Career Trends - Chemistry.pdf

7/28/2019 Career Trends - Chemistry.pdf

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This booklet is produced by the

Science/AAAS Custom Publishing Ofce

ScienceCareers.org/booklets

CAREER

TRENDS

Finding YourPersonal Job

Chemistry


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Introduction........................................................................................ 3

It Pays to Plan: Why You Need a Career MapCarol Milano.............................................................................................. 4

Careers Beyond the BenchLaura Bonetta........................................................................................... 9

Choosing Between Science and Caring?Beryl Lie Benderly............................................................................... 14

Choosing the Best FitDavid G. Jensen..................................................................................... 18

Expand Your Proessional-Skills TrainingElisabeth Pain........................................................................................ 21

Moving Up the Academic LadderLaura Bonetta........................................................................................ 26

Making the Cut in 2011David G. Jensen..................................................................................... 31

CONTENTS

Editor: Allison PritchardCopy Editor: Yuse LajiminmuhipDesign: Mary Ellen Crowley

Titles and afliations or authorsand or sources quoted were correctat the time o original publication.

2011 by The American Associationor the Advancement o Science.All rights reserved. 1 November 2011

This booklet is available onlineat sciencecareers.org/booklets

The keys to building a ulflling career go ar beyond the daily tasks o the job.Real success comes to those scientists who fnd themselves working in anenvironment that suits not only their skill sets, but their personalities as well.Finding this balance can mean the dierence between a tolerable job and atruly rewarding career.

Science Careers has published numerous articles over the years on how tothink about your career in an eort to guide you down a path that is tailored oryou. In this bookletFinding Your Personal Job Chemistrythe goal is to helpyou assess your own strengths, and perhaps your weaknesses, to fnd the bestft or you in the scientifc landscape.

Whether you yearn to do research in a lab, communicate science in new ways,teach, or anything else, you want to be sure that you are being true to yourskills and your passions and that you are surrounded by colleagues whosupport and inspire you.

We hope youll fnd some inspiration in this collection o articles ocused onhelping you fnd your own job chemistry. Good luck!

The Sta oScienceCareers

Introduction


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www.sciencecareers.org4 5Finding Your Personal Job Chemistry

It Pays To Plan:Why You Need a Career Map

By Carol MilanoDecember3, 2010

A body o research shows that people who take the more deliberative approacho setting goals have a better likelihood o meeting them, observes Jennier Hobin,Ph.D., Director o Science Policy at the Federation o American Societies or Experi-mental Biology (FASEB). That deliberative approach is a career plan: a roadmapguiding you rom where you are now to where youd like to be in one, fve, or even tenyears. This personal map, or individual development plan (IDP), evolves throughthoughtul sel-discovery. Take time to reect. Explore your talents, wishes, and real-istic opportunities. Creating your IDP will gradually identiy proessional developmentneeds and career objectives, and pinpoint milestones along the way to each goal.

Taking the First Steps

A year beore completing your Ph.D. or ellowship, start building your plan, advisesSusan Morris, a career coach with Morris Consulting Group in Doylestown, Pennsyl-vania. Sel-assessment is the crucial frst step. Ask yoursel some key questions.Take time to think careullyand be honest.

1. What are your greatest successes? What do you love about what you do? Whatinspires you to keep working in this area? Have you had a stimulating internship,job, or project outside your current ocus? Its vital to identiy the work elementsyou care most about.

2. What kinds of settings do you like picturing yourself in? Is it an ofce at a company,in a government agency, or at an academic institution; indoors, outdoors, in a lab?

3. Which options do you already think about? Do you know anyone with that sort ojob? For an IDP, its valuable to get a realistic picture o it on a day-to-day level.

4. Consider work style and personality. Would you rather be part o a team, or workmostly on your own, meeting occasionally with colleagues? Are you comortablewith grant-seeking and publication needs? Would you enjoy mentoring or management as everyday responsibilities? How much autonomy or structure do you need?

5. Look at external factors. Is amily time, or an easy commute, signifcant? Is highsalary a priority?

Career planning is interactive. Thoroughly assessing your strengths requires checkingwith mentors, colleagues, or riends whove seen you in various roles. We barely noticethings we do eortlesslylike organizing or inormally leading peoplebut theyretouchstones in career assessment.

Use established services, such as your universitys career planning ofce. Yourspecialtys proessional association, or cross-discipline national groups like Asso-ciation or Women in Science, may have volunteer career advisors. FASEBs onlinetools can ease the IDP process.

Identiying Your Ideal Job

Each step builds on what youve already discovered. Identiy directions suracing romthe personal inormation youve gathered. Thinking about work settings helps clariywhat someone doesnt want, Morris fnds. They might realize, I dont want the private

sectorI was born to teach, or, Im a botanist. I dont want to be inside an ofce.Another scientist may say, As a molecular biologist, I need to be in an institutionsresearch department, or, I want to be an entrepreneur. I know I need some businessexperience frst.

Explore every interest. Late in her University o Michigan Biological Psychologyprogram, Hobin realized an academic setting did not attract her. She started analyzingher work habits or clues about other possibilities. I always read news and policyarticles beore science articles, but I had no idea what science policy was, sheremembers. I Googled it, read papers, and stumbled onto ellowship programsdesigned to help Ph.D. scientists transition into science policy. During her 10-weekNational Academies ellowship, she learned about the FASEB position, and was hiredin 2005.

Dont have the tunnel vision that academia is the only track, urges Ignacio Munoz-Sanjuan, Ph.D., vice president o biology or a private nonproft research oundationsince 2007. During his doctoral work in genetics and molecular biology at JohnsHopkins Medical School, Munoz-Sanjuan grew disillusioned about the dependency

on peer review to make a living [in academic science], and universities lack oappreciation or teaching excellence when evaluating or a tenure position.Everything depends on the publication record.

A narrow view o academia is tunnel vision, too. Talented, enthusiastic scientistshave richly varied academic opportunities. I you love teaching, consider educatinghigh school students or liberal arts undergraduates about science. Are your organi-zational skills strong? You might like admissions or administrative work at a scienceprogram. Do you write well? Universities need grantwriters and public inormationspecialists. Look beyond the lab at your own institution to spot jobs matching yourabilities and preerences.

A colleague introduced her to the editor o a start up online biomedical magazine. Herscience editing job there revealed an eagerness to write. Id trained or years to be ascientist, and then a one-day workshop in non-fction writing became a transorma-tive act. I got so much out o it. Schachter used her science credentials to sell a storyto the New York Times Technology section. Her science communications career waslaunched.


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As you develop your IDP, mentors can motivate and mobilize you, helping you recog-nize and overcome barriers. Periodically ask your mentor or eedback and assistance.

Youll probably gain new perspectives on your assets and potential.

Less traditional mentors can oer valuable insights, too. Antonina Roll-Mecak, Ph.D.,chie o the National Institutes o Health Cell Biology and Biophysics Unit in Bethesda,values passive mentoring. I youre in a lab with a lot o successul people, see howthe science is done at a more advanced level. Watch how they manage their research,how they create a rewarding, un atmosphere, she recommends. A peer mentor,Morris suggests, might be someone a year ahead, perhaps in a frst job, who couldkeep you ocused and on-track, while sharing any pitalls theyve encountered.

Mentors are typically in your own environment, says Hobin. Because opportunitiesor Ph.D. scientists range rom patent law to science education to drug development,connect with people in dierent areas. Identiy potential mentors in industry, govern-

ment, or any feld you may be interested in. You may want to talk to a pharmacy orbusiness proessor at your university. Always keep your adviser in the loop, Hobinadvises. Many aculty understand that they cant provide insights into all possiblecareer directions. Her own adviser said he knew little about careers in industry, butadded, I have an ex-student

Assessing Opportunities

The next step is exploring your options. Scientists have a huge asset: knowing howto investigate. Research jobs that are actually out there, says Morris. Talk to peopleworking in them to discover what theyre really like. Name specifc companies in

which you might be interested. The human resources department is not wheredecisions are made. Target a particular department. Who heads it? Use social net-working to meet them. Sharpen your ocus so its easier to zero-in and reach that keyindividual. Go to places where decision-makers gather, especially their conerences.Read their journal articles.

As you research, seek student organizations, including postdoc clubs or committees atyour own institution. Meet other young scientists through national groups like Womenin Cell Biology or the National Postdoctoral Association. You can reach out withoutbeing a member, Morris notes. When you identiy a contact, say, I understand yourecently got this job. Im looking or someone to advise me. An editor told Schachterabout the National Association o Science Writers. Ater chatting with editors and moreexperienced writers at the local chapter meeting, Schachter soon joined its steeringcommittee; valuable contacts led to choice assignments.

Are you considering industry? Educate yoursel about research going on in the privatesector. I you have a chance to ocus now on questions o more interest to the privatesector, make that choice, Munoz-Sanjuan advises. Learn which specialties or exper-

If youre in a lab with a lot of successful people, see how thescience is done at a more advanced level. Watch how they manage

their research, how they create a rewarding, fun atmosphere.Antonina Roll-Mecak, Ph.D.

tise become more desirable beyond academia. Be proactive about doing work thatputs you in the best position to get a research job.

What size employer appeals to you? Sometimes working in a lean organization,with greater responsibility, makes you more marketable to lead research in a biggercompany. A big company is dierent, raught with political issues. Consider which oyour options are the most science-driven, Munoz-Sanjuan suggests.

Inormational interviews are a vital exploration tool. Talk to as many people aspossible, Hobin encourages. It never hurts to contact someone in a position orfeld that you might be interested in. Invite them or a cup o coee. Ask or 20minutesthe worst they can do is say no. People oten enjoy talking about whatthey do. Use the opportunity to ask about the persons or companys research,the time required or non-science tasks, and personality-related actors, includingteamwork or management requirements.

Most scientists in business are surprisingly open to talking about their work,Munoz-Sanjuan echoes. Dont be araid to ask, investigate, meet people, and learnhow companies work.

Setting and Pursuing Goals

Youve identifed your skills and interests, and researched some possibilities. Now,Start honing in on a path that might be right or you. Then, plan steps towards thatgoal, says Hobin. Career goals should be specifc and measurable, with a time lineand target dates.

Take time during graduate and postdoc training to develop transerable skills, shecounsels. Communication, project management, writing, and leadership [ability]are important or careers both in and beyond academia. How can you add that toan overcrowded workday? Find opportunities in the context o lab time and thescientifc work you already do. Branch out. You could give non-technical sciencetalks to a Sierra Club chapter, write or your universitys alumni magazine, or mentorsome undergrads.

Schachter branched out with small editorial assignments, helping scientists improvetheir writing. She enjoyed this new direction so much, she decided to try givingworkshops about written communications, but realized she needed stronger verbalskills. She joined Toastmastersa great opportunity or me to explore all kindso speaking and presentation styles. Now, Beth Schachter Consulting providesseminars and coaching at major medical schools and research institutions. Im ascientist at heart, Schachter emphasizes. Its so much un or me to read thescience, and think about how it can be presented more clearly.

Pinpoint specifc tasks to help you pursue your goal. Roll-Mecak knew what shewanted: Im passionate about what I do, and couldnt imagine doing anything elsewith my lie, she avers. As a University o Caliornia San Francisco postdoc, sheturned to her mentor, Henry Bourne, and postdoc adviser, Ron Vale. Roll-Mecakidentifed research institutions and universities with strong programs in myinterests: biochemistry, structural biology, and cell biology. I discussed the prosand cons o each institution, and the dierences in scientifc cultures.


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She applied to twenty-our places, using just three criteria: the qualifcations o thecolleagues shed have there, the institutions research programs, and the location. Iknew I didnt want to live in certain areas o the U.S., Roll-Mecak explains. Beoreand during the interview process, I bounced ideas and problems o [Bourne and Vale]when trying to make a decision.

Building a Network

Networking, the cornerstone o any career plan, is a chain. Reach out. Leave the lab!Attend science cas and proessional organizations meetings. Join a committee, orwrite or the members newsletter, to strengthen both contacts and transerrable skills.Try inormal gatherings, toolike DCs science policy happy hours, or Science Writersin New Yorks quarterly socials.

As you talk to people, keep an open mind, and keep in touch. At a Helen Hay Whitney

Foundation annual meeting or ellows, Munoz-Sanjuan chatted about research witha ormer proessor who had moved to Merck. A year later, he told me about an open-ing there. Ater his ellowship, Munoz-Sanjuan joined Mercks Neuroscience Centeroutside London. His second job came through an executive recruiter. I never knewthere were headhunters when I fnished my postdoc! Some specialize in one area, likeneuroscience. They go to meetings to make themselves known.

Things are changing in science, Morris stresses. Once, you could stay at a particu-lar job or three or fve years; now that may be down to two. No one has control overdownsizing. The frst year is always critical. Planning beyond that is harder, but ideally,you want to know where youd like to be by the end o your third or fth year.

To stay on track, check in with yoursel once a year. Do you like what youre doing? Canyour job lead to something desirable? Where do you want to be in two years?

In 2020, I hope that Ill still be producing interesting science and taking risks, saysRoll-Mecak. I I already knew where I want to be in ten years, I think it would be reallyboring! she confdes.

For the next fve years, Munoz-Sanjuan aspires to continue building his career athis current oundation. I want to bring new therapies to people with Huntingtonsdisease, and hope to steer the research in ways that let me achieve that. Look at yourcareer as a continuum, not as one stop, he recommends. I you choose a positionnow, that doesnt mean its or the rest o your lie. Its always a dynamic process.

Take the frst step in your own dynamic processget started on your career plan!

This article originally published on ScienceCareers.orgAvailable online at: bit.ly/oweZRo

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Careers Beyond the BenchBy Laura BonettaMarch 5, 2010

Did You Hear the One Aboutthe Former Scientist?

A December 15,2009, New York Times article withthat headline described the plight o a biologist whocompleted his graduate studies at the University oCaliornia, Davis beore becoming a stand-up comic.Although comedy is an unusual choice, most Ph.D.-trained researchers will eventually pursue, out o

choice or necessity, nonacademic careers, accordingto a survey by the National Postdoctoral Associa-tion. In 2003, among Doctorate degree holders whoreceived their degree our to six years previously,only 19.8 percent were in tenure-track or tenuredpositions at our-year institutions o higher education.

For Ph.D.-trained scientists who do not end up with aculty positions, there areresearch opportunities in private or government institutions and industry. But increas-ingly career choices take scientists not just away rom academia but away rom thebench altogetherinto areas like science writing and editing, public relations, sciencepolicy, scientifc program or grant management, science teaching, patent law, andventure capital.

So how do you move beyond the bench?

Find What You Are Good At

Both as a graduate student and postdoc, Maryrose Franko took every opportunity to

volunteer in science education which made her realize that I have good people skillsthat I really enjoy using, she says. I also discovered that, although I enjoyed doingbenchwork, I always looked orward to going into a school or giving a talk or judging ascience air.

While conducting her postdoctoral research at the US National Institutes o Health(NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, she helped with the Student-Teacher InternshipProgram run jointly by NIH and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Throughthe program she became acquainted with some o the administrative sta at HHMI.When a position opened up at HHMI, they suggested I apply, she recalls. I thoughtthat this would be a great way to utilize my people and scientifc skills. And this was awonderul opportunity to make the best out o all my strengths.

She joined HHMI in the spring o1995 as a program ofcer and has since movedthrough the ranks to senior ofcer in charge o several ellowship programs or gradu-ate students and postdocs. I spend a lot o time talking to people in the scienceeducation community, giving presentations, talking with my grantees, reading reports,


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and preparing reports, says Franko. To be successul at this job, she adds, it takes acollaborative person and one who doesnt need or want credit or his or her ideas.

Both private and government-run unding agencies typically hire grant administratorsand program ofcers with graduate degrees. My job is to evaluate science educationneeds. I also give eedback to graduate student applicants and make sure that theresearch they are proposing is undable by our mechanisms. I assign applications toreview based on research area. I organize conerences by grantees and assign talks todierent sessions based on research feld, says Franko. I could not perorm any othese tasks without a Ph.D.

and Follow that PathAndrea Stith joined HHMI straight rom graduate school. I met an HHMI investiga-tor during a symposium when I was a biophysics Ph.D. student at the University o

Virginia, she recalls. He helped me set up an inormational interview at HHMI,which several months later resulted in my applying or a position administering grantprograms.

But ater a ew years at HHMI, Stith discovered that her true passion was sciencepolicy. She is currently at Shanghai Jiao Tong University doing research on higher edu-cation and research policy. I anticipate returning to the United States in the next yearor so and would like to continue pursuing international policy issues, possibly taking aposition in the government or in the nonproft sector, she says.

Stith got her oot in the science policy door through a ellowship at the NationalScience Foundations Ofce o Legislative and Public Aairs through AAAS Scienceand Technology Policy Fellow programbut her path is ar rom typical. I have metso many people who have come to science policy in unique and personal ways and atvery dierent points in their careers. Some have science backgrounds, others dont,she says. I cant identiy a single best way to get here.

Create Your Own OpportunitiesAlthough a ew training programs oer students exposure to dierent careers

such as science policy and science writingsome people have had to create theirown paths.

When Chris Gunter was doing her postdoc in the lab o geneticist Huntington Willard,then executive editor o the journal Human Molecular Genetics, she approached himwith the idea o a ellowship to help him with editorial tasks at the journal. He agreedand she ended up working hal time on her postdoctoral research and hal time on thejournal. And when it came time to apply or a job she decided to pursue a career as ajournal editor. You have to be honest with yoursel. Not everyone is going to be anacademic PI, says Gunter. And I was really interested in editing. When I read a paperI would ask mysel Why is this paper in that journal?

At frst her postdoc adviser was surprised by her choice. He cautioned me that, i Iwere to step o the research track, that would be an irreversible decision, she recalls.But once he realized that is what I wanted to do, he was very supportive.

Gunter eventually took a post at the journal Nature where she spent seven years asthe editor responsible or manuscripts in the feld o genetics. Those experiences andthe wide network o contacts she established then led to a job oer as director o

I have met so many people who have come to science

policy in unique and personal ways and at very dierent

points in their careers. Some have science backgrounds,

others dont. I cant identiy a single best way to get here.

Andrea Stith

research aairs at the HudsonAlpha Institute or Biotechnology in Huntsville, Alabama.My job is to make things happen, says Gunter, who is responsible or everythingrom helping to write grants, to recruiting scientists and students, to writing andediting papers, to publicizing institute discoveries, to organizing seminars and coner-ences, and und raising. You have to be able to multitask because many things haveto move orward each day, she says. And you have to be able to communicate tomany dierent audiences.

Mark Toone went to a similar position straight rom the bench. Ater completing atwo-year post as associate scientist at the Paterson Institute or Cancer Research inManchester, UK, Toone started looking or a permanent position in either academicresearch or research administration. At that time, Tony Pawson had taken over asdirector o research at the prestigious Samuel Luneneld Research Institute in Toronto,Canada, and was looking or someone to help run the institute. Having completed hisgraduate studies in Toronto, Toone jumped at the chance.

He was hired by Pawson and then obtained a Masters o Health Administration atthe University o Toronto while working ull time. That led to his current appoint-ment as director o research operations, where his role is to oversee laboratoryoperations, saety, and a range o institutional services, as well as new laboratorydesign and construction.

Toone frst got turned on to the value o research administration during his post-doc at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF; currently Cancer Research UK)in London, UK. At the time ICRF had split its administrative duties between twohighly respected scientifc leaders, Dr. Paul Nurse, who looked ater the scientifcside o things, and Dr. John Tooze, who looked ater the operations side, saysToone. Ater talking with John Tooze, I began to consider a change in careerplans.

Toone says that graduate school programs should put more emphasis on prepar-ing students or dierent careers. My advice or a grad student or postdoc wouldbe to enhance your research qualifcations either through work experience orormal management, project management, computing, intellectual property

whatever interests youso that you can more easily step into stimulating rolesoutside o research, he says. My position allows me to participate in greatscience without having to pipette anything.


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Marrying Dierent FieldsMany careers paths marry science with a dierent feld. Mikhail G. Shapiros back-ground was originally in business. Ater he co-ounded Cyberkinetics NeurotechnologySystems, he became ascinated by scientifc research. It seemed so cool to actuallycome up with the innovation, he says. As a result, he completed a Ph.D. in biologicalengineering at the Massachusetts Institute o Technology. He then joined Third RockVentures, a venture capital frm based in Boston, where he works at the intersectiono business and science. We look or innovation in science or medicine and bring thatinnovation to patients by providing the capital and expertise o building a company,says Shapiro, who is a senior associate at Third Rock. It is extremely rewarding.

He spends a lot o time talking with thought leaders in dierent felds, either atconerences or while visiting research institutes and biotech frms. At our frm wedont just sit at the computer looking at business plans o companies, he explains.We are more proactive. We will explore a scientifc area and talk to experts in that

area to understand what is possible. And then we might start up a company. Hisadvice or people who would like to explore this path is to spend some time in astartup company, even i you are just working at a bench, he says. At the end o theday, i you are interested in making an impact on society and patients, this is a greatway to do it.

Another career that marries science with the business side o science is patent law.James Dilmore went rom bench to patent law straight ater obtaining his Ph.D. in 2000rom the University o Pittsburgh. The wie o one o my Ph.D. committee memberswas working at a law frm as a scientifc adviser and was about to leave the position,so she introduced me to her boss, he recalls.

But leaving the bench was not an easy decision. I was very well versed in severalareas o cellular neuroscience. I had spent a lot o time and eort developing thoseskills and knowledge. I recognized that I would not be using the experimental tech-niques directly and that I might not be working on my specifc areas o expertise,he recalls. It was a bit unnerving, honestly.

Nonetheless, he took the plunge. He frst joined the Pittsburgh-based internationallaw frm Reed Smith as scientifc adviser. Ater passing the patent bar exam in April2002, Dilmore became a patent agent at the frm. His responsibilities include drating

and fling patent applications on behal o several clients, as well as continuing toassist attorneys involved in litigation cases.

He cannot, however, do things like fle appeals rom the US Patent and TrademarkOfce (USPTO) to courts, negotiate licenses to use patented technology, or sue thosewho breach contracts or inringe patentstasks that require a law degree. So,Dilmore decided to take the plunge once again and last year started attending lawschool while working ull time. My kids got to the ages, 12 and 15, where I had some-what more ree time. It also made sense in terms o career progression or me toobtain a law degree, says Dilmore.

Taking a RiskDilmore did not have any experience in law beore joining his frm, but his careerchoice turned out to be a good ft. His advice or science Ph.D.s considering a lawcareer is to look at some patent applications that are reely downloadable rom USPTOwebsite. Also, most universities oer courses in intellectual property that any student

can take. Some universities also have intellectual property or technology transerofces, where students may volunteer or intern.

Like Dilmore, Teresa Calzonetti had not done anything other than research beore

becoming an instructor at Frederick Community Collegea two-year college in Mary-land where she teaches an introductory biology course to about 40 students. I alwaysthought that I would like teaching, but I had no teaching experience, she says.

She called the head o the biology department at the college and applied or a part-time teaching position, which she obtained three weeks beore classes started. Idid not sleep or those three weeks, she says. Having taught the class or two yearsnow, Calzonetti has gotten over that initial anxiety and is getting ready to increase herteaching load. I would like to teach more sessions and new classes, she says. Inaddition to enjoying teaching science, the best thing about the job is that I am gettingto learn all the stu again. Its like I am taking a course and every semester I am inter-ested in it all over again.

Making a transition rom research can be a scary proposition and one that manystudents and postdocs will have to make without any support and guidance rom theirresearch mentors. My advice to graduate students and postdocs is to network andknow a lot o dierent people, says Gunter. And do what appeals to you. Dont justlisten to what people say you should do, especially i they think you will be a ailureunless you stay in research.

Regardless o the chosen path, says HHMIs Franko, the most important thing is tomake sure you are running to a job you really think you will enjoy and be good atandnot running away rom a job that you are not enjoying or at which you are not currentlysuccessul. You should do as much research as possible through inormational inter-views, volunteering, and internships, to make sure that you do not need to be doingbench research to be challenged and satisfed in your job.

This article originally produced by the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing OfceAvailable online at: bit.ly/nRajCb

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the most important thing is to make sure you arerunning to a job you really think you will enjoy and be good

atand not running away rom a job that you are notenjoying or at which you are not currently successul.

Maryrose Franko


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Choosing Between Science and Caring?By Beryl Lie BenderlyDecember3, 2010

Very close to100

years ago, historys most amous emale scientist won the secondo her two Nobel Prizes (physics in 1903, chemistry in 1911). As the centennial othat milestone approaches, women remain a decided minority in the felds in whichMarie Curie so excelled. That they now match or exceed men in the number o liescience Ph.D.s and medical degrees awarded makes the contrast with the physicalsciences and engineering all the more striking.

For many years, attempts to explain this discrepancy ocused on womens sup-posedly inherent ineriority in math. Rapidly improving achievement has sincetorpedoed that hypothesis. More recent explanations have emphasized social andpersonal obstacles, such as discrimination and isolation, that women ace whenthey enter or try to advance in male-dominated felds. Accounts o such tribulationsabound, including, recently, Baruch College historian Julie Des Jardinss enlighteningThe Madame Curie Complex: The Hidden History o Women in Science.

But new research raises an entirely dierent possibility. It isnt just that youngwomen give up or are excluded rom studying science, this work suggests. Rather,many simply dont choose it in the frst place because they believe it especiallyincompatible with goals and values they consider important. Interest in some

careers and disinterest in others results rom the intersection o peoples goals andtheir preconceptions o the goals aorded by dierent careers, write psychologistAmanda Diekman o Miami University in Oxord, Ohio, and co-authors in a papertitled Seeking Congruity Between Goals and Roles: A New Look at Why Women OptOut o Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Careers, published inthe journal Psychological Science in July. Because women in particular tend toendorse communal goals, the paper continues, they are more likely than mento opt out o STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] careers in avor ocareers that seem to aord communion.

Helping others, serving humanity, connection with others, working with peo-ple, and caring or others exempliy the communal goals that women collegestudents on average said they preerred when asked what they wanted to accom-plish in their careers. Male students, on the other hand, more oten indicated whatpsychologists call agentic goals, such as demonstrating skill or competence andseeking power, mastery, independence, recognition, and achievement.

Peoples sel-confdence about doing math and science (which psychologists callsel-efcacy) inuenced their preerred career goals, but their math and scienceability and experience (as demonstrated by their course grades) did not. Both genders,however, agreed that STEM careers aord communion signifcantly less than feldsthe researchers term non-STEM male-stereotypic (MST), such as law or medicine,which have a history o being dominated by men. Careers in the MST category in turnaord communion less than those such as social worker, registered nurse, or humanresources manager, which the researchers call emale-stereotypic because o theirhistoric dominance by women.

We dont really want to imply that prejudice doesnt exist [or] that there arent sel-efcacy dierences between men and women that can hamper womens successin science, Diekman tells Science Careers in an interview. I think those problemsdeserve a lot o attention. But, she continues, so does this other question: ... are

[science] careers seen as things that women want to do, given the average dierencesbetween men and women in what they say they hope their work will accomplish?

Because women in particular tend to endorse communalgoals, they are more likely than men to opt out o STEM[science, technology, engineering, and math] careers in

avor o careers that seem to aord communion.Amanda Diekman et al.

The Obstacle Course

Investigations into womens underrepresentation in hard science oten appear tobe based on a very dierent assumption: that scientifc work is so sel-evidentlyworthwhile and attractive that people with the ability to do it will choose to do so.Over the years, a great deal o work has gone into discovering and helping women

overcome the stumbling blocks that can impede progress toward science careers.In November, or example, Arizona State University (ASU) launched CareerWISE,an innovative Web site that provides interactive tools and resources as well asstrategies and encouragement or women pursuing physical science Ph.D.s.Supported by the National Science Foundation and based on extensive researchinto women scientists experiences, the site aims to address ... instances wherewomen experience discouragement, explains its originator, ASU counselingpsychologist Bianca Bernstein. This online teaching resource is designed to helpwomen combat those ... experiences so that they eel that they can pursue theirdreams and ... survive and thrive in the environments o Ph.D. programs and intheir uture careers.

The sites resilience-training program is crated specifcally or women, but it canhelp Ph.D. students o both genders understand [themselves] when difcultthings happen, learn to understand the situation and other people, and thenstrengthen skills to respond to those situations in an eective manner, Bernstein


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says. It combines written content with herstories, which are clips rom video-taped interviews with Ph.D. women in science and engineering that recountcommon problems and approaches useul or solving them.

Choosing Scienceor Not

Long beore a woman aces the rigors o a Ph.D. program, she must opt to pursue ascientifc career in the frst place. Diekmans data suggest that many college studentson the verge o setting a career direction see STEM careers as inhibiting communalgoals, the article states. Because more women than men avor that category o goals,it is not surprising that even women talented in these areas might choose ... careerpaths other than science. Understanding communal motivations can provide uniqueinormation about why women opt out o STEM career paths.

Diekman isnt sure why students hold those belies about scientifc careers, which

appear to dismiss sciences immense contributions to human welare and the act thatresearch can oten be highly collaborative. The burgeoning eort to oster translationalresearch, or example, strongly embodies both those eatures. Part o it is likely thekind o images that are available in the culture, she speculates, such as the lonescientist with the microscope or a computer and not with another person, whereaswhen you think about a doctor, you think about a doctor with a patient. The studyexamined only students impressions and perceptions o various careers, she empha-sizes, and not the lived experience o people who have chosen them. But becausestudents must set an academic course long beore they gain any such experience,their perceptions, right or wrong, play an enormous role in what they choose.

This concrete and explicit intention to helprather thansimply to advance knowledge or technologyexerts a powerul

draw or women students and makes biomedical engineering

the most heavily emale engineering specialty

Nor does the belie that science conicts with communal goals inuence only women.We argue that there [are] average sex dierences in the importance o communalgoals but that its really the communal goals that matter in whether one choosesscience, Diekman says. Men who score high in valuing communal goals show thesame pattern as women with that preerence, opting or felds with a perceived com-munal component such as law, medicine, social work, or education.

Engineering that Helps

The choice made by at least one group o scientifcally able women appears toconfrm this idea. A technical feld with the explicit raison detre o helping people,

biomedical engineering, arose in the past century as a partnership among medicalresearchers, clinicians, physical scientists, and engineers and has evolved intoa separate discipline now taught at engineering schools across the country. Thefeld aims to improve health, according to the mission statement o the NationalInstitute o Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the newest institute in theNational Institutes o Health. Founded in 2000, it is committed to integrating thephysical and engineering sciences with the lie sciences to advance basic researchand medical care.

This concrete and explicit intention to helprather than simply to advance know-ledge or technologyexerts a powerul draw or women students and makesbiomedical engineering the most heavily emale engineering specialty, accordingto engineering educators Ive spoken with recently. The proportion o women atJohns Hopkins University, as at programs across the country, is well in excess o

40% and sometimes close to 50%, says JHU engineering dean Nicholas Jones.Dean James Tien o the University o Miami in Florida concurs, adding that otherengineering felds generally appear to have a bad rap with women studentsbecause they lack a connotation o helping. Women earn less than one-ftho bachelors degrees in mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineering andabout one-third in chemical engineering.

Bioengineering chair Jennier West o Rice University in Houston, Texas, says shehas heard many women students say they want careers that help people. Allengineering disciplines can do that, West notes, but the connection is moreapparent to students in bioengineering. The past centurys great advances inmedical diagnosis and treatmentincluding kidney dialysis, artifcial body partssuch as lenses and joints, magnetic resonance imaging, and genetic testingcould have happened only with crucial contributions rom physical scientists andengineers, who will also be needed or the next generation o health care miracles.

But this messagethat physical science, too, is a means o helpingseems tohave been missed by many young women with the ability to do the work. I thosefelds want to attract more women, they need to make those opportunities to

meet communal goals more apparent, Diekman says. Expanding the notiono the helping proessions to include those that make discoveries and createtechnologies that increase human welare may be a way to encourage more youngwomen to join their ranks.

This article originally published on ScienceCareers.orgAvailable online at: bit.ly/oK31LV

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Choosing the Best FitBy David G. JensenOctober15, 2010

During the good old daysthat is, a ew years agosome job seekers managed to line up two or moreopportunities beore deciding which one to accept.It wasnt an everyday occurrence, but it wasnt rare.And even or those who werent so lucky, oerswere common and requent enough that strongcandidates knew they had a choice. You could takeyour time and analyze the ft. I it didnt eel right,you knew there was another oer waiting aroundthe corner.

That hasnt been true or a ew years now. During these days o economic uncertaintyand job-market unease, my columns have ocused on the art o looking or work, onincreasing the odds o an increasingly rare event: fnding a job. But I sense that this ischanging.

Maybe it is the optimist in me, but based on the number o management positions ourrecruiting company and others have flled in the past 6 months, I sense that, down-stream, hiring will soon increase in companies large and small. Although no one isshouting with glee yet, its likely that sunnier days are ahead. The only real question is,how long will it take or them to get here?

Whenever they come, those sunny days will signal to readers that they need to startthinking again about the quality o the ft. I there isnt personal chemistry betweenyou and your bossand you and your companya job oer can be an oer o entrap-ment. Theres nothing worse than being trapped in a job you dont like, a culture inwhich you dont ft.

Defning Company Culture and Personal Chemistry

Heres an example o what I mean by company culture. I tried recruiting a proteinchemist with very marketable experience out o a Caliornia biotech frm and into amajor pharmaceutical company. It elt like a no-brainer, but he would have nothing todo with it. Hed ound the perect matchperect company culturewith his currentemployer.

During each lunch break, this ellow takes his surboard out o a closet and hits thewater. Thats right, he fts his avorite pastime into his workday. He sure wouldnt beable to do that in the Fortune 500company I had contacted him about. He wouldprobably also be uncomortable with the number o white shirts and ties at thatcompany, another indication o a poor ft.

The other critical actor in evaluating an oer (apart rom the obvious things like thequality o work, the location, the salary, and the benefts package) is the personalchemistry you have with your prospective boss and colleagues. Whereas companyculture reers to your ft on a grand scale, personal chemistry is about how youre likelyto get along with the people you will work with every day. Does your working style

So what should youlook or?Its simple really: You want to eel good about

what you hear and see on interview day,to see and hear things that remindyou o what you like about going

to work each day.

complement your bosss working style? Do your uture colleagues seem like thekind o people youd enjoy being around? Ater all, youll spend nearly a third o yourlie with these people or the next ew years at least.

Its critical to think about how both elements o the ft eel to you. So, start thinkingabout the ft on interview day.

Interview Day

I you have a passion as strong and obvious as my surer riend, you probably canevaluate the ft even beore the interview. A company in Des Moines just isntgoing to cut it i you want to sur at lunch. However, most o us dont have suchrigid requirements. As long as were given a place to put our work passions to work,were exible.

So what should youan easy-to-work-with, exible prospective employeelookor? Its simple really: You want to eel good about what you hear and see on inter-view day, to see and hear things that remind you o what you like about going towork each day.

Heres my number-one suggestion or interview day: Be the real you. I you go intoan interview projecting a pumped-up, artifcial version o yoursel, thats the personwhos going to get the oer. Congratulations! You now get to be that person everysingle day. Thats how people end up with 6-month or 1-year stays on their resums.

O course, you have to be the best real you you can possibly be. People whoattract top oers are those who can talk positively about themselves without over-stating their abilities or seeming arrogant. There is something about candor in theinterviewing process that elicits the same response rom the hiring manager. Thebest candidates know that they have got to do some selling, but they also know thatoverdoing it can hurt them.

Questions to Ask

All good candidates bring questions to the interview, questions theyve thoughtabout in advance. Some people eel uncomortable asking questions o theirprospective boss. I think thats a shame because I know the boss expects it. Youlose points and appear disinterested when you dont ask a ew good ones. And bythe way, its fne to reer to your notes.


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Here are a few questions about company culture,to be asked o the HR person or any senior sta member:

How would you describe the company culture here at ABC Biotech? (An obviousquestion, but dont leave without asking it. Its the shortest route to what youneed to know.)

How does the company communicate with its employees?Do people at my levelin the company generally know whats going on with major decisions and corpo-rate goals? (Its important to know i its an environment where people at yourlevel are treated like mushroomskept in the dark and ertilizedor whetherthey are integrated into the companys big picture.)

What is the companys mission statement? (Another obvious one, but you need toask. Take this with a grain o salt, as many companies give it lip service only.)

Whats the corporate view of the quality-assurance team? (This question applies

to whatever part o the company youd be joining. Its important to know how wellthe team is thought o by upper management.).

Suggestions for questions about personal-chemistry issues,to be asked o the prospective boss or any peer-level sta member:

Tell me about your management style. (Or, Tell me about Susans managementstyle, i in a meeting with a prospective colleague. This is a critical question thatreveals much.)

Please share with me some of the secrets for a successful career with ABC Biotech.What kinds o personal traits and work habits work well in your team? (Youre looking or specifc examples o things that people do and how they behave that workwell with this boss. Dont let him or her get away with gleaming generalities.Everyone is a hard worker.)

How is work assigned? Is there a regular process or reviewing progress? Howoten? (One o the great devils o the industry workplace is the micromanager. Here,youre trying to determine just how involved the boss is in your everyday activities.)

Is it easy to recognize success in this job? How will I know when the companythinks Im doing a good job? (This question ties into the question above and tellsyou about how the boss views goal setting and perormance reviews.)

When reviewing issues like company culture and personal chemistry, go with whatyou see as well as hear. Although questions and their answers get you part o the waythere, on interview day you should keep your eyes open or contradictions betweenwhat people are telling you and how things appear. Frowns and warning looks on theaces o lab employees can reveal that everything theyre telling you is suspect.

This article originally published on ScienceCareers.orgAvailable online at: bit.ly/oI3D1N

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Expand Your Proessional-Skills TrainingBy Elisabeth PainOctober1, 2010

As a second-year biology student at the Ecole Normale Suprieure (ENS) de Cachan inFrance, Cyrielle Barbot was planning on a research career when she elt the desire tohave a project among riends, she says. So Barbot and Mathieu Moslonka-Leebvre,another ENS student, created a scientifc magazine called Le Prisme Ides. We wentto battle ull o innocent enthusiasm, not knowing what it was like, Barbot says. Wereally had to put ourselves in the shoes o an editor, go and canvass proessionals, goand sell our project, go and create a layout. What made the project cool and veryinteresting, she says, is that we also learned things.

Barbots magazine is an example o the kinds o extracurricular initiatives some gradu-ate students take on, in the interest o developing proessionally, gaining experience,and having un. Pursuing such activities, and balancing them with their ormal training,allows aspiring scientists to gain skills they wouldnt develop otherwise and expandstheir proessional horizons. Sometimes such projects end up being bridges into new,unplanned careers.

Programs that Foster Initiative

I you decide you want to get involved in some sort o science-related extracurri-cular activity, you could start rom scratch, as Barbot did. But there are simpler ways.Young scientists really should look or these opportunities, because they do exist.Theyre just not always that well publicized, says Jared Silvia, a fnal-year Ph.D.student in inorganic chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute o Technology (MIT) inCambridge. In 2005, the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division o Chemical Educa-tion launched the Graduate Student Symposium Planning Committeeproject, whichallows chemistry Ph.D. students to organize symposia at ACS national meetings. Silviatook advantage o the program earlier this year, organizing a policy symposium thattook place at ACSs August meeting in Boston.

Heres another kind o opportunity: Some proessional associations, including theSociety or Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), encourage the establishmento local student chapters. SIAM gives the whole inrastructure necessary, [so] you


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only need to gather a group o students that want to do that, says Hermes Gadlha,a fnal-year Ph.D. student in mathematical biology at the University o Oxord in theUnited Kingdom. But Gadlha didnt have to start a chapter, because one alreadyexisted at Oxord. He took over the presidency o the Oxord University SIAM StudentChapter last July.

Teamwork

Silvia and nine other Ph.D. students gathered on the MIT campus ollowing an invita-tion rom ACS in the summer o2008 and ormed a committee. They kept the commit-tees structure exible; anyone could take on more responsibility as they wanted to,and at the same time, i someone became more involved in their research or they weretraveling or something had come up in their lie, then they could eed some o theirresponsibilities to the rest o the group, Silvia says.

At frst, the committee held monthly meetings to discuss what had been achieved andto consider new issues. When, about 9 months beore showtime, the pace started topick up, the group held 15-minute, standup meetings every Monday morning. Thatworked really well just to keep people moving and motivated, Silvia says.

Project Management

A key actor in the success o any project is a clear view o the objectives. Barbot andMoslonka-Lebvres visiono a platorm that would allow young scientists romdierent disciplines to express themselves and exchange inormationtook shape asthey laid the groundwork, orming an association and writing the necessary statutes.Gadlha and the Oxord SIAM committee planned the agenda o the events they willhold this academic year, including an induction day or newcomers, student seminars,scientifc talks by proessors, networking events, visits to industry campuses, and anannual conerence.

Every eort requires leadership. As a co-chair o the MIT committee, Silvias job was tokeep everyone aware o the deadlines, aware o their tasks and responsibilities.

Basically just providing reminders, keeping the big picture in mind, and making surethat we were achieving all our goals, he says.

Money

Such projects also require fnancial support. Ater several months o eort, the MITcommittee ound themselves with eight confrmed speakers but no confrmed und-ing. They shited gears, rom national unding agencies and corporations to their owninstitution. The chair o the department was willing to und us a ew thousand dollarsto get us started, Silvia says. That was important because, when we had money,then we could go out and make more contacts.

Basically, you are trying to sell a product thats very difcult to quantiy and make thisproduct important or them, says Gadlha, who had to raise money to oset the costso the ood and drinks they oer at SIAM events and organizing the annual conerence.When talking to prospective industrial sponsors, Gadlha and the Oxord commit-tee have emphasized sponsor benefts such as opportunities to gain exposure and

be linked to the university. But above all, most o them want the chance to recruitstudents, Gadlha says. Recently, the Oxord chapter secured 4500 (about $6,110)rom two companies, complementing the 300 (about $407) the national SIAM andthe universitys Mathematical Institute each gave them.

Searching or unds orces you to conront some practical issues such as setting upand running a budget. Preparing their frst application orced us to anticipate print-ing expenses, ask and compare quotations, and think about how we were going tofnance that, says Barbot, who won1800 (about $2,400) in seed unding rom herhost institution.

Multitasking

The potential advantages o such activities are oset by a big disadvantage: They taketime. So ar, Gadlha has spent about 2 days a month coordinating the chapter, raisingunds, organizing events, networking with other SIAM student chapters, and circulat-ing job and unding opportunities to the chapters 250members. Silvia, who joinedthe MIT committee as a undraiser, spent 10 hours a week on that task at its peak. Asco-chair, he spent about an hour a day on the project during the 6 months leading up

to the meeting.

Thats time that could have been spent on class work or research. But had he not beenorced to juggle these tasks, Silvia says, I may not have developed that skill to be ableto really home in on an experiment and make sure its done right the frst time. Hebecame more efcient and much better at keeping a diary, keeping a calendar, [and]keeping my thoughts in order, he adds.

No matter how valuable the experience, you still have to actor in your supervisorsopinion. Silvia says that he and his supervisor had the understanding that as long asI was getting my work done in the lab and doing good science, thats what he caredabout most. So, go to your supervisor, tell them upront that youre doing it i youthink its going to be an issue, and try to work out an agreement o some sort to makesure that you can still do the activities you want while understanding that you areresponsible or your lab work frst and oremost, he advises.

No matter how valuable the experience, you stillhave to actor in your supervisors opinion. try to work out

an agreement o some sort to make sure that you canstill do the activities you want while understanding that

you are responsible or your lab workfrst and oremost.

Jared Silvia


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Broader Horizons

But i you can make the time, you can gain skillsinuencing people, budgeting,

managing projectsthat otherwise would be difcult to acquire until much later inyour career. All three young scientists emphasized the pleasure o teamwork. Espe-cially mathematicians, we work very independently, Gadlha says. Its a very niceexperience just to be part o the group and try to solve dierent problems all together.

All three have also seen their proessional horizons expand as a result o their volun-teer eorts, though in dierent ways. Since I want to stay in academia, the chapter isimportant or my research connections, Gadlha says. Managing the student chapterhas also given him an opportunity to learn about undraising in a relaxed and support-ive environment. Gadlha now also eels much more prepared or an interview ora job.

As he prepares to write his thesis, Silvia is weighing his proessional options. He hasbecome interested in working on applied projects such as energy researcha topicthat came up during the symposium planningeither in academia or industry. Silviais also open to nonresearch careers: His experience on the planning committee reallyopened my eyes to the act that I, as a chemist, have more skills than I realized.

Barbots career aspirations and what is going on in the association have been evolv-ing side-by-side, she says. She learned that she enjoys managing projects and bring-ing people together to work toward a shared goal. And it is not just by chance thatour second issue [covered] urban ecology, she says. Upon graduating rom ENS last

June, Barbot abandoned her plans or a research career, training instead or a career asa civil servant in town and country planning.

Barbot expects Le Prisme Ides to continue to inuence her proessional aspirationsas she and her team explore new themes. She says, This association is about open-ing your mind, about always having a lot o projects, and saying to yoursel, We dontknow how to do it, but we may nonetheless be able to do it.

i you can make the time, you cangain skillsinuencing people, budgeting,

managing projectsthat otherwisewould be difcult to acquire until much

later in your career.

Further Resources

Your home institution and proessional association will most likely have some trainingprograms or unding in place to help students run side activities. Below are a ewexamples, most rom national or international organizations. A couple o institution-level programs are included to illustrate whats oten available locally.

The Inormation Society or the Inormation Age supports Student Chaptersand oers other volunteer opportunities that could help students learnleadership skills.

The Society o Economic Geologists Student Chapters

The Association or Computing Machinery

The Institute o Electrical and Electronic Engineers Engineering in Medicine andBiology Society Student Chapters or less ormal Clubs

The Society or Advancement o Chicanos and Native Americans in ScienceStudent Chapters

The European Wildlie Disease Association Student Chapters

The European Association o Geoscientists & Engineers Student Chapters

The University o Connecticut Division o Student Aairs oers support tostudent organizations, including leadership-training programs.

Boston Universitys Student Activities Ofce oers BU students support andtraining as well as advice on issues such as undraising, ethics, and conictresolution.

University o North Carolina graduate students may seek unding or studentinitiatives rom the universitys Student Activity Fee Committee, the Student

Congress, or the Graduate and Proessional Student Federation.

This article originally published on ScienceCareers.orgAvailable online at: bit.ly/nKUIn5

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Moving Upthe Academic LadderBy Laura BonettaFebruary11, 2011

Most individuals who obtain Ph.D.s in the liesciences have set their sights on an academicresearch career. As this years ScienceCareerspostdoc survey indicated, 61 percent o ormerpostdocs polled and 57 percent o current post-docs hoped to get tenure-track academic positionsater completing their postdoctoral studies, and anadditional 15 percent o ormer and 16 percent ocurrent postdocs planned on seeking non-tenure-track research scientist positions.

In reality, only a minority o Ph.D.s actually endup in academic research careers. For those whodo, getting that frst aculty position is only the frst rung up the ladder. In the UnitedStates, the academic research path consists o a series o promotions rom assistant toassociate proessor to ull proessor, ollowed by subsequent promotions and honors.

While the names o the positions and the degree o job stability associated with eachone may vary in dierent countries, in general, climbing rom one step to the nextis dependent upon research accomplishments as well as, to varying degrees, otheractivities including teaching and administrative tasks.

Each researcher fnds his or her way o ulflling the requirements or promotion, butwhen senior scientists are asked about their approach some common themes emerge.

In the Drivers Seat

While speaking to postdocs and junior aculty attending the Howard Hughes Medi-

cal Institute (HHMI) course on laboratory management in 2002, Thomas Cech, HHMIpresident at the time, likened obtaining a aculty position to getting a drivers license.All o a sudden you have all o this reedom to turn when you want to turn or to gostraight when you want to go straight, he said. On the other hand, you have to payor the gas, and youve got some responsibility.

That sense o responsibility took Katerina Venderova by surprise. During her lastew months as a postdoc at the University o Ottawa in Canada, beore she started aaculty position at the University o the Pacifc in Caliornia, Venderova was gatheringpreliminary data, applying or grants, and interviewing prospective graduate students.I was not prepared or how much responsibility I eel or these bright students lives,she says. I was mentoring students as a postdoc but now its dierent. I realize that itis not just about me any more.

Hiring the right people is critical when frst establishing a research program. To helpmake the right choices some beginning aculty ask more senior colleagues in their

department to also interview prospective students, suggests Giacomo Cavalli, seniorprincipal investigator at the Institute o Human Genetics in Montpellier, France, whowill be assuming its directorship in January.

Its also important to get the lab o on the right track by choosing the right projects towork on. One piece o advice that many beginning aculty receive is to have a risky, butvery exciting, project to work on and then something that is a sure thing.

I learned this early on rom my frst postdoc advisor to have some bread and butter,but also some juicy turkey cooking on the side, says Giampietro Schiavo, a cell biolo-gist at Cancer Research UK in London. I would say that it worked well or me althoughthe dierence between the bread and the turkey turned out not to be so huge.

Another piece o advice is to become an expert in a particular area o research. Iden-tiy problem x and become known as one o the best people in the world at tackling

it. I was lucky in that I could see a hole in my feld o research that no one was doingresearch in and I chose to work on that, says Robert Allison, pro-vice-chancellor at theUniversity o Sussex, United Kingdom.

When other researchers are looking or a collaborator or to do a sabbatical some-where, you want them to come to you because you are the person that does x best.

Tenure Pressure

One o the major hurdles o academic tenure-track positions in the United States andCanada, and the cause o many sleepless nights, is obtaining tenure. A tenure-trackspot is typically flled by an assistant proessor who will work about fve or six yearsbeore a ormal decision is made on whether tenure will be granted. I tenure is notgranted the investigator is asked to leave so that someone else can fll the tenure-track spot. I tenure is granted, the assistant proessor is promoted to an associateproessorship and, at many institutions, will have a guaranteed salary even i grantunds run out.

Institutions in other countries have adopted systems similar to the one in the United

States, but that is not the case everywhere. In France, or example, tenure is awardedater a probation period o about a year almost as a matter o course (barring majorproblems). The main barrier in French academia is to get into the system and obtainthe position o assistant proessor. Applicants oten have to try or several years to getsuch a position. But once in the system, the job is secure. We have a tough evaluationevery our years. They can close down the lab i you are not producing, but you wouldgo away with your salary, says Cavalli.

Research First

The criteria or obtaining tenure at institutions that ollow a U.S.-type system typicallyorm a three-legged stool: research, teaching, and service. In most research-intensiveinstitutions the research leg o the stool is considerably more substantial than theother two legs. Research is by ar the biggest component, says Linda Walling,proessor at the University o Caliornia (UC), Riverside and ormer divisional dean orlie sciences. I you dont have excellence in research you will not remain within theUC system.


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To establish excellence, tenure committees will typically look or publications in peer-reviewed journals and letters rom senior scientists who can testiy to the value othe applicants research. Having obtained at least one major research grant is also arequirement or tenure at some institutions. Grants and papers are the standard cur-rency, says Matthew Redinbo, proessor and chair o the Department o Chemistry at

the University o North Carolina at Chapel Hill.A good rule o thumb, according to Redinbo, is to frst publish a good paper and thenobtain a grant. The grant study section will look more avorably at data that hasalready been vetted by reviewers and editors, he says. This will increase yourchances o getting the grant. Another piece o advice: Dont hate the grant writingprocess, says Redinbo. Its very clariying and it makes you think about theimportant questions to ask to align your ideas and goals. This process sets youup or success.

One o the things a junior aculty member can do to obtain papers and grantsasiderom doing stellar researchis to establish a community o colleagues through coner-ences and collaborations. These people will be the ones who review your grants andpapers, says Redinbo. And when it comes time to put together your tenure dossierthey will be the ones you ask to write letters commenting on your work and personalattributes.

And in todays research environment it is increasingly important to have colleaguesand collaborators in dierent countries. I believe in international relationships in

science. You can do science much aster and in the modern world o big science, theonly way to survive is through those relationships, says Paolo Sassone-Corsi, aproessor at UC Irvine. To acilitate these types o interactions, Sassone-Corsi co-directs with Emiliana Borrelli an INSERM Unit that brings French students and post-docs to UC Irvine. Basically it allows students exposure to the American system andAmerican researchers get to learn more about France.

Becoming a Teacher

Although tenure decisions at primarily research institutions are based mostly onpublications and grants, more and more universities want aculty members who arealso good teachers. When I frst started you just had to be an okay teacher, but todayexcellence in teaching is more important, says UC Riversides Walling.

Teaching ability is typically evaluated based on student evaluations as well as assess-ments rom other aculty in the department. Thereore it pays or junior aculty totake any how to teach courses that may be oered on campus and/or sit in on the

The criteria or obtaining tenure at institutionsthat ollow a U.S.-type system typically

orm a three-legged stool:research, teaching, and service.

lectures o colleagues who are known or teaching well. In addition, junior acultyshould ask senior colleagues to sit in on their own lectures, not only to obtain eed-back but also because they will be able to write letters about your teaching abilitiesor your tenure dossier, says Brett Finlay, a proessor at the University o BritishColumbia in Canada.

At liberal arts institutions, such as Wesleyan University in Connecticut, teaching isvalued as much as research. You have to be eective at both, and one way to do thatis to integrate your teaching and research activities such that they enrich each other,says Manju Hingorani, an associate proessor o molecular biology and biochemistryat Wesleyan.

Doing Service

The third leg o the tenure stool is service, or evidence that a aculty member is

willing to work or the betterment o the university, proession, and public at large.Service includes work in departmental and other campus committees, researchethics boards, editorial boards o journals, and grant study sections.

When choosing which committees to serve on, junior aculty should have clear ideasabout the time commitment involved. They should defnitely talk to the chair o thedepartment to see how much they should take on, says Walling. It also helps toalign ones interests and passions with potential committee work. Some people arepassionate about teaching; they should be on a committee responsible or curricu-lum development. Other committees are well suited or people who are analyticaland detail oriented, says Walling. I you can leverage what your strengths are,administration is not as painul.

And just as important as fnding the right match is learning to say no. Every youngaculty member needs to be engaged, but not overly so, she says. At the beginning,doing research is the most important thing.

The Growth o Non-Tenure

For the last 30 years, the share o tenured and tenure-track aculty positions in theUnited States has been declining, while the proportion o non-tenure-track appoint-ments, both ull and part time, has continued to grow. In 2007, the number o non-tenure-track, ull-time appointments in the United States reached 18.5 percent, uprom 13 percent in 1975. During the same time period tenure-track appointmentsdecreased by hal, rom 20.3 percent in 1975 to 9.9percent in 2007.

Non-tenure-track positions are oten characterized by higher teaching loads anddont provide guaranteed salary like most tenured positions. Instead aculty typicallyhave renewable contracts. It appealed to me because there is no tenure clock,says Julie Sandell, a proessor at Boston University School o Medicine and associateprovost or aculty development. I did not take any longer to rise through the ranksthan I would have in a place with tenure, and did not have the added pressure.

Non-tenure-track aculty at Boston University go through the same career path oassistant to ull proessor as tenure-track aculty. For promotions the standards are


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no dierent. In the sciences, you have to have external recognition, a lot o teaching,and an independent lab, usually with external unding, says Sandell.

However, non-tenure-track ull-time aculty sometimes eel like second-classcitizens in the academic world. To address this and other potential concerns BostonUniversity recently put together a taskorce to examine career tracks o non-tenuredaculty. One o the reasons or the task orce was that the non-tenure-track pathhas grown a bit haphazard and the titles and positions are not well defned acrossthe entire university, says Tanya Zlateva, taskorce chair and associate dean oracademic programs at Boston University Metropolitan College.

Stepping Up

Regardless o the career path or country o employment, continued success inscience depends on ongoing research output and hard work. In addition, aterobtaining tenure and being promoted to ull proessors, researchers typically fndthat responsibilities outside o research, such as writing papers and grants orserving on various committees and boards, increase.

Many aculty members also become chairs o their departments or deans or aparticular time period (oten three to fve years). The positions, researchers say,oten show another side o science that can be invigorating and reenergizing.

While many researchers return to the lab ull time ater stints as administrators, orothers administration becomes a career path. Ater becoming dean at the Universityo Durham, Allison had to choose between going back to research or remaining insenior administration. I could have done the job o dean or a three-year term andthen gone back to the laboratory. When I was then oered an extension I knew thatgoing back to a mainstream research career would be virtually impossible i Iaccepted, he recalls. For one thing, no matter how hard you try, your productivityas a researcher plummets when you take on the senior administrative duties o adean. And secondly, though you are still teaching and publishing, colleaguesincreasingly see you frst and oremost as a member o the senior management

team and not an academic researcher.

Academic careers are not or everyone, but or those researchers who decide to gothis route, the key is hard work and ocusing on the requirements or tenure andpromotion at your particular institution. Though the exact path is oten unpredict-able, proper planning and keeping ones options in mind can help make or a moresuccessul journey.

This article originally produced by the Science/AAAS Custom Publishing OfceAvailable online at: bit.ly/p7AUPy

Related Articles

Recovering rom Postdoc Mistakesbit.ly/plrqqW

Reentering Academiabit.ly/ptVD4U

Making the Cut in 2011By David G. JensenMarch 18, 2011

Theres a lot o competition today orjobs in the biotech and pharmaceuticalindustries, and not all o it comes romother academic labs. An increasingraction o your competition has an unairadvantage: In 2011, record numbers oentry-level jobsthe jobs youre applyingorare going to scientists who alreadyhave industry experience.

Its not your athers job marketoryour older brothers, or that matter. Itis very defnitely an employers market.Companies have access to more talentthan theyve seen in years or every jobopening they announce. Employers can choose whomever they want in a market likethis, and scientists with industry experience have big advantages. I you dont haveexperience, you have to do what you can to oset those advantages.

Competing in an Employers Market

What a bunch o spoiled hiring managers were going to be let with when this reces-sion ends. The current abundance o interesting, experienced candidates has rein-orced a trend weve seen or about a decade: employers searching or very specifcskill sets instead o hiring bright people and bringing them up to speed. Convertinga molecular biologist into a regulatory aairs specialist would require a training pro-gram; its been years since employers oered that kind o support or new hires.A company isnt going to hire and train you when they can hire a recently laid-o

scientist rom now-deunct ABC Biotech with exactly the skills they need.I youre still making decisions about your training, keep this in mind: You are hired orwhat you did last. That means that i youre choosing a Ph.D. program or a postdoc,youd better do it careully. Choose a lab where the work relates directly to your careerobjective. Choose a lab where the principal investigator is well connected in industry.

I youre already out in the market, the challenge is to present your experience so thatit seems just as relevant as your competitions, even i shes already had a year or threein industry. Its hard to compete with people who have already worked in industry.Theres less risk in hiring them because theyve already passed through the crucialcultural transition and made it to the other side.

But really, their biggest advantage is that they know the job-seeking ropes. What doessomeone who has been let go rom a downsizing company know about the job marketthat you dont know? Plenty. But i you pay attention, you can compensate.


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www.sciencecareers.org32

Hiring managers wantpeople who are passionate aboutthe opportunities on theirside o

the academia/industry divide.

The Experienced Industry Job Seeker

Your experienced competitor knows how important networking is. She has been man-aging the networking process since she was searching or her frst job several yearsago. She knows more people in industry than you do and knows how to identiy andcontact hiring managers in the companies shed like to work or.

Here are some other advantages job hunters with industry experience have over mostscientists who are making the jump to industry right now:

Industry candidate: In her marketing materials and interview style, she presents herselas a solution to an unstated need, providing a sharp ocus on the benefts o hiring her.

Academia-to-industry transferee: Presents her work as i laying it out or a postersession, without relating her experience, acquired skills, or thought processes to thecompanys area o interest.

Industry candidate: He considers his year or two o industry experience proo that heshad his ticket punched; hes an industry insider and acts like it during interviews.

Academia-to-industry transferee: He approaches the huge gul between academia andindustry with trepidation. His uncertainty reinorces the hiring managers sense that hewouldnt quite ft in.

Industry candidate: He knows that each person he meets with over the course o aninterview will have some input in the hiring process. Beore interview day, he already hasasked the human resources rep to provide a ull agenda with names and titles, which heis using to research his interviewers.

Academia-to-industry transferee: He ends up winging it because hes araid to rock theboat by asking HR to provide an agenda and biosketches.

Industry candidate: Panel interviews, where a number o people conduct the interviewaround a conerence table, dont raise her level o tension because to her it eels muchlike a project meeting or any other gathering on the job. She confdently shares eyecontact with everyone at the table.

Academia-to-industry transferee: She is intimidated by the number o eyes staring backat her. With a deer-in-the-headlights stare, she fxes her eyes on one or two riendly aces.

Avoid this Monster Red Flag

Clearly, these generalizations dont apply to all, but they illustrate common dierencesbetween the two types o candidates. I saved the best or last, a red ag that occursrequently and can be very damaging. Its worth more than a casual mention.Imlooking or an assistant proessorship as well as exploring my options in an alternativecareer, someone told me recently. Now theres a line that alls at when you use it ina company interview. They worked hard to get where they are. They never thought otheir company as a allback, or assome kind o alternative. Mostimportantly, theyre notinterested in being parto your plan B.

Even i youre also still seeking an academic post, when interviewing or an industryjob, thats the job you want. The industry employers greatest ear is that you wontmake a successul transition to the culture o industry. Why reinorce that ear bytalking about an academic job search? Hiring managers want people who arepassionate about the opportunities on theirside o the academia/industry divide.

2011 and Beyond

I look orward to the day, hopeully soon, when those spoiled hiring managers gettheir comeuppance and entry-level jobs will go back to being entry level. Not thattheyll mind: When that happens, the industry will be humming along again, soeveryone will be happy. Until then, you need to demonstrate savvy beyond youryears o experience.

This article originally published on ScienceCareers.org

Available online at: bit.ly/nNuzJx

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Postdocs: Striving or Success in a Tough Economybit.ly/r1eUZU

On Interview Daybit.ly/nNkPa6

Science Careers Job Boardsciencecareers.org

Science Careers Forum scforum.aaas.org

Other Career-Related Bookletssciencecareers.org/booklets

Career-Related Webinarssciencecareers.org/webinars

Communicating Sciencecommunicatingscience.aaas.org

Science & Technology Policy Fellowshipsfellowships.aaas.org

Science News Writing Internshipsaaas.org/careercenter/internships/science.shtml

AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows Programaaas.org/programs/education/MassMedia

ENTRY POINT! Internships or Students with Disabilitiesehrweb.aaas.org/entrypoint

Social Networking CommunitiesMySciNet & CTSciNetcommunity.sciencecareers.org

Further Resources rom Science/AAAS


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www.sciencecareers.org

Photo CreditsIllustrations on cover and

pp.2,3,9,14,21,33&34: Imagezoo.com

Illustrations on

p. 4: iStockphoto.com/danleap

p. 18: iStockphoto.com/IgorDjurovic

p. 26: iStockphoto.com/One02

p. 31: iStockphoto.com/Tay0527

pp.6,11,13,15,16,19,23,24,28,32,33&34:

iStockphoto.com/slav

Books

So What Are You Going to Do with That?:Finding Careers Outside AcademiaSusan Basalla and Maggie Debelius

The Chicago Guide to Your Career in Science:A Toolkit or Students and PostdocsVictor A. Bloomfeld and Esam E. El-Fakahany

What Color is Your Parachute?A Practical Manual or Job-Hunters and Career-ChangersRichard Nelson Bolles

Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientifc

Management or Postdocs and New FacultyBWF & HHMI hhmi.org/labmanagement

Lab Dynamics: Management Skills or ScientistsCarl M. Cohen and Suzanne L. Cohen

Never Eat Alone and Other Secrets to Success,One Relationship at a TimeKeith Ferrazzi

Put Your Science to Work:The Take-Charge Career Guide or ScientistsPeter Fiske

Getting What You Came For:The Smart Students Guide to Earning a Masters or a Ph.D.Robert L. Peters

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