Career Paths

Sandlin
Seguin

Basics of Curriculum Development

Chances are good that at some point in your career, you will need to teach people something in a formal environment like a classroom or lecture hall. You might get assigned the entire first year of intro bio (with labs), or you might just give a guest lecture in some graduate seminar where you ar...


Suzane
Ramos da Silva

The importance of lab meetings

Since I was an undergrad, lab meetings have been part of my scientific development. Although some people don’t like lab meetings, I think it is a great opportunity to brainstorm, keep up with your experiments and most importantly, it is a great way to organize your data. Different labs have ...


Clement
Weinberger

Fifty ways to leave your lover

This doesn’t sound much like the title of a career path blog, does it? You most likely know it as the title of a song by Paul Simon, but while it may resonate with a lot of people, what specific relevance could it have to science PhDs and postdocs? Well, it does make sense if your first love...


Naresh
Sunkara

Transition from a Scientist to an Entrepreneur

My street credentials: I’ve been a graduate student, a PhD in Organic chemistry from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, a postdoc from the University of California, Berkeley, and transitioned into a fulltime entrepreneur for over a year now. I have also founded the Berkeley Postdoc En...


Judy
Lytle

The Unicorn that is a Great Manager

I’ve had terrible managers, from those who can’t distinguish me from other members of my race, to those who intentionally tried to hold me back professionally, to those who have come into my office screaming about a politically charged topic only to become irate when I disagreed. I’ve also had...


Charlotte
Mitchell

Choosing your career carefully

Believe it or not, but being a scientist leaves you with quite a few career choices in both science-related and unrelated fields. You do want to choose carefully, because moving back into a field that you previously left definitely has some challenges. However, in some cases, it can work to your ...


Kia
Walcott

A Day in the Life of a Medical Writer

Before I begin, let me say that there are several types of medical/science writing roles, and the projects one works on within each role, can vary. I work for a healthcare communications agency on the commercial side of an oncology product. Projects I work on can be physician-or patient-facing, f...


Debojyoti
Dhar

The hub and spoke model – from aviation to pharma

Every idea has its place under the sun. Two industries, pharmaceuticals and aviation which are known to be ‘high risk – high gain’ business are strikingly employing similar practices in order to maximize productivity and profits. Everyone would agree that both aviation and pharmaceutical bu...


Dave
Galgoczy

Beyond the academic herd: how to pursue opportunity

Years ago, during my grad school interviews, the late Seymour Benzer told me that I would be forced to decide in grad school whether I would “run with the herd,” or instead become one of the few scientists who would be comfortable operating more independently. That succinct statement encompas...


Michael
Salgaller

Meet-ups: Making them part of your career strategy

Being part of a group that enjoys similar interests and shared experiences is not a recent phenomenon. When we were younger and in school, we’d gather with those who liked playing the same sports or volunteering for the same cause. It was a chance not just to form bonds, but to expand our aware...