Do not talk about things you are reviewing!

This post is again inspired by science Twitter.  A full professor and HHMI investigator at the Rockefeller University, tweeted, “Why does every PhD applicant start their essay with 'since I was young, I have been curious.'” 

Some students (and professors) saw this as mocking young people at a fragile early stage in their careers who are trying their best to answer a vague essay question.  Even worse, they saw this as using her platform as a famous professor to punch down at those from underprivileged backgrounds who may not be savvy as to what academic admissions committees are looking for.  She received tweets and commentary attacking her personally as well as saying she must be a terrible mentor.  She has since apologized, and the apology seems to have been well received by the science Twitter community. 

I certainly would accept her apology, but there’s a really important lesson to be learned from this for all of us professors.   

DO NOT publicly disparage anything you are reviewing/judging.  Even if it’s vague and anonymized, as the tweet above was, you still can’t do it.  The students who started their essays this way are clearly going to feel like idiots if they see the tweet.  Same goes for things you’re grading for classes.  Same goes for grants you’re reviewing for the NIH.  Do not talk about them at all, especially not in a public forum.  In the case of your classes and the NIH, it’s not only unethical, but you will get yourself into potentially serious trouble. 

If you can’t help yourself and feel that you must say something, then say how great the applications are.  I’m currently up for a grant from a foundation, and I saw that one of the reviewers of these grants tweeted about how inspiring the applications were this year.  That made me feel great even though I don’t know if he was actually talking about me. 

If you must criticize, think of a better way to do it. Post a list of tips for improving essays/applications/grants/etc .  Make a list of advice for making your essay stand out.  Do something that is actually helpful! 

Do I need a CNS paper to get a faculty job?

There’s a lively exchange occurring among scientists on Twitter right now regarding the advice that you need a Cell, Nature, or Science (CNS) paper in order to land a faculty job. 

There are lots of well-established professors chiming in that they didn’t have a CNS paper when they were hired, and that they don’t require CNS papers when judging job applicants. 

That’s all well and good, but I find their statements somewhat disingenuous, possibly outdated, and somewhat misleading for postdocs who want to continue in academia. In order to get a faculty job, you must have a strong publication record in respected journals.  This is the spirit of the CNS advice.  There is no way around it.  This is an absolute requirement, though the CNS advice certainly does not need to be taken literally.  The person with five PLOS Genetics papers is perhaps even more likely to get a faculty job than the person with one Cell paper. 

So where does the perception of the CNS requirement come from?  Everyone wants to work at Harvard, Rockefeller, Stanford, etc.  These places get hundreds of applicants for every position.  They generally hire people who not only have one fancy paper, but a history of multiple fancy papers at each stage of training.  These are the superstars getting hired at superstar institutions.  These are the most notable hires in the country, the ones people are talking about, the ones who are giving invited talks at conferences in their first year as a PI, the ones who get the early career awards from the scientific societies, the ones who get the NIH Director’s/Pew/Searle/BWF/HHMI grants.  When these are the only faculty hires we pay attention to, of course it seems like you need to have a CNS paper to get a job.

But!  There exists a world of top notch science outside of Harvard, Stanford, Rockefeller, and the like!  That person with the 5 PLOS Genetics papers we talked about earlier – they get hired at State U, do great science with great students, are equally successful with NIH grants, often have even more resources and collaborators, have a less stressful environment with lighter salary recovery and tenure requirements, and ultimately have fulfilling careers.   

So if you want a more balanced picture of what is required to get a faculty job (not necessarily the “dream” faculty job), then expand your analyses to include the CVs of people hired at multiple different types of institutions.