Step #9

Have an idea.
An original idea would be ideal.

At some point over the course of your academic upbringing you will be expected to "earn your keep." There are a number of ways this might take place, but the most common is contributing to the knowledge in your particular field. The second most common, it should be pointed out, is being dropped from your particular program, only to be rehired as a Tech., a Research Assistant, or some other form of Help (as in, "...well why don't we just have the Help do it?" Or, "...it's so hard to find good Help these days.").

There are several stages to the idea-generating process, each a complexus in its own right, so we now invoke our first n-part series: On the Generation of Ideas: Where Occasionalism Ends, and Plagiarism Begins. (Part one to follow.)