Research Projects, Collaborations and Career Aspects — Evening Discussion Summary

摘要

Do I need to be a genius to become a good scientist? How can I collect the experience I need to do research? What do I do if I made a mistake? How can I find a useful research project? How do I know that it is of good international scientific standard? How can I judge that it can be realistically carried out? How can I structure it? Should I collaborate? Who should I collaborate with? Who do I better avoid? How far can I be guided by others? How do I know whose opinions to trust? When should I be sceptical about what other scientists say? How can I plan my career? Can I plan it at all? What do I need to take into account if I am determined to work as an astronomer for the rest of my life? All these questions (and more) are of concern for the young scientist trying to find her/his place in the astronomical community. While there is no standard solution for any of these problems, I would like to present some basic helpful ideas and concepts that were mentioned during this evening discussion.