Career Paths

Kate
Sleeth

Mentoring

Each and every one of us has been mentored.  We have probably experienced both good and bad mentoring and may have even had the opportunity to attempt it ourselves.  Most academics do not receive formal training on how to teach or mentor effectively, and yet they are expected to do just th...


Ray
Wang

National Lab, Love It? Or Not?

Although I decided to go for an industrial career, I still had a chance to get a taste in a national lab before I graduated. I knew I wouldn’t be working there in the future, so I took a more objective angle to look at everything there. As the saying goes, every coin has two sides. The experience ...


Kate
Sleeth

Mentoring Continued…

In my last blog article I touched on what mentors should be teaching everyone within their laboratory.  I would like to expand on this subject as I feel the mentor/mentee relationship is a wonderful thing, when it is done correctly. Some adjectives to describe a good mentor are enthusiastic, enc...


Maida
Taylor

Do You Have a Love /Hate Relationship With PowerPoint?

How much do you rely on Powerpoint?  How much does your team rely on PowerPoint for training and education, promotion, etc?  The more important question is do you really need PowerPoint at all.  I have been pondering this question for the past 10 years (as if I have nothing better to ...


Jason
Sherwin

Big science vs. Little science

The theme of this posting is ‘big science vs. little science.’  It is somewhat of a commentary on an April 6 article by Pete Peterson entitled, “Of Space Ships and Bullet Trains” from City Journal. In this article, Mr. Peterson highlights the trials and tribulations of funding ‘big sc...


Kate
Sleeth

Being Entrepreneurial

I recently had the opportunity to attend a lecture entitled, "Putting Your Science to WORK: Entrepreneurship with a Little 'e.’”  Dr. Peter S. Fiske has authored books on utilizing your science skills and is uniquely placed to give advice on entrepreneurship as he has founded two tech start-up ...


Maida
Taylor

Leaving the Bedside is Like…

•    Finishing a marathon – you stop, grab a water bottle, drink some and pour the rest over your head.  And only then, when you have stopped, looked back, and thought about the start of the race, do you see the incredible effort it took. •    A death in the family, especially if an ...


Ping
Xiao

Manage Yourself To Achieve Your Career Goals in Industry

What have you done for yourself lately? This is not a question about getting a massage or spending a weekend relaxing in the country. It is a question to jolt you into paying attention to your own professional development. With so much thought and energy rightly focused on the global financial crisi...


Ray
Wang

On the First Day in College, What Did You Think Your Future Job Would Be?

5 pm, it’s about time to get ready to go home. What did I do today? A long but productive conference call in the morning with an oil field customer in Louisiana and two colleagues from the marketing department about the new product.  Then, I participated in the big safety review session with ...


Randall
Ribaudo

Scientific Applications Specialist: A Great Transition Job from Academia to Industry

One of the most unsettling aspects of taking the plunge into industry careers is the fear of having to “give up” your science and everything you worked so hard for.  I had those same fears when I finally decided to leave my position as a Principle Investigator in the NCI for my first job on...