Must ... publish ... must ... publish ...

Why do I need to publish?

2 reasons:
(1) I want a job some day.
(2) My advisor has this ... goal ... for his students -- "publish 10 papers in grad school" (10 is a lot). Then, 2 guys actually did it (eventually). So, my advisor said to me when I started "publish 10 papers ... no including your dissertation". I decided that this would be a good way to achieve my main reason for being in grad school -- to get a job. And I'd be the first person (and woman) in the lab to do it. (Have I ever mentioned I am slightly competitive, in a non-cut-throat way?)


Thus, I have been working hard on this quest for the "Big 10", and this summer I managed to get out quite a few papers:

1) Great study on Jamaican fish that provides evidence against a hypothesis that I really disagree with. Data from Summer '07. Status: Being published in a very good journal! Available online now!!!

2) Cool study about one endangered species endangering another. Data from Summer '06; second author. Status: Being published at cool journal of short articles!

3) Random little study on zebrafish. Asked to assist due to my amazing zebrafish sexing abilities, but ended up doing quite a bit of work on it. Data collected from Spring '06 until recently; second author. Status: Accepted at an OK journal after many revisions.

4) Awesome study on convict cichlid parental care (wow -- almost related to my dissertation). Data collected in Costa Rica January '08; second author. Status: Being published in a second very good journal! Will be out in January '09!

5) Little study on Jamaican fish that we did at the end of the Summer '07 field season because we had a few extra days and nothing else to do; second author. Status: Being reviewed at very good journal, will likely be rejected and will then be sent to cool journal of short articles.

6) Lab study on my fish that is the preliminary data of my dissertations. Data collected between Fall '05 and Spring '06. Status: Rejected from pretty good journal, with the option of resubmission. (Reject & resubmit is totally lame and I am waiting to hear back about my compelling argument that my paper is fine how it is)


Because that's only 6, I am currently working on ... 3 more manuscripts. Plus a collaborator is working on one more. And I have potentially a few more than that.

Oh, and maybe I should actually get some data that goes towards my dissertation. Because all of the above articles will be great for helping me get a job. But none of them are helping me graduate! (Can I get a job without graduating?? Hmm ....)

So, if you're bored in the next few months, Google me and you can find some very boring articles about fish behavior to read! :)