Career Paths
Xiaoli
Du
Available resources for government jobs
The NIH Career symposium was held this month on the Bethesda NIH campus. The 4th annual career symposium has covered all the possible career areas for fellows including Faculty careers, careers in science education, careers in science policy, research in industry, career options for clinicians, cons...
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Kate
Sleeth
Fun Alternative Teaching Methods – Music Videos!
Occasionally, we come across excellent teachers who find a unique angle to deliver their subject. Universities have wonderful professors who have very traditional teaching approaches. However a few years ago I discovered a novel teaching method which I enjoy. They are videos on bio...
Andrea
H.
My Time Away From the Bench
“Are you sure you’re ok with going from helping injured soldiers walk again to helping people look better?” I’m willing to bet that very few people have heard this as an interview question. But it was a valid (albeit surprising) question in my case. The vice president inter...
Kate
Sleeth
The Perceptions about Ph.D’s
At a seminar by Dr. Peter S. Fiske, he touched the subject of the public’s perceptions of individuals with Ph.D’s to great hilarity. If you were to ask an average person on the street what someone with a Ph.D looks like, they would probably describe a geek; glasses, pocket protector, pocke...
Clement
Weinberger
It seemed like a good idea at the time
One of my grad school profs was fond of saying “it seemed like a good idea at the time” when asked why he’d done something. It’s all about finding an idea that really is a good idea. That should mean something to anyone whose grant was just funded, and it means even more when the grant is re...
Jennifer
Reineke Pohlhaus
Is there a PhD problem in the United States?
This is an interesting question, but it is not the first time in recent history that folks have been asking it. Here are a few other related questions that have been floating around: Is PhD supply greater than demand? Is the Federal government providing enough support to maintain research capa...
Wenny
Lin
Some practical reasons why NIH postdocs are having babies
Despite the progressively louder tick of the biological clock, many scientists are unwilling to allow a pregnancy or a newborn slow them down during the high-stakes years of a postdoctoral fellowship. Besides, the meager stipends and sometimes limited health benefits combined with the wrath of lab m...
Jennifer
Reineke Pohlhaus
Top 5 Elements Needed for a Productive Doctoral Education
International competition, limitations of the domestic talent pool, and the current state of economic distress all bring into question whether the doctoral programs of today will be sustained so that the US remains the premier location for doctoral education. What do schools need to do to prov...
Jason
Sherwin
Education and Hard Work - Necessary, Though Not Sufficient
The theme of this posting is ‘Educated, Unemployed and Frustrated’ and it is a commentary/response on the article by the same name from the March 20 edition of The New York Times. The original article was written by Matthew Klein. The main thesis of Mr. Klein’s article is that recent graduates...
Ray
Wang
Hit the gym, you are gonna need it.
Time and time again, when the Nobel Prizes were announced, one of my friends repeated his theory: you’ve got to stay alive long enough to wait for the prize coming to you. That was just his joke after seeing so many winners are actually over 70 years old. However, it is practical. If you messed up...