Transcript:
Hello scientists! I’m Jon, a scientific illustrator, welcome to DrawBioMed I will tell you in this video The story of how I left my research job and became a scientific illustrator Recently, I was interviewed by a Dutch science magazine The content includes my work skills and How I changed from a clinical researcher to an artist After finishing that interview I think I can also make a video and talk to you about this topic Tell you about the dramatic process of my career change First, introduce my background I have a bachelor’s degree in life sciences, which is basically like a pre-medicine course When I got my bachelor’s degree, I was lucky to be in Psychiatric Research Center of Taiwan National Institutes of Health Perform related research on heroin addiction treatment The working atmosphere there is really good, the chief researcher Very support everyone in the lab and encourage people Pursue your own academic career If there were no drastic changes, I might be Continue to study for a PhD or medical school Worked there After three years, I started to feel frustrated with the research work Not because it’s not a good job But to become a co-author of some papers and really see After the work process of academic research I have invested in the research and publication of scientists Time frustrated, the paper we worked hard to publish In the end, on average, only 3-4 people will read This is really exaggerated It’s like we invested 5 years in a research project But only a few people will appreciate our results Can’t really discuss these studies with friends and family Because they are all academic terms And scientific research publications for those who are not It’s not easy to understand for people working in this field In a coincidence, I saw an article on Nature Introduced this profession called “biomedical draftsman” Looks interesting I don’t know where this idea came from I think if we can combine art and science Would be a great thing The problem is that I have never really painted So I really don’t know how this crazy idea came about Then I started taking painting class after get off work I basically learned from scratch For example, drawing plaster models, which are very geometric and simple models Such as cylinders, spheres, and pyramids. After a few months, I realized Oh my God, it takes a lot of time to learn graphic sketching, and I feel very frustrated again However, when I step back and re-observe the work I was painting I realized that it looks very realistic from a distance, just like a photo I had an epiphany at that time I realized that I can actually do it Therefore, I changed my research work to part-time Moved back to Taipei and went to the best art school in Taiwan They set up some courses for outsiders Let everyone cultivate new interests But my goal is to really learn the professional skills of drawing To apply for a degree in scientific drawing I met a great artist teacher there Our communication methods are very compatible She taught me how to use colors, pastels and oil painting techniques Helped me a lot and made rapid progress under her guidance The whole learning process took one and a half years Until i prepare my portfolio Then applied for the scientific drawing program I applied for a program in Canada and another in Europe Some interesting things happened during the application process I have the opportunity to tell you in another video If you are interested, you can leave a message to let me know Anyway, in the end I still Admitted to two courses in Scotland and the Netherlands In the end, I chose Study program in Maastricht, the Netherlands Because I liked the atmosphere when I visited And their teaching method is full of aesthetics They adopt the “studio model (atelier model)” This is a Renaissance apprenticeship model, like How Rembrandt and Da Vinci taught their students the same Fortunately, I also got it from the British Council One of the largest scholarships in the world you could Watch their promotional video here They made some short videos for this This is what I learned from clinical researchers Transition to artist/scientific draftsman This is a huge change in my career path I think this is a very risky decision Therefore, the transformation has had a lot of very significant impacts Especially after graduation, because no one around has been an artist And my idea of changing careers is also very naive I just want to get an art degree I think this is a cool thing So I didn’t think about how to make money from it Or how to feed yourself in the future Really a very purely romantic act It’s completely out of my love for art Now I am slowly rebuilding my life I also like to be in Amsterdam and Taipei Have their own small business I can work with very good researchers Also designed the cover of the journal and published it in the ACS journal These results really make me happy In addition to these works of art, I still have the opportunity At Oxford University in Berlin, Einstein Center for Neuroscience, Universities in Amsterdam and Taipei hold workshops This is what i really like to do You can also visit these outstanding researchers And understand their work This can be connected to the reason why I want to talk to you about this matter Because many of my friends who continue to study for a doctorate degree in biomedicine are very anxious As they approached graduation, they also encountered some difficulties Because they feel doing scientific research It seems that I can only stay in academia or become a university professor And have been working hard to publish papers So, I want to tell everyone here Actually there are other career options Can also contribute to the scientific community To be honest, we need all kinds of people to support the development of science Especially during this COVID-19 pandemic We see that science is more important than ever To the general public, policy makers, and even family members How difficult it is to convey correct scientific data and information In order to improve these ways of communication And promote the continued development of scientific research We need all kinds of talents When we study in the field of biomedicine We often only see people becoming scientific researchers after graduation, Or the future way out for professors, etc. These are the only career choices we can imagine There are still other career options that can support scientific development During my entrepreneurial process of becoming an alternative scientific worker I also noticed Different from academic research There are still many opportunities for development in this field of alternative scientific work I really hope everyone can work together in the future Create a more interesting scientific community and a more stable business mechanism To support the development of various talents If you have talents other than science Incorporating this talent into your scientific career will also be a great adventure From my own experience, I did experience Once the hidden talents are combined with science Every morning there will be more reasons to get up and work I don’t feel like wasting my time or life You will feel as if you are truly living out of yourself and showing your worth At the same time, it can also serve the scientific community Contribute I think this is a very good way of life I would recommend anyone who is interested to try it bravely The above are some of the topics that I have been frequently asked recently I hope my sharing can relieve some of your stress as a scientific researcher And also welcome to leave a message below Share with me you are in your institution Experience as a scientist Or experience in a master’s or doctoral class, or even as a chief researcher I think sharing these experiences Can help many people In the arduous journey of advancing science Let everyone be less lonely In addition, if you are interested in the process of applying for the scientific drawing program And how did I report to my lead researcher Propose my career change plan It was a very tense conversation And how I finally started my career in the Netherlands And support my artistic enthusiasm in my own way Please leave a message to let me know, I can also make some videos to share In addition to making tutorial videos I also want to have such a quick little chat with you I really enjoy these conversations with you Hope you like this video, see you next time!