Planning your independent research

Exactly what research would you be doing right now if you were given a free rein and your own independent group? Have you ever really thought about it? You may think the prospect just too far-fetched to waste time considering. I did too. But this was before I decided, amidst all the frantic hustle and bustle of everyday research life, to apply for a proper job, a permanent one. With hindsight my first shot at the big time came a bit early for me, having only just finished the post-graduate long-service award (or Ph.D. for the uninitiated). Needless to say I didn't get the job. What I did achieve was a thorough understanding of my research desires.

You see, when applying for a permanent job, a lectureship for example, a ten-year plan is what you need. Your prospective employer needs to see whether you can think big, but also whether your big plans fit in with their grand plans for the School, Institute or Department. However, a whole decade is a whopping great amount of research. We young scientists working deep in the mines of human knowledge are often so focused on the urgency of the next paper or grant application that our minds cannot deal with such hypothetical long-term scenarios. In just this overwhelmed frame of mine, I decided it was high time I took a long walk in the open air: time to reflect.