Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Our brutal science system almost cost us a pioneer of mRNA vaccines

wbur.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

241–250 of 293 posts

Re: Our brutal science system almost cost us a pioneer of mRNA vaccines

#241

Post by loup-vaillant »

throwaway_gerts wrote: post #231
jacksonkmarley wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to dunk on you with really obvious suggestions like "you have a bad resume, fix it" type comments, maybe you've already had it looked over, and you're in a non-optimal location or something. Maybe ask a few specific questions on reddit somewhere like r/cscareerquestions.

I've been wracking my brain for years over this, and I'm still not any closer to understanding what the problem is. I've had my resume looked at and tweaked over and over. I never send a cover letter without having someone else proofread and offer suggestions. I've lived and worked in many tech-hub places, including San Francisco for 6 years. I just don't know... I think it's got to be socially related, but I have a…

> I think it's got to be socially related, but I have a hard time examining that aspect because I'm autistic.

There you have it. It's brutally unfair, but autism, if strong enough to be perceivable, sounds like the most likely cause: you're different, and people don't like you because of it.

Even worse, I believe that people on the autism spectrum don't even perceive they're different. I personally have no idea whether I'm on that spectrum, or how far. Still: my own Mom once stated the "obvious": that I must notice that I'm not like others. I had to tell her that I don't. At 35.

So. People perceive you're different. It's obvious enough that they expect you to perceive that difference, even though you may not. So when you fail to conform to the obscure (to you) group norm, they end up rejecting you. Perhaps even rationalising that you're doing it on purpose (remember, the difference is obvious to them). Then you're out of the group.

---

There may be other factors as well. Folks tend to be kinder, more forgiving, of pretty people, so if you can improve that in any way, try to do so (one habit at a time though, take it easy). The easiest thing to go for, I think, is clothing: try having someone you trust chose your clothes for you. Pay explicit attention to the dress code at your workplace, emulate it a little (but don't buy the exact same clothes either!). Also consider light makeup if you're a woman (and maybe get counsel about that too).

Much harder is taking good care of your health. If you're fat, unfit, or otherwise unhealthy, try to work on that. Sleeping well, eating well, and exercising properly is surprisingly hard when you're not used to it, but it's a must.

---

Edit: also consider telling your colleagues about your autism. I expect it's not easy, and it may not even be a good idea, but there's a chance that people knew why you are the way you are, they'd tolerate it better.

Re: Our brutal science system almost cost us a pioneer of mRNA vaccines

#242

Post by 2sk21 »

leoh wrote: post #158

Avery Oswald died without winning the Nobel, in spite of proving that DNA is the hereditary material (it was thought that amino acids were at the time). Many held him back including his own supervisors. Science is sometimes shit.

Yes, this is a very sad story and here is a passage from Siddhartha Mukherjee's wonderful book "The Gene"

...Avery was still denied the Nobel Prize because Einar Hammarsten, the influential Swedish chemist, refused to believe that DNA could carry genetic material...

Re: Our brutal science system almost cost us a pioneer of mRNA vaccines

#243

Post by jacksonkmarley »

throwaway_gerts wrote: post #231
jacksonkmarley wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't want to dunk on you with really obvious suggestions like "you have a bad resume, fix it" type comments, maybe you've already had it looked over, and you're in a non-optimal location or something. Maybe ask a few specific questions on reddit somewhere like r/cscareerquestions.

I've been wracking my brain for years over this, and I'm still not any closer to understanding what the problem is. I've had my resume looked at and tweaked over and over. I never send a cover letter without having someone else proofread and offer suggestions. I've lived and worked in many tech-hub places, including San Francisco for 6 years. I just don't know... I think it's got to be socially related, but I have a…

(edit: oops sorry I didn't properly parse the bit about being autistic on first read. I won't delete my suggestions in case they are useful in some way)

Well the coworker stuff is a separate issue because recruiters don't usually know you, probably you need to address the two issues separately.

As for improving your interactions with coworkers, I'll just throw a few ideas because who knows, maybe the answer will come from a random source like me:

- read 'How to win friends and influence people', maybe some stuff by Mark Manson.

- Try to learn from your successful relationships what you're good at/comfortable with

- Actively choose the environment you aim work in to fit your social strengths e.g. team size, people types. ( This one depends a bit on solving the jobsearch issues first )

Re: Our brutal science system almost cost us a pioneer of mRNA vaccines

#244

Post by panic »

raziel2701 wrote: post #63
odyssey7 wrote: post #56

Is it counterproductive that we expect researchers to work in universities and become professors? It seems like there should be more outlets for the calling. Our universities are proving to be a bottleneck. I see how there is an often-natural relationship between cultivating knowledge and disseminating it to students. However, we need and have more prospective researchers than universities are willing or able to supp…

That's been a question I have no answer to: What do we do with all these smart people? Currently most just go inside hierarchical workplaces where they have to learn to play office politics and carry out meaningless job functions in exchange for financial security. We don't have a Bell labs anymore, science is getting more expensive and most of the venture capital money goes to software rather than to the more capita…

> What do we do with all these smart people?

Every community (families, neighbors, fandoms, friends, online chatrooms, religious groups, video game guilds...) has needs. What if smart people helped attend to the needs of the communities they're a part of rather than trying to solve the entire world's problems in a uniform way?

Re: Our brutal science system almost cost us a pioneer of mRNA vaccines

#245

Post by cornel_io »

throwaway_gerts wrote: post #223
stocknoob wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This may be difficult to hear, but something is wrong if you have been working for 20 years and old colleagues aren't occasionally checking in to see if you'd like a different gig at their current company. The people who called you a miracle worker, they don't keep in touch? They don't want you to join their current project? You may want to ask someone who you are on good terms with what's going on.

I've never had an old colleague contact me. Is that a thing? Forgive me, but I'm not even sure what I should be asking these people... "Why haven't you contacted me" sounds too abrasive...

Yes, that's a thing if you have good relationships with coworkers who have hiring power in later jobs. Since I switched to being a founder I've firmly disabused most previous coworkers of the notion that I'd ever come to work with them, but I used to regularly hear from them, and now I routinely reach out to the people that I liked working with.

If you're not experiencing this, you really can't ask anyone else anything, but you can ask yourself what's wrong. It might just be that you haven't made friends with people who have hiring influence; that said, most people can at least refer folks. More likely is that you aren't getting personally close enough with people at work, so they are not thinking of you. Spend more time interacting on a human level with non-engineers, who are way more often to be influential re: hiring at future jobs.

It's also possible that you're not considered a solid worker, or you don't get along with people, but in my experience that's a lot less common than merely not making friends with people who are likely to have jobs to offer in the future. Learning to find and befriet those people is a key career skill.

Re: Our brutal science system almost cost us a pioneer of mRNA vaccines

#246

Post by conformist »

a_bonobo wrote: post #188
vinay427 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For those who are unaware of the German system, "high school" here presumably means the "Gymnasium" or similar track that prepares students for higher education, as opposed to the vocational dual education track that includes vocational schooling and apprenticeships. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_education_system

Yes, you're right, the German system is a bit weird. In a nutshell: At the end of primary school your primary teacher recommends whether you should go to Hauptschule, Realschule, or Gymnasium. H. and R. ends after year 10 after which you're supposed to go to vocational school, but you can also switch to G if you're good enough. G ends after year 13 after which you can go to vocational school or university. H and R ca…

This is generally correct and a huge problem. Note that the details of the process differ quite a bit depending on federal state and decade. What may differ are things like duration of Gymnasium, whether recommendations are binding, whether there's a clear distinction between Hauptschule and Realschule, duration of primary school (e.g. 4 or 6 years), how easy it is to switch etc. In my case, primary school was 4 years, recommendations were binding (!), so you basically got put on a rigid track based on one person's opinion when you were 10 years old. Unsurprisingly, that leads to material biases based on parents' education and origin.

Re: Our brutal science system almost cost us a pioneer of mRNA vaccines

#247

Post by junon »

stocknoob wrote: post #221
throwaway_gerts wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Meanwhile someone like me...I'm literally turning away interviews. How do you manage that? I've been a software developer for over 20 years now, and every time I lose my job it's a SLOG to find another one, with anywhere from a few months to a year in between. I can't even remember the last time a recruiter contacted me (perhaps 5-6 times in my entire career). It's not like my technical skills are lacking. I've wor…

This may be difficult to hear, but something is wrong if you have been working for 20 years and old colleagues aren't occasionally checking in to see if you'd like a different gig at their current company. The people who called you a miracle worker, they don't keep in touch? They don't want you to join their current project? You may want to ask someone who you are on good terms with what's going on.

This is insulting and just flat out unrealistic. If you've had this experience, great, but what you're describing is very far from the norm.

Re: Our brutal science system almost cost us a pioneer of mRNA vaccines

#248

Post by benrapscallion »

cs702 wrote: post #11

> universities ... expect faculty in the medical schools to pay their own way with either clinical work or external research funding. This puts tremendous financial pressure on eager young medical researchers, sometimes leading them not to the projects that are most needed or that they are most passionate about, but to the projects that will get them funding. Sometimes it feels as if the current system we have in the…

Howard Hughes’ HHMI solves this problem with the idea of funding “people not projects”.

Re: Our brutal science system almost cost us a pioneer of mRNA vaccines

#249

Post by robbomacrae »

throwaway_gerts wrote: post #216
fma wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's many issues in our science system, but it may be a blessing that you got rejected. I'm a senior software engineer. My wife has a PhD in biochemistry from a top university. When she graduated she could not get a job anywhere. We both agreed she should choose a different path and she started a business in a totally unrelated field. Meanwhile someone like me...I'm literally turning away interviews. I have no dou…

> Meanwhile someone like me...I'm literally turning away interviews. How do you manage that? I've been a software developer for over 20 years now, and every time I lose my job it's a SLOG to find another one, with anywhere from a few months to a year in between. I can't even remember the last time a recruiter contacted me (perhaps 5-6 times in my entire career). It's not like my technical skills are lacking. I've wor…

Asking for feedback directly will never work. Instead, try asking a friend (or use a fake account) to ask for a reference about yourself. You can then be as targetted as you like.. "have you considered referring throwaway_gerts before? If yes/no why?" Or "were there any issues working with throwaway_gerts?"

Re: Our brutal science system almost cost us a pioneer of mRNA vaccines

#250

Post by auggierose »

glitchc wrote: post #68
auggierose wrote: post #9

It's pretty easy to see who is a top star (because they have continuous highest-quality output), and who will never deliver anything worthwhile. The trouble is the continuum between those two extremes. This domain is dominated by politics, endless grant applications, bureaucracy. Nobody can really tell where you belong in this continuum, maybe not even you yourself. And I also don't believe that academia is the best…

Define “highest-quality.” Is it publishing in the most prestigious journals? Obtaining the most prestigious grants? See what I did there? Ground-breaking research often doesn’t qualify for either because it’s too new and scientists on those committees don’t understand it.

It's a matter of "you know it when you see it". I doubt it can be defined properly.
Post reply on HN