A reader writing to Nature's career advice column describes working in a North American lab where students routinely log 50-60 hours a week, sometimes 12-16 hours daily, with no compensatory time off. The student, who has an undisclosed fluctuating disability, says requests for rest or time off have been denied and is asking whether to disclose their condition to their principal investigator before seeking formal accommodations through the university.
nature.com
· 2026-10-23
A Nature reader column features an anonymous academic with over two decades of engineering research experience in Latin America, who reports repeated rejection from faculty positions in North America and Europe. A colleague who served on a hiring committee told the applicant that the deciding factor was the lack of principal-investigator grants from the destination country's national funding system, despite strong scientific credentials. Experts including ecologist César Marín and MetaDocencia co-director Laura Ación respond, confirming that national funding experience often functions as an unofficial hiring criterion.
nature.com
· 2026-10-14
A biochemistry graduate student wrote to Nature seeking guidance on leaving a lab led by a prominent but largely absent adviser, citing stalled research progress and lack of mentorship. Nature consulted current and former graduate students, ombudspersons, academic administrators and a PhD career counselor from multiple research institutions to outline how students can responsibly transition between labs mid-PhD.
nature.com
· 2026-09-21
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