Lessons learned in Andrology: Occupy a scientific niche, be proactive, and stay visible for the scientific community

Abstract

His research interests include the coordinated gene expression in haploid male germ cells, the identification of molecular biomarkers for sperm quality in order to predict the success of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) treatment, as well as sperm epigenetics and its possible impact on early embryo development. LESSON: DO NOT REPEAT MISTAKES THAT OTHERS ALREADY MADEPrevious authors contributing to this series already provided a plethora of valuable advice on how young scientists can boost their careers. Most of their thoughts were common and not specific for Andrology, such as never stop reading and writing. Although my thoughts are very similar, I will try to contribute some additional lessons. To be consistent with the style of this series, I will reflect on some milestones of my own career in order to provide any useful advice to those who are at the very beginnings of their careers. LESSON: AVOID DEAD ENDS IN YOUR CAREEROn reflection, my career was not fast-paced, but it was without any dead ends. Definitely, some of my decisions were rather because of good fortune than good judgment. That will apply for you, too. Whenever I could not decide on the better of two alternatives, I thought about which one I did not like and then chose the other option. Subsequently, I did not look back, but concentrated on the here and now and tried to pass as fast as possible in order to avoid wasting time. LESSON: IDENTIFY WITH YOUR PROJECT, DO NOT SOLELY WAIT FOR INSTRUCTIONS, TAKE THE INITIATIVEAt secondary school, biology was my favorite subject. In my last year, however, I had been told to become a computer specialist in order to acquire a job and earn money. While many of my classmates followed this advice, I did not. I could not imagine sitting in front of a computer for the rest of my life and,