Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2022

Presentation information

[J] Oral

O (Public ) » Public

[O-04] How to become a scientist? What can they do?

Sun. May 22, 2022 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM 302 (International Conference Hall, Makuhari Messe)

convener:Natsue Abe(Mantle Drilling Promotion Office, MarE3, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology ), convener:Wonsuh SONG(Waseda University), Chairperson:Wonsuh SONG(Waseda University), Natsue Abe(Mantle Drilling Promotion Office, MarE3, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology)

9:33 AM - 10:03 AM

[O04-02] Make a living doing what you love. A way of life as a researcher.

★Invited Papers

*Yohei Kumagai1 (1.tayo, inc.)

Keywords:researcher career

Will it be a doctor or a minister? In the past, such words were said in anticipation of the future of children. Researchers have always been at the top of the list of professions people want to be, so it is likely that researchers have been a dream job for science-loving children since long before the advent of YouTubers, as they have realized a way of life by doing what they love.

Nevertheless, there is always a gap between dreams and reality in any world.
Ph. D. used to be compared to "grains of rice on the soles of your feet," and were regarded as something that you could not eat even if you got it, but would feel bad if you did not. In fact, the percentage of people who go on to doctoral programs in Japan continues to decline, and while there are many people who want to become a researcher, there are very few who actually pursue it.

If you do a Google search for "researcher career challenges," you will find many disturbing words such as "postdoc problem" and "shortage of posts in academia," and if you search on Twitter, you will find many more raw and heartbreaking voices of researchers in the field. When asked, "Is it a happy world in the research industry? I think there are not many people who can answer "Yes" immediately.

However, it is easy for extreme opinions and overly abstract stories to spread on the Internet. I think it's best to listen to the voices of our ancestors in order to decide what to do in life, so I think events like this are very meaningful.

Since I was given the opportunity to speak at such a wonderful event, I would like to answer the following questions in this presentation from my perspective as a PhD student in the field of marine microbiology, a data scientist at a private company, a researcher at JAMSTEC, and now an entrepreneur involved in career support for scientists.

What do I need to do to become a researcher?
How can I make a living as a researcher?
What field should I choose?
What kind of jobs are there?
Should I study abroad?
How much does graduate school cost?
What kind of people are suited for this job?

The answer to all of these questions depends on the time and circumstances.
For "time", I would like to introduce the recent news surrounding doctoral education and employment of researchers, and for "case", I would like to introduce some examples that I know.