Researcher and actor
When it is not clear to outline what is your idea, the best way is to draw an analogy and go specifics. Then it will step-by-step sketch what your idea is.
Actor and researcher are both creative roles in life. The former gets famous for unforgettable acting skills on screens and the latter is well-known in specific research area. To be a good and famous actor, s/he needs to frequently polish acting skills, be active on red carpet and have some representative works, especially those collaborating with famous directors and actors. Although the researcher does not necessary to be active as a celebrity in public. The successful researcher plays roles in high impact journals, hosts renowned conferences and seeks for many generous foundations.
If four to five years postdoc for an early career researcher is a normal thing, acting a few years as a no-name role is same for an early career actor. To pursue a role in a movie, the actor needs to perform impressively drawing the public attention. On the other hands, to make living, the actor needs to take part time jobs, teaching the younger performers and endorsing commercial shows.
Science is a circle, like celebrity, attending invited movie festival, publish representative movies, tv series, forming a team with familiar director and editor, etc. The most successful scientist and actor share the similar characters: dedication, creativity, and persistence.
<Last updated by Xi Zhang on April 9th,2023>