Career Paths

Virginie
Adam

Listening to your inner-self to find your professional calling

Have you ever wondered what you would’ve done if you hadn’t gone into science and gotten a PhD? When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a vet or an interior designer. More recently, I wondered if I’d have made a good urban planner or human resources manager! Over the past year, I’ve been ponde...


Andrea
Habura

Playful

You’ve probably seen it; millions of people have. One of the first videos done by the animation company Animusic, Pipe Dream is a fun computer animation of a mechanical percussion orchestra, with little balls caroming off of drums and xylophone keys and cowbells before tucking themselves neatly ba...


Andrea
Habura

Rolling Out the Robot

It’s a very busy time at my company: one of the kids is about to leave for college. We’ve been planning this for a while, as you’d expect, but there’s always a last-minute flurry of activity before you get the youngster out the door. And you always worry about the kids doing well when t...


Lamar
Blackwell

When transitioning from academia to pharma, academic scientists need their C.R.E.A.M!

Every day, young academic scientists are motivated to start careers in pharma.  A few years ago, I was one of them.  After working for over a year in pharma, I would like to share some of my thoughts about this transition.  In this post, I will discuss some helpful qualities that I co...


Debojyoti
Dhar

Synthetic Biomarkers – a new buzz word in the area of modern diagnostics

Biomarkers are the Holy Grail for detecting diseases. Natural biomarkers are sought after molecules for effective screening of patients. Biomarkers include detection of proteins, RNA, DNA to now even micro RNAs. However, detection of natural biomarkers is fraught with issues of specificity, fea...


Dave
Galgoczy

Update your communication style for business

“You’re a consultant! Be clear! Make a plan and stick to it! Don’t drone on and on! Back everything up with numbers!” When I started consulting as a domain expert in energy and biotech, this was, more or less, the feedback I received from a friend of mine who was a seasoned consultant.


Charlotte
Mitchell

Should you sign a non-compete?

Absolutely, you can! But make sure you get all the facts so you can decide if it is acceptable to you before you accept an offer! When I accepted a job as a scientific recruiter, I had no idea that I would have to sign a non-compete form. This was not mentioned in any of my interviews or conver...


Fabian
Zanella

On bench work and writing

Let’s face it, it’s hard to do both at the same time, and do them well. I don’t think that scientific writing is my strongest skill, but I understand and respect the importance of it in science.I’m struggling with bench work, although interesting results are coming together. Then here comes ...


Alice
Gruber

US Diversity Visa Lottery – An Easy Green Card, But One That Requires Careful Reading and a Bit of Luck

Even foreign nationals with hard science or advanced degrees can vouch that obtaining a US nonimmigrant working visa and legal permanent residence, also known as the green card, is getting harder and harder. Most foreign nationals who wish to live and work in the US must have either an employer who ...


Christiana
Davis

How to Take Control of Your Time and Write a Lot More

Letting data linger in our labs is very common in academia. Most, if not all, Principle Investigators have data that may never see the light of the day. Do you wish you have more time to write scientific papers? In this present post, I'll share some tips on how to get control of your time, and ...