Research Career Development

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Research Career Development

• Gail P. Taylor
• Spring 2005

2005
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Career Goals and How to Meet them
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Career selection and satisfaction influenced by
match between

• Work environment
• Job Impact
• Challenge/growth
• Recognition
• Hours/stress
• Human interaction
• Buy-in on direction
• Overall job stability
• Annual income
• Percent growth/job availability

• Personal Attributes
• Background
• Past Mentoring
• Skills
• Education
• Experience
• Temperament
• Values/Priorities
• Life responsibilities

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Focus of this Set of Lectures

• We will look at Careers in Science and
  Engineering
• Specifically the Ph.D.
• Highest Degree that can be earned

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General Motivating Factors for Pursuing Science

• Love science
• Benefit world/humanity
• Disease
• Hunger
• Pollution
• Green Chemistry
• Curiosity
• Kids who ask why
• Thrive on intellectual stimulation
• Explorers
• Space How works?
• Inventors
• Next best laser

• Autonomy
• You carry your career
• Set your own hours
• Financial
• Companies
• Not hugely, but comfortable
• Educators
• Only way to be college fac.
• Want to educate others
• Want to mentor others
• Public Policy
• Want to impact nation

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Which is Most Legitimate?

• ALL!

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Why Earn an Advanced Degree Ph.D.?

• Learn to perform research
• Further field
• Love doing it
• Skills sets
• Specific
• Non-specific
• Critical thinking
• Administration
• Planning, etc.

• Opportunity
• Teach at College/Univ.
• Required for running research programs
• Can be in charge
• Required for advancement
• Financial
• Prestige/authority
• Highest degree

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Most Biological Scientists Work

• Colleges/Universities
• Industries
• Government
• Federal
• State
• More than ½ outside of academe
• Fewer academic positions available
• Increases in small and medium corporations

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Ph.D. Career Paths

• Museum curating
• Investment banking
• Research admin
• Educational admin
• Grants admin
• Program admin
• Public Health
• Bioinformatics
• Biotechnology
• Independent consulting
• and much more

• Research
• Academic
• Government
• Industry
• Teaching
• All levels
• Journalism
• Engineering Firms
• Technical writing
• Publishing
• Intellectual property
• Patent law
• Public policy

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Training

• All of these careers come out of basic training
  as a research scientist, in an academic
  institution

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Standard Ph.D. Training Path
Academics
Post Bacc Research
Academic Postdoc
Government Postdoc
Government
Undergrad Studies
Doctoral Studies
Industry Postdoc
Industry
M.S. Degree
Continue Education
Other Career
Other
Engineering
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Why NOT to enter Grad School

• Prestige/Impress others
• Boost weak ego
• Job guarantee (not)
• For your parents
• Personal intelligence test

• Delay entry to work force
• Wealth

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Attributes of a Successful Scientist

• Depends on whom you ask.

http//www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/careers/appb.
html
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Advice to Young Scientist

• Graduate Programs are arduous
• Do rewards and compensations outweigh
  disappointments and toil?
• Yes, if hooked
• Exhilaration of discovery
• Satisfaction of solved problems

• One does not have to be terrifically brainy to
  be a good scientist
• Virtues
• Common sense
• Application
• Diligence
• Sense of purpose
• Concentration
• Perseverance in adversity

Peter Medawar, Advice to a Young Scientist
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Scientist Characteristics II

• S tudy skills (discipline to learn and maintain
  field)
• C uriosity and flexibility in adjusting beliefs
• I ntelligence (knowledge base/critical thinking)
• E nthusiasm to overcome disappointments
• N ever-ending attention to detail
• C ommittment to personal and professional honesty
  and responsibility
• E nduring respect and appreciation of foundation
  work

• ProfHoff

Newton Website, DOE http//www.newton.dep.anl.gov/
askasci/gen99/gen99983.htm
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Scientist Characteristics III

• 1. imagination
• 2. concentration
• 3. integrity
• Peter Faletra Ph.D. Office of Science Department
  of Energy

Newton Website, DOE http//www.newton.dep.anl.gov/
askasci/gen99/gen99983.htm
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Scientist Characteristics IV

• 1. A keen sense of curiosity
• 2. Natural skeptic-
• strong reliance on "the data
• show me your numbers".
• 3. Tenacity
• 4. Analytical skills
• 5. Critical thinking

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Where to Find out about Careers?

• Work on laboratory
• Programs such as RISE/MARC
• Volunteer
• Take courses
• Mentor, friends acquaintances
• Shadowing someone
• Summer programs internships

• Internet
• Placement offices
• Professional societies
• Advertisements

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Graduate School Fields/Programs

• Neurobiology/Neuroscience
• Physiology
• Microbiology/Immunology/Endocrinology
• Cell/Molec./Dev. Biology
• Biochemistry/Biological chemistry
• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemistry (various sorts)
• Pathology/Molecular Toxicology
• Pharmacology
• Radiological Sciences
• Biostatistics
• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Environmental Health Sciences

• Epidemiology
• Oral Biology
• Biological and Medical Informatics
• Biophysics
• Genetics
• Pharmacogenomics
• Forestry
• Integrative Biology
• Molecular and Biochemical Nutrition
• Plant Biology
• Vision Science
• And Many MORE!!

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What is a good field?

• What inspires you?
• Matches your passion?
• Matches your values?
• What do you think will be hot in 5 years?
• Biodefense?
• Microbiology
• Cell Biology
• Health?
• Age-related illnesses (in neuro, diabetes,
  cancer, etc)
• Biomedical applications of Genetics?
• Drug development Pharmacology/toxicology
• Immunology good for future biotech industry
• Computational Biology
• Engineering
• ????

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My Career Plan

• Personal Values/Priorities
• Top Career Choices
• Research Tools (where learn materials)
• Educational Plan
• Goals/Timeline

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Work on Exercise 1

• Please fill out Exercise 1.