Career Preparation and Exploration for BGS Students Mike Nusbaum BGS Director August, 2014

Career Preparation and Exploration for BGS Students

Mike NusbaumBGS DirectorAugust, 2014

1. Development of Research-Specific Skills: (http://www.med.upenn.edu/ngg/user_docs/InteractiveLearning.pdf)

• Fundamental biomedical knowledge (Core Breadth): Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology.

• Grounding in graduate program discipline (Depth).

• Experimental design, performance and analysis (Rotations).

• Biostatistics.

Elements of Career Preparation & Exploration

http://www.med.upenn.edu/ngg/user_docs/InteractiveLearning.pdf

http://www.med.upenn.edu/ngg/user_docs/InteractiveLearning.pdf

2. Development of Research-Related Skills:• Critical reading of scientific literature.

o Lab Meetings, Journal Clubs, etc.

• Science-related communication skills: o Asking Questionso Talks

(http://www.med.upenn.edu/ngg/user_docs/TalkPreparationandPresentation.pdf)o Posterso Manuscriptso Grant proposals

• Publishing: Learning how to “finish” a piece of work.


http://www.med.upenn.edu/ngg/user_docs/TalkPreparationandPresentation.pdf

3. Individual Development Plans (IDPs). The aim of an IDP is to help students develop and refine their career interests and goals throughout their PhD training.

To ensure that: • Students and mentors communicate openly.• Students are working proactively toward developing the

skills they will need to succeed.

(http://www.med.upenn.edu/bgs/idp.shtml)


http://www.med.upenn.edu/bgs/idp.shtml



Elements of Career Preparation & ExplorationIDP - Junior Students (Year 1-2 PhD, Year 3 combined degree)


Questions for junior students

What aspect(s) of graduate school are you most worried about? Would you like to be assigned a tutor to help with coursework?

What aspect(s) of graduate school are you most excited about?

What research areas most interest you?

What type of lab environment is most appealing to you?

Have you identified a suitable rotation/thesis lab?

What types of long-term careers interest you?

IDP - Junior Students (Year 1-2 PhD, Year 3 combined degree)A. Skills and Motivations

PRIVATE – USE THESE QUESTIONS TO GUIDE DISCUSSION, NO WRITTEN ANSWERS NEEDED

Elements of Career Preparation & ExplorationIDP - Junior Students (Year 1-2 PhD, Year 3 combined degree)

B. Plans/Goals for the Coming Year PART OF YOUR ACADEMIC RECORD –

Plans/Goals Fall semester Spring semesterCourses

Rotations

Fellowship applications

Seminar series or journal clubs to attend

Oral presentations

Poster presentations

Teaching experience

Community service/ leadership experience

Responsible Conduct of Research training (RCR)

Clinical training

Other

Elements of Career Preparation & ExplorationIDP – Thesis-Level Students (Years 3+ PhD, Years 4+ CD)

A. Skills, Motivations and Career PlanningPRIVATE DOCUMENT – between student and mentor only.

Student and mentor should independently fill out Part A1 and then compare/discuss. Use to assess training needs and guide your preparation of the IDP in Parts B & C.


At the bench Strong Medium

Weak

Designing experiments Prioritizing & completing experiments Working with others Strong Mediu

mWeak

Lab citizenship Collaborative interactions Conflict resolution Communication Strong Mediu

mWeak

Informal interactions Oral presentations Learning Strong Mediu

mWeak

Seminar and journal club attendance Active participation: group discussions Motivation Yes Mediu

mNo

Enjoy working in the lab Feel I am being creative My biggest worry is: I’m most excited or proud about:

IDP – Thesis-Level Students (Years 3+ PhD, Years 4+ CD)A. Skills, Motivations and Career Planning


A. Skills, Motivations and Career PlanningA2. Career planning

When do I aim to finish my PhD?Or, for CDs, when do I aim to finish my PhD and return to clinics?

What type of work would I like to be doing immediately after my PhD? (postdoc or other?)

What types of long-term careers interest me?

What is important to me in a career?

What skills are most important for my desired career?

Who are my best role models or networking contacts for that career?

How can my thesis mentor best help me to further my career?


B. Achievements and Plans/GoalsPART OF ACADEMIC RECORD – SUBMIT TO GRAD GROUP OFFICE AND THESIS COMMITTEE.


B. Achievements and Plans/GoalsAchievements Last period

(accomplished)Next period (planned)

Courses

Publications

Fellowships (applied for or awarded)

Conferences or seminar series

Oral presentations

Poster presentations

Teaching experience

Community service/leadership experience

Responsible Conduct of Research Training (RCR)

Clinical training

Job applications/PhD defense

Other


C. Skills to Improve PART OF ACADEMIC RECORD – SUBMIT TO GRAD GROUP OFFICE AND THESIS COMMITTEE. • Identify specific skills and strengths that you need to develop. • Define concrete actions to help.• Develop these specific skills and strengths.


C. Skills to Improve Skills to improve Action(s) Time frame

At the bench

Working with others

Communication

Learning

Motivation

4. Exploration of Career Options:• Career Services Programming: Career workshops, Biomed

Career Fair, etc.

• Biomedical Graduate Student Association (BGSA) and other student groups’ alumni career talks (e.g., EEJust, PGWISE).

• Graduate Group- and Training Grant-specific career options workshops.

• Discussions with Graduate Group Chair, Thesis Advisor, and Thesis Committee.


http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/careerservices/gradstud/phdpostdoc


5. Job Search Support via Career Services :• Biomedical job list serve

• Workshops in CV and résumé preparation and giving a job talk

• One-on-one career advising

• Network of alumni who are willing to talk with current students about opportunities




6. Optional BGS Certificate Programs:

• Graduate Training in Medical Science ProgramProgram Directors: John Lynch and Hao Shen

• Public Health Certificate ProgramProgram Directors: Hillary Nelson and Mike Levy

• Environmental Health Sciences ProgramProgram Directors: Trevor Penning

• Certificate in Translational ResearchProgram Director: Emma Meagher


http://www.med.upenn.edu/hmgs/

http://www.med.upenn.edu/bgs/pub_health_certificate.shtml

http://www.med.upenn.edu/bgs/pub_health_certificate.shtml

http://www.med.upenn.edu/ceet/EnvironmentalHealthSciencesTrack.shtml

http://www.med.upenn.edu/ceet/EnvironmentalHealthSciencesTrack.shtml

http://www.itmat.upenn.edu/ctr.shtml

7. Other Optional Programs• Opportunity to Teach (required in NGG, optional in other

groups)

• Teaching Certificate from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL)

• Center for Technology Transfer (CTT) Fellows Program


http://www.upenn.edu/ctl/programs_services/graduate_student_programs/ctl_teaching_certificate

http://www.upenn.edu/ctl/programs_services/graduate_student_programs/ctl_teaching_certificate

http://www.ctt.upenn.edu/fellows.html

http://www.ctt.upenn.edu/fellows.html

The CTL Certificate requires:1. Pedagogical Discussion and TrainingComplete CTL-approved teaching workshops/programs.

2. Teaching Experience Complete at least 2 semesters as a TA or instructor.

3. Observation and Review Have a full teaching session observed and reviewed by CTL staff.

4. Teaching Philosophy Participants must develop a statement of teaching philosophy and discuss it in a CTL session culminating the certificate program.


The Center for Technology Transfer (CTT) Fellows Program:• A program in tech transfer for scientifically-trained Penn Grad

Students & Postdocs in which Fellows allocate 5 – 10 hrs/week to projects at their own discretion. Assignments are completed remotely.

Instructional component: All fellows participate in a seminar course "Biotechnology commercialization: the path from invention to market". Fellows participate in an intensive training workshop which provides the necessary elements to perform assessments of new technologies at CTT.

Experiential component: Fellows participate in a paid intern program focused on assessing technical, commercial & IP aspects of technologies at Penn, and assisting in development of commercialization strategies for these technologies.


8. Opportunity to Take Penn Non-Science Courses to explore areas such as:

• Science policy

• Patent law

• Business


9. Penn Grad Student Groups: Parallel Career Paths• Penn Science Policy Group:

http://pennsciencepolicy.blogspot.com/

• Penn Biotech Group Healthcare Consulting:http://pbgconsulting.org/

•Plus Others (e.g. BGSA, EE Just, PG-WISE):http://www.med.upenn.edu/bgs/current_students_groups.shtml





http://pbgconsulting.org/



http://www.med.upenn.edu/bgs/current_students_groups.shtml


Penn Science Policy Group: http://pennsciencepolicy.blogspot.com/

• Penn science students and faculty discuss issues regarding the intersection of science, society, and public policy.

• The blog provides :o Updates on discussions from meetings.o A forum for members to express opinions on topics

ranging from the public perception of science, science education, advances in science, the bioethical questions these raise, and much more.




Penn Biotech Group Healthcare Consulting:http://pbgconsulting.org/


Where Science and Business Meet

• Penn Biotech Group (PBG) is a cross-disciplinary student run organization at Penn.

• We focus on addressing the challenges and obstacles facing the biotechnology industry today.

• We provide our members with education, real-world experience and networking opportunities to enrich their exposure within the biotechnology arena.



Plus Others (e.g. BGSA, EE Just, PG-WISE):http://www.med.upenn.edu/bgs/current_students_groups.shtml



The End

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Career Preparation and Exploration for BGS Students Mike Nusbaum BGS Director August, 2014