Our top essays by scientists in 2021
When I emailed Phil De Luna in March to ask whether he was OK with titling the essay he’d written for Science “After falling in love, I reimagined my career path—for the better,” I wasn’t sure how he’d react to the “love” part. But I needn’t have worried. “That’s absolutely fine with me,” he responded. “I’ve always been a hopeless romantic so that’s pretty on brand.”
Mixing the personal and the professional is also on brand for our Working Life series, weekly essays that shine a spotlight on challenges scientists face as they pursue their careers. As the year draws to a close, we look back at the most popular stories, which feature a department in peril, a nod to Lady Gaga, authorship issues, and more.
Here—in the order they were published—are the most read Working Life essays of 2021.
When I encountered language barriers in my career, here’s how I broke through
Saman Razavi advised nonnative speakers to communicate in writing and be candid with colleagues.
My university plans to terminate my department. We’re trying to save it
Paul Bierman learned the hard way that tenure isn’t a guarantee of stability.
When my mom got sick, I felt torn between work and family. I wish I’d handled it differently
Julia Gala de Pablo was wrapping up her Ph.D. when her mother was diagnosed with cancer.
One mentor isn’t enough. Here’s how I built a network of mentors
Erika Moore shared four strategies she employed to seek out mentorship.
As a Ph.D. student, sharing my perspective on social media felt scary—but it’s worth it
Suhas Eswarappa Prameela wrote that “We are all stronger if we authentically share and connect with one another.”
To choose a career, I needed to do more than ‘follow my dream’
Practical advice helped Ananya Sen figure out her post-Ph.D. direction.
I bombed the GRE—but I’m thriving as a Ph.D. student
Natalia Aristizábal argued that grad schools need to see beyond standardized tests.
I thought I wanted to be a professor. Then, I served on a hiring committee
Paul Abel took his career in an unexpected direction after weighing the realities of pursuing an academic career path.
Thoughts of work invaded my life—until I learned how to unplug
“My habitual email checking was key to my problem,” Eric Wengert observed.
My Ph.D. advisers expected weekly progress reports. I’m glad they did
Email updates helped Pijar Religia build the chapters of her dissertation.
Other notable essays
How I transformed myself into a confident presenter—thanks to Lady Gaga
After falling in love, I reimagined my career path—for the better
Two surnames, no hyphen: Claiming my identity as a Latin American scientist
Don’t make early career researchers ‘ghost authors.’ Give us the credit we deserve
If academia better supported women scientists like me, I may have opted to stay
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