Come Together

Between funding and technical considerations, there are plenty of reasons that some scientists choose to work together. At her blog, Candid Engineer in Academia dishes her top five reasons to collaborate. Working with others, she says, is "hands down, positively the best way to learn new skills." While collaborations encourage socialization, they also necessitate compromise: "Everyone is different, everyone plans differently, communicates differently, works differently," Candid Engineer says. "If you ever want to be a PI ... this is a great way to learn how to set and accomplish goals with others when you are not doing all of the research." While the best research ideas emerge and the most "innovative work is often done at the interfaces of sciences," at the very least researchers ought to collaborate because "misery loves company," she jokes.