Exploring career paths sometimes feels like coming out of a cocoon – who knows what’s out there?
Naturejobs journalism competition winner Elisa Lazzari
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The beginner’s guide to the LinkedIn network
Category Archives: Internship
Transferable skills: What are scientists good at (other than science)?
Naturejobs journalism competition winner Ashish Nair celebrates the cornucopia of skills owned by scientists
In today’s competitive world, it’s become increasingly common for scientists to question where their skills and knowledge will fit outside the lab. Academic research is a harsh place, littered with the victims of funding decisions and research projects that didn’t quite go to plan. The idea, even amongst scientists, that we are highly specialised professionals with no role outside the lab has become a persistent limitation in this search. So, what is the need for a scientist in any other capacity?
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The power of volunteering – getting ahead by getting involved
As an undergraduate and PhD student, I was unsure of how to continue my career. Volunteering helped me to explore alternative career paths, find my niche and get ahead.
Guest contributor Roda Niebergall
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
For university graduates, volunteering is a great opportunity to gain some work experience. Even if you’ve already advanced in your career and are planning to switch fields, volunteering is a powerful tool to convince your future employer that you’re serious and enthusiastic about changing your profession. Many PhD students and postdocs quickly realize that they either do not want to or cannot continue their career in research. There are many exciting alternative careers out there, like science management, teaching or publishing. But when applying for these jobs, researchers cannot solely rely on skills gained in the lab.
The Naturejobs Career Expo, San Francisco
Check out our feature video from our first event in San Francisco!
https://youtu.be/9U2nG3LbnRw
Sad you missed it? Our London expo is now open for registrations here.
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Babies or career: How to keep young researchers in science
Could shared post-docs improve work-life balance and make academia more attractive for early career scientists?
Naturejobs journalism competition winner Ulrike Träger.
If you look for advice on work-life balance in science online, the message seems clear: it’s possible to fit a 10-hour work day around quality time with your kids and family as long as you’re organized. Flexible hours of working in the lab help. Experiments don’t mind when you do them, and can be postponed until your kids are asleep. But still, long hours are expected in order to be successful, and finding childcare during midnight experiments is not always easy if you don’t live close by. So for many (including myself, a post-doc in my late twenties pondering the right time to start a family) the prospect of having to plan each and every minute of the day to be a good parent and scientist is daunting. This leaves promising young scientists everywhere feeling like they have to choose between family and career.
Networking: Forge ahead
Networking. The word conjures up almost as much fear and loathing as the thought of a grant denial or manuscript rejection. The two words that comprise it aren’t much better: ‘net’, as if you’d be trapped, and ‘working’, when you’re already doing plenty of that.
But you can’t fling it off like a mosquito. To ‘network’ is simply to connect with others, and we’ve rounded up expert advice on why it’s important, even crucial – and how you can network in ways that don’t involve too much cringing or trying to schmooze strangers at your field’s annual conference.
It’s no secret that social media has created manifold ways to establish and boost your profile. But used appropriately, these platforms can help you to forge vital links. Twitter, for example, isn’t only a means of publicising yourself and exchanging information. It’s a great way to network virtually – and maybe even get a job.
You may know by now that there are many social-media sites specifically for researchers and academics. Are you familiar with all of them? Their benefits can be legion, finds a Nature survey: they can help you with collaborative discussion, accessing papers, sharing results and more.
Still, you have to get off your phone at some point and do some real face time. It isn’t easy for everyone, yet it doesn’t have to be an introvert’s nightmare. The key, says Nature Careers columnist Peter Fiske, is to aim for a steady level of regular interaction with others.
And ‘others’ is a central concept here. You have to diversify your network: even its weakest links count, says a Naturejobs blogger. Don’t try to persuade yourself that reaching out only to contacts of colleagues or potential collaborators means you’re done.
So after all that networking, you feel virtuous and accomplished – and probably exhausted, as another Naturejobs blogger laments. But you’ve got to carry on. After all, you never know where that chance encounter will lead – or whom it might connect you with.
Finding job satisfaction in technology transfer
As a business development officer at STEMCELL Technologies in Vancouver, Canada, Ben Thiede evaluates new technologies and negotiates deals that bring scientific advances to market. He describes his move from graduate studies toward law and into his current position.
What do you do?
It’s a very diverse role; I’m writing and drafting a lot of agreements – like license agreements and supply agreements. I’m helping the company evaluate the patents we have; I’m evaluating technologies that other companies are bringing to us. I’m always scouring publications; I have Google Alerts set for certain types of technologies. I feel that I am reading more scientific journals than when I was in grad school.
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Mentoring: More than just a pair of hands
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By J.T. Neal, contributor
With a bit of structure and extra effort, both mentor and mentee can gain more from the experience.
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Our lab, like many labs, has been buzzing with high school and undergraduate summer students over the last several weeks. Many of these students have never set foot in a lab before, and this lack of training, coupled with a mentor’s already busy schedule, can lead to occupying junior mentees only with menial tasks, or worse, make-work (think organizing the lab chemicals alphabetically.) With summer winding down, I’ve taken some time to think about what I’ve learned from mentoring these students, to reflect on my own experiences as an undergraduate mentee, and to come up with a few tips to help new mentors and mentees make the most of the experience. Continue reading
Q&A: Internships abroad: why it’s worth taking the plunge
Embarking on an internship abroad can feel daunting, but it could open up a world of opportunity.
Thinking of an internship this summer? Why not consider one abroad? There are several programmes that offer placements to science students or graduates looking to gain relevant work experience in an exciting location. Not only is it a great opportunity to travel, meet new people and learn a new language, the ability to push yourself out of your comfort zone will impress future employers and give you a lot to talk about in interviews.
Here, Jordan Kodner, currently a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, tells us about his summer placement with Contact Singapore, who offer summer placements lasting 3-6 months starting in July (application deadline is the 28th Feb).
Why did you decide to apply?
I had heard a number of positive and interesting things about Singapore in the past, and I needed something to do for the summer. I figured an internship in Singapore would be a win-win for me.
What did the application process involve?
The first part off the application just asked for which position I’d be interested in, my school and major, my resume, and other basic identifying information. A few weeks later, I received an email inquiring about my transcripts.
Where was your placement and what did it involve?
I worked at the Spin and Energy Lab at the National University of Singapore Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. There, I researched microcontrollers that would be suitable for ultra-low power applications.
What do you feel that you achieved in the three months you were in Singapore?
I learned something about a field that I had very little prior experience in. I’m not an electrical engineer, so working in that area in a lab on the opposite side of the world was a bit of a challenge, but I feel like I succeeded.
What was the highlight of the experience? Continue reading
Getting an internship in science journalism
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Last week, we received an email from one of our readers:
“I’ve just finished my PhD and I’m now focusing on a move into science journalism. I’d really like to apply for internships to gain some more concrete experience of the editorial atmosphere at a big publication to add to the freelancing and work experience I’ve done.
Although I’ve spotted a few journalism internships and graduate schemes, including some at Nature, it’s quite hard to identify these without sometimes having to apply speculatively to publications. Can you help?”
This is a question we get asked quite frequently, and whilst it’s true that getting any decent internship these days is competitive, those in science journalism are particularly hard to find.
Part of the problem is that they aren’t always advertised that widely, if at all. Whilst there are no hard and fast rules for starting out in the industry, there are some things you can do to keep your ear to the ground and boost your chances of Continue reading