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Career Advice

Found 33 articles

  • To prepare science students for a range of careers, I teach them people skills

    • Aug 17, 2023
    • TOMASZ GŁOWACKI

    In all these roles in business, I have tapped into my scientific expertise. But I have also had the opportunity to develop skills I didn’t learn in academia.

  • Industry scientists are often misunderstood. Here’s why I chose this path

    • Jul 6, 2023
    • BRITA KILBURG-BASNYAT

    As an industry scientist myself, I struggled to hide my surprise when hearing "I don’t think industry would be a good fit for me,” the student said, “I’m not money-motivated.”

  • To find career satisfaction, I learned I didn’t have to choose just one job

    • Jun 1, 2023
    • GRETA FACCIO

    That’s when I asked: Did I really have to choose just one? It might be time to experiment. So instead of pursuing a linear and conventional path, I decided to combine multiple jobs—all focusing on my passion for innovation, all with room for personal growth.

  • Your nonacademic career is not a consolation prize

    • Apr 26, 2023
    • ADAM RUBEN

    As I was finishing my Ph.D., I decided my next career step would be outside academia. Many factors influenced that decision; let’s just say that academia wasn’t a good fit for me and I felt I would thrive elsewhere...

  • Divided Colleagues

    Leaving academia was like losing our intellectual home. Here’s how we adjusted

    • Feb 2, 2023
    • BARBARA A. WANCHISEN, HEIDI A. SCHWEINGRUBER

    After leaving academia, we continued to attend many of the conferences that had formerly been places of such personal and intellectual invigoration. Surely, we thought, we would still find reward in connecting with former colleagues, learning about others’ research, and sharing updates on our own endeavors.

  • white unicorn

    How to banish impostor syndrome

    • Oct 25, 2021
    • Alaina G. Levine

    Impostor syndrome—the feeling that one doesn't belong or deserve their success, and that they will be discovered as a fraud—strikes many professionals. It doesn't matter whether you are a Nobel laureate, CEO, department head, university president, or graduate student. Many of us have felt like an impostor at various times in our careers, especially as we ascend into new roles and achieve milestones.

  • large question mark

    To ace your Ph.D. program interviews, prepare to answer—and ask—these key questions

    • Oct 25, 2021
    • June Gruber, Jay J. Van Bavel

    You've made it to the last step of the Ph.D. application process: the interview. Congratulations! But amid the excitement and butterflies, don't neglect the crucial next step: preparation.

  • panel interview

    Daunting but doable: Job searching after a postdoc

    • Oct 25, 2021
    • Kendall Powell

    How postdocs can compete in a historically tight academic job market.

  • open book pages

    Hesitant about virtual networking? Adjust your approach to harness the benefits

    • Oct 25, 2021
    • Karin Bodewits

    "I got invited for an interview!" Sandra exclaims, doing a small dance of joy.

  • Ecologist Gillian Bowser identifies butterflies wi

    Scientists push against barriers to diversity in the field sciences

    • Oct 25, 2021
    • John Pickrell

    Christopher Schmitt is an anthropologist and biologist at Boston University who studies vervet monkeys. He is also a gay man, a fact that can make fieldwork in remote locations more complicated. "Often when I'm in the field and not sure how my being gay will be received, I take a ‘don't ask, don't tell' stance," he says. "Basically, I would confide in folks … I was sure were gay-friendly, but be ‘single and too busy to date' with folks I wasn't sure about."

  • open book pages

    Idealist or pragmatist? For a successful job search, know your priorities

    • Oct 18, 2021
    • Karin Bodewits

    Elly throws a dumbfounded look across the lab bench at Jane. "The interviewers were nice, they made you a job offer with a fantastic salary—and you declined?" Elly asks, bewildered. "That's exactly what happened," Jane confidently confirms.

  • open book pages

    Scientists, let's talk about cash—and the financial realities of career choices

    • Oct 18, 2021
    • Karin Bodewits

    Max and Gareth stand side by side at the gas station near Berlin's Checkpoint Charlie. Gareth holds the fuel nozzle in the tank while closely observing the pump.

  • open book pages

    To get the most out of your workday, consider your ‘inner clock’

    • Oct 18, 2021
    • Karin Bodewits

    Ruth knows she should write her papers and her thesis. But she simply can't get more than a sentence or two on paper.

  • people standing on woman’s arm

    One mentor isn't enough. Here's how I built a network of mentors

    • Oct 18, 2021
    • Erika Moore

    "Unfortunately, I don't have the bandwidth for a mentorship relationship right now." "I'm not sure I can help." "Why are we meeting again?" Those are just a few of the responses I've received in my quest to develop a broad range of mentors.

  • woman with large pencil eraser

    Don't erase undergrad researchers and technicians from author lists

    • Oct 18, 2021
    • Emily Fogarty

    "While I recognise that she thinks she had a major contribution to the project it will be difficult to show that she did more than a technician's job." This was the infuriating response I received in a long email thread with former colleagues about work I had done as an undergraduate researcher.

  • writing lines on paper

    How to find a postdoc position that's right for you

    • Oct 18, 2021
    • Jay J. Van Bavel, Neil A. Lewis, Jr., William A. Cunningham, Leah H. Somerville

    Postdocs make up a crucial component of the scientific workforce. But the application process can be mysterious.

  • woman looking sad

    Science's English dominance hinders diversity—but the community can work toward change

    • Oct 18, 2021
    • Rodrigo Pérez Ortega

    When Valeria Ramírez Castañeda was a biology master's student at the University of Los Andes in Colombia, the thought of writing her thesis in English gave her a headache. Writing it in Spanish would fulfill her graduation requirement—but if she wrote it in English, it would be far easier to turn it into a paper she could immediately submit for publication.

  • writing lines on paper

    Three trouble spots facing women in science—and how we can tackle them

    • Oct 18, 2021
    • Leah H. Somerville

    Women are pursuing careers in science at rates never seen before, and this growing representation of female voices is truly exciting. Yet we are well aware that the academic community has not solved all the problems facing women.

  • open book pages

    To get a nonacademic job, you need to learn the jargon

    • Oct 4, 2021
    • Karin Bodewits

    "What have you been up to?" Sara asks, holding the phone to her ear as she prepares her dinner. "I had a job interview today," Ellen replies from the other end of the line, dropping onto the sofa.

  • writing lines on paper

    How to write a clear, compelling CV

    • Sep 30, 2021
    • Jay J. Van Bavel, Neil A. Lewis, Jr., June Gruber, Leah H. Somerville

    In 1482, Leonardo da Vinci wrote a letter that is credited as the first CV. He was looking to land a job as a military engineer from Ludovico Sforza—the ruler of Milan, Italy—whom Leonardo referred to in his letter as "Most Illustrious Lord."