For those who don’t know, EvolDir is a worldwide mailing list on evolutionary biology that has been running since approximately forever. Everyone who works even vaguely in the area of evolution subscribes to it. Every day It typically carries several posts on conferences, book announcements, funding opportunities and job …
It's a common cry amongst working bioinformaticians that they're unappreciated, undervalued and generally "get no respect". While people love to complain, from discussions with peers and colleagues, the same stories come up again and again:
Maintain employable, valuable skills. Never evince any technical skills. Never casually offer to help a colleague with computer problems, etc. First you'll end up being known for that. Second, people will keep asking you to encrypt their hard-drive, build a database, etc. Third, technical matters are low status "working class …
No matter how many drafts you go through, the number of helpful suggestions make by your co-authors will approach but never quite reach zero.
Distinguished or influential co-authors have a tendency to invite, introduce or insist upon …