Career Paths

Wenny
Lin
Spinning a good story with all the facts
My PhD advisor was a creative and engaging storyteller. Negative results in our vaccine experiments were interpreted as “damaging to the immune system” or “dangerous in the clinic.” Positive observations meant that an experimental vaccine “worked like a charm” or “could save countl...

Jennifer
Reineke Pohlhaus
Moving from the Bench to Science Policy
In my last post, I talked a little bit about what science policy is, as a field. Here, I’m going to talk about how to transition from the bench to science policy as a career.

Wenny
Lin
Five pros for doing a post-doc in the government
I have often been asked, “Why would you want to do a postdoc in the government?” Now that I have been a postdoc for about a year at the National Institutes of Health, I have come up with a list of reasons for doing a postdoc in the government.

Clement
Weinberger
Got journals? How to pick ‘em.
At some point in your publication planning, you will have to choose the journals where you will submit your articles. Finding the right journal is important because if your article isn’t published in a timely fashion, say within a year or two of a congress presentation, no one will know about i...

Marielena
Mata
The Top Ten Things I Hate About My Job
In reading my blogs, I notice that I have written about all the wonderful things I do, the great people I work with and the absolute satisfaction my profession brings into my life. Yet, even I, little Miss Positivity, have my dark days and I’ve decided to put lay it all out in the open....

Randall
Ribaudo
“Cost of Hubble Telescope Replacement is Astronomical”
NASA: “We're better rocket scientists than accountants”

Jennifer
Reineke Pohlhaus
Your salary: $82K. Oh, wait, you’re a woman?
According to NatureJobs first ever salary and career stage survey, the average male salary is about $82,000 and the average female salary is about $70,000.

Clement
Weinberger
On social networks (yet)?
… or not on them? In fact, all of us are members of social networks. We have circles of friends and acquaintances, and we interact with professional colleagues and associates every day. That's true whether you are a basic or medical researcher, a physician or other healthcare provider, medical wri...

Ex Lab
Junkie
The Kitchen Wars - At Work
As I write this, dishes are piled high in the sink, almost falling on the floor, but I refuse to clean up the mess. I am mad enough to spit… yes, spit! Lazy husband? No. Distracted kids? No. Dysfunctional work-place family? In the wise words of Samuel L. Jackson — “Oh, hell yeah!” At w...

Wenny
Lin
Competitive funding opportunities as a post-doc at NCI
In grad school, I thought that writing grants was essential only in an academic career. Having read many job announcements since graduation, I’ve realized that the ability to write fundable grant applications is a skill coveted not just in academics, but also in non-profit organizations, profe...