A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
- Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
I was thinking about what are the skills a scientist should have. What do you think a grad student should know at the end, after they finish their PhD?
- Technical skills - mathematics, programming/numerics, lab techniques, etc
- Writing - ability to write good scientific papers that are clear, concise, and well-motivated
- Presentations - ability to write good presentations and deliver them well, this is closely related to writing
- Comprehension - ability to distill the important ideas from a paper or presentation, ability to tell the difference between crappy research and good research
- Process - (advanced) ability to come up with concrete ways/experiments to answer questions, ability to overcome deadends in research, ability to stay organized, keep good records, and manage other people
- Community - talking to people including those outside your field, attending seminars/conferences, convincing people your research is important, building a network of trusted friends who you can turn to for feedback and support
- Creativity - ability to understand the difference between good and bad ideas/questions, (advanced) ability to come up with interesting questions that are soluble
- Resilience - ability to stay positive and motivated even when the research isn't going very well
I am by no means an expert on this subject.
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