at home.

Multiple authors

14 Mar 2024 • 5 min read

Things I wish I knew before entering the Academic Job Market

Things I wish I knew before entering the Academic Job Market

Looking for a job in academia can be a daunting task. Here, Meike van der Heijden talks about the highs and lows of her adventure looking for a job, as well as lessons she learnt at each stage of the process.

Meike van der Heijden

5 Oct 2023 • 11 min read

Let’s get rid of confidential ‘reference letters’ in academia — a tool misused by abusive supervisors

Let’s get rid of confidential ‘reference letters’ in academia — a tool misused by abusive supervisors

Reference letters hold a lot of power over an academic's career path and can make an ECR's life miserable if they are stuck in an abusive lab. Here, eLife community ambassadors Ruchika, Rio, and Suhaila advocate for alternative ways to get to know an applicant.

Multiple authors

14 Sep 2023 • 6 min read

Towards an increased awareness on the importance of Computational Reproducibility in Biological Sciences in Latin America

Towards an increased awareness on the importance of Computational Reproducibility in Biological Sciences in Latin America

Collaboration helps push science forward. However, its power depends on us sharing workflows, reagents, and results that our colleagues can reproduce. Here, a team of ECRs share how they came together with the mission of making science more reproducible and their upcoming projects.

Reprodutibilidade Computacional Bio

31 Aug 2023 • 7 min read

My Successful Mentoring Experiment

My Successful Mentoring Experiment

Throughout our scientific training process, many of us find ourselves asking if we have what it takes to become a successful mentor. In this blog post, Ruchika Bajaj shares her experience with designing a mentoring experiment to test the hypothesis that she can, and will be a great mentor.

3 Aug 2023 • 6 min read

From Lone Wolf to Pack Power: Empowering Early-Career Researchers through Scientific Communities

From Lone Wolf to Pack Power: Empowering Early-Career Researchers through Scientific Communities

Life as a scientist comes with many personal and professional challenges. Thankfully, we do not need to face them alone, as there are many others like us out there. In this post, Yu-Fang Yang shares how she found the best communities for her and how being together lifts everyone up.

14 Jul 2023 • 6 min read

Academic unions - Rectifying myths based on frontline experiences

Academic unions - Rectifying myths based on frontline experiences

Early Career Scientists often find themselves in vulnerable situations, so it's important to put systems in place for their voices to be heard. Danny Doucette explains how academic unions provide such a platform, but also how unionization is at times hindered by bureaucracy or lack of confidence.

1 May 2023 • 5 min read

Baby steps toward uprooting toxicity from academia

Baby steps toward uprooting toxicity from academia

Passion for science leads ECRs to embark on the adventure of graduate studies. However, this passion is sometimes met with unfair obstacles and biases that hinder their career paths. Here, we discuss how we can all contribute to making academia a welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Multiple authors

9 Feb 2023 • 6 min read

The Many Languages of Science

The Many Languages of Science

There are more than 7000 languages in the world. So how do you make sure science communication, which typically happens in English, is accessible to everyone? In this blog post, Kanika Khanna tells us how to engage in and feel comfortable talking about science in a non-English language.

10 Nov 2022 • 4 min read

Learning how to change the research environment as an eLife Community Ambassador

Learning how to change the research environment as an eLife Community Ambassador

Research can be incredibly rewarding, but there are a lot of hurdles along the way. Some of these relate to our environments and are difficult to overcome. In this post, Maria Sol Ruiz and Nalaka Wijekoon explain how to take matters into our own hands and step up to induce global change.

ecrLife editors

4 Oct 2022 • 7 min read

Why and how to convince lab members to preprint

Why and how to convince lab members to preprint

28 Apr 2022 • 4 min read

Getting to know our editorial team: Angel Cisneros

Getting to know our editorial team: Angel Cisneros

ecrLife editors

14 Apr 2022 • 5 min read

Building a Technology-Savvy Workforce to Drive the Future of Research

Building a Technology-Savvy Workforce to Drive the Future of Research

Adriana Bankston

17 Feb 2022 • 5 min read

Paying it forward: bringing innovation to academic funding

Paying it forward: bringing innovation to academic funding

10 Feb 2022 • 5 min read

How to avoid overcommitting in grad school

How to avoid overcommitting in grad school

The drive to publish is a strong motivator for scientists to spend late nights and weekends in the lab. While long hours may initially pay off, the lack of time for self-care and rest quickly make you less focused and productive. Find out how to keep a healthy balance in our latest blog post.

Karishma Gangwani, Aishwarya Kothari

3 Feb 2022 • 5 min read

How to get what you want out of graduate school: lessons from the business world

How to get what you want out of graduate school: lessons from the business world

Academic training teaches ECRs how to design, run, and analyze experiments, but often overlooks soft skills such as interpersonal and organizational skills. In this blog post, Rachel Meade shows you how to develop these skills and become a more well-rounded scientist.

13 Jan 2022 • 6 min read

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