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July 14, 2012

Career Advice from a Scientist-Turned-Science Minister

Last time I talked to Romanian chemist Daniel Funeriu, he was a group leader in chemical biology at the Technical University of Munich in Germany and vice-president of the Romanian presidential commission for science and education. This was 2009 when I was researching an article as part of a Science Careers feature examining how science had fared in Eastern Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall some 20 years ago. 

Romania's government had recently launched an initiative offering scientists with a foreign affiliation up to €1.5 million to spend half of their time at a Romanian host institution for 3 years. Back then, Funeriu called the initiative "a step forward" even though he noted that the application forms were "extremely unfriendly. ... Many people are put off by the bureaucratic requests." 

Funeriu got a chance to change the system from the inside when he became Minister of Education, Research, Youth, and Sports in Romania in December 2009. Today, he is Adviser to the President of Romania on education and science issues, a position he took in February 2012 following a change of government. 

During a session at ESOF 2012 in Dublin, Funeriu talked about his own career path and shared the lessons he learned from his unusual experience both as a researcher and politician.

Funeriu left his native Romania in the midst of dictatorship when he was just 17, finishing his high school education in Strasbourg, France. He stayed there for a Ph.D. in supramolecular chemistry in the lab of Nobel Laureate Jean Marie Lehn. Upon graduating in 1999, he went to the United States for a postdoc in biochemistry at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. He moved country again in 2002, joining the National Institute of Advanced Science and Technology in Amagasaki, Japan, to work on microarray technology. Finally, in 2006, with a European Commission Marie Curie Excellence Grant in hand, he set up his own research group in Munich.

Funeriu told the audience that he wrote in his Marie Curie grant application that he wanted to become research minister in Romania. He initiated his political career in 2009, becoming a member of the European Parliament. 

Some key career lessons Funeriu passed on during his talk:

  • Be clear about what drives you in life.
Before he was 17, Funeriu wanted to drink coca-cola, wear puma shoes, buy Levi's jeans, and see the world. During his Ph.D., he wanted to make the largest supermolecules in the world and become a good chemist. At Scripps, he moved towards biology with the aim of developing techniques for the study of the complexity of living things. He set off for Japan feeling he had learned all he could from the Western world and would benefit from understanding how other cultures function. He entered politics to pursue his desire to change his home country.

  • You know you're ready to leave your lab and supervisor when you've stopped learning new things.  
It requires a lot of intellectual generosity for supervisors to train young scientists for several years and let them go precisely when they have reached sufficient scientific maturity to be really productive, so many PIs encourage their young scientists to stay in the lab longer. But when your supervisor doesn't tell you anything you didn't already know, the time has come to say goodbye. 

  • When choosing a postdoc, base your choice on the institution rather than the supervisor.
If you go to a good institution, even if you are unlucky and end up with a bad supervisor there will be lots of good people around to learn from. Wherever you are, avoid the "big trap" of forming an unhealthy relationship with your boss. "Don't become your supervisor's slave because you're good in the lab." 

  • Use your resources to improve your strong points rather than your weak points. 
If you invest your resources into improving your weak points, you will go from being bad to being average at such tasks. If you invest in your strong points, you will go from being very good to becoming exceptional. Remember that people choose you because you're exceptional, not because you are average.

  • Don't count on your supervisor getting you a job. 
Young researchers would like to have as supervisor a big shot who can call a friend when you need a job. But it's not their responsibility to get you a job; it is yours.

  • Once you're a group leader, go for gold.
When you become an assistant professor, one way to progress in your career is to continue the research you know you're good at. But this is also the stage when you have the power, the youth, the time, and the energy to "try the research you've always wanted to try but never dared." Also consider changing tracks every 10-15 years by expanding and diversifying your research horizons. It is risky, but rewarding. Don't be incremental in your research.

  • Constantly question yourself, but do not be insecure.
Life is perpetual change and in recent times, the rhythm of change has got a lot faster. Endeavor to go through the process without feeling too stressed and under pressure. If you have a Ph.D., you can afford to be courageous in your career. "A good scientific background gives you access to virtually any job on earth." 

Funeriu also reflected on what he achieved during his mandate as science minister in a Q&A with Science Now. 

By Elisabeth Pain on July 14, 2012 4:20 PM |

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