ecrLife

Getting to know our editorial team: Owen Ouyang Owen is our newest ecrLife editor! He brings in a lot of enthusiasm and new ideas that will help ECRs along their journey. Welcome to the team, Owen!

Owen Ouyang is our newest editor at ecrLife! Read about his experiences organizing seminars and his views on mentorship in academia here:
tinyurl.com/buk8p4k7

We are all looking forward to working with you, Owen!

Combating Ageism in the Workplace: Tips and Resources Combating Ageism in the Workplace: Discover tips and resources to fight bias, foster inclusivity, and create an age-diverse work environment.

Ageism in the workplace unfairly limits career opportunities. Combating ageism helps us better leverage the combined ideas and experiences of all our colleagues on our way to success. Read more about ageism in this post recommended by our readers:
www.websiteplanet.com/blog/guide-t...

How to overcome your “academic midlife crisis” (Part 3 – Reshaping your skill sets to fit your career path(s)) Finding the perfect job after your PhD is not straightforward, but doing it takes experience. You might need to look at different fields, and your goals could change over time. In part 3 of her academ...

You finished your post-PhD introspection and have decided your path. This is only the start of a new adventure, as your future goals may change. @haeltermannele.bsky.social shares ideas on how to tackle these new challenges and continue to develop necessary skills.
ecrlife.org/overcoming-a...

Why desk rejections happen and how young researchers can avoid them: practical lessons from experience Publishing our work is a critical part of an ECR’s journey. Papers are not always sent out for revision, and it can be discouraging for ECRs to face desk rejections. Here, Taddese Zerfu shares his ins...

ECRs strive to see their work published. It can be discouraging to see the product of our hard work rejected without review. In our latest ecrLife post, Dr. Taddese Zerfu explains why desk rejections happen and how we can avoid them.
ecrlife.org/why-desk-rej...

Reaching Out to Senior Scientists: A Step Worth Taking When we start out as early career researchers, we often hesitate to reach out to senior scientists. However, they are often excited to help young scientists. Here, Owen Ouyang discusses how mentorship...

Academia is built on collaboration and mentorship. However, as ECRs, we tend to hesitate to reach out to our seniors. In our latest ecrLife post, @owenouyang.bsky.social encourages young scientists to give it a try, since many seniors are happy to write back and provide advice.
tinyurl.com/35u7hw5h

Zigs Can Zag with Purpose: Finding My Calling in Science Academic careers are full of surprises. Every step brings new questions that might involve navigating diverse fields. Here, Jonathan Tsay tells us how exploring multiple fields led him to the position...

Academic careers are full of surprises. Following our drive to learn, we can end up learning skills we may not have previously considered. In our latest ecrLife post, @tsay.bsky.social shares how he explored multiple fields and combines their skill sets in his current position:
tinyurl.com/bdfzy3yj

The end of a PhD comes with important decisions. Are we convinced by our current career path, or should we explore other options? In her series of ecrLife blog posts, Nele Haelterman explores how to face this “academic midlife crisis”:
Part 1: tinyurl.com/bdzkp8x6
Part 2: tinyurl.com/mv6jvd72

Are you an Early Career Researcher with something to say about any topic related to life in academia? Our blog, ecrLife, aims to publish just that: the voices and opinions of ECRs about life in academia. We are currently looking for new blog pitches and editors!
Pitch us: ecrlife.org/contact/