Tag Archives: careers advice

Children’s hour

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As a scientist, you’re juggling so much already.childcare

You’re managing your research programme, trying to publish, writing grants, and, depending on your career stage, looking for a postdoc or permanent position or supervising and mentoring junior lab members. Plus you likely have teaching obligations, are serving on a committee or three and have to give a big talk soon.

How do you cope with all of that when you have a family? You can’t just put baby in the corner as you race off to the lab in the morning, or rely on the babysitter every single night for three weeks straight because of that thing that keeps happening with your cell culture.

It isn’t easy. But we’ve rounded up a few ideas for you from other parent-researchers that might help smooth your way. One possibility, if you’re about to do a postdoc or are doing one, is to ask your principal investigator (PI) about shared postdocs. While this idea hasn’t taken off (yet) like wildfire, it’s worth bringing to the table, especially if your PI knows that you have young children at home or are planning for one. The risk is minimal, and you might be pleasantly surprised. Remember: no ask, no get. Continue reading →

What almost derailed you?

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We ask academics at the Naturejobs career expo, San Francisco, to name one moment that almost derailed their career.

https://youtu.be/OkDhBqL2A0M

A week in the life of a tenured professor

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A Chinese scientist considers the new responsibilities that come with his role

This piece was cross posted with Nature Asia. You can read the Chinese version here.

Guest contributor Chenggang Yan

I’ve spent ten years of my life in research. In those ten years, I’ve never been completely overwhelmed until I accepted a professorship at Hangzhou Dianzi University. Just like many other young scholars, I’m working hard to win a good reputation with my research. I went into science because – like many others – I wanted to do meaningful work, lead a new era, and benefit humanity in some way. But recently I’m finding that’s just not what I spend my time doing.

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{credit}Chenggang Yan{/credit}

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What did your job search teach you?

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Don’t feel frustrated. You have many fabulous career options.

Most PhD students and postdocs working today will not go on to head their own labs. With little infrastructure to guide them to the next stage, young scientists are inventing it themselves.

A year ago, we launched an interview series that looks at how PhDs and postdocs found ways out of the lab and into satisfying careers. We’ve spoken to people who work in regulatory affairs, technology transfer, business development, management consulting, science outreach and philanthropy, just to name a few. And we are eager for more stories to share. See below if you’d like to volunteer.

{credit}Image credit: Venimo{/credit}

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Five career tips from Ripley Ballou

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We sat down with Rip at the Naturejobs career expo, Boston, to talk about his career and the advice he would give to other scientists starting theirs.

Rip’s had an interesting life; he started his career as a researcher at the US army’s Walter Reed Institute of Research, where he once exposed himself to malarial mosquitoes in a bid to see if his malarial vaccine worked. It didn’t, and that experience has motivated him in his career ever since. He’s now the head of US vaccines at GSK.

Here’s a word art graphic of five points from Rip’s talk, by Jacopo Sacquegno.

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{credit}jacopo sacquegno{/credit}

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So you want to be a data scientist (again)?

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Put your natural science skills to work in a data science career

Guest contributor Daniel Harris of SoftwareAdvice.com

The explosive economic impact of big data has blurred the line between the business world and the scientific world like never before. A new type of business leader, the data scientist, has evolved as an amphibian, capable of thriving in both worlds, swimming in data lakes to bring useful insights back to the solid ground of business concerns.

Of course, companies have been using business intelligence (BI) tools to analyse their operational and financial performance metrics for decades.

But datasets generated by the web are so large that they must be stored on clusters of servers with thousands of nodes. Traditional methods for analysing these datasets have faltered, necessitating a more scientific approach.

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Research in industry: A great career choice

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Albert Isidro-Llobet always wanted to be an academic. Now he works for GSK. Here he shares his story.

Guest contributor Albert Isidro-Llobet

I joined the R&D division of GSK as an organic and medicinal chemist in 2012. Before that, I completed my PhD at the University of Barcelona and a 3-year postdoc at the University of Cambridge. After my undergraduate degree, I decided to work in organic and medicinal chemistry to contribute to the synthesis of new medicines. Eventually, I wanted to become a Principal Investigator (PI) in academia and it seemed to me that the best course would be pursuing a second academic postdoc.

Albert in his lab

Albert in his lab

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Naturejobs monthly roundup – April 2016

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With one quarter of the year all over, and summer on its way, we run through your favourite posts last month.

First up this month is our ever-popular post on the value of Liebeth Aerts’ PhD, where she takes a look back one year after graduating.

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Women in physics: personal perspectives

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Sarah-Jane Lonsdale speaks to two senior female scientists in industry about their career paths

Guest contributor Sarah-Jane Lonsdale

The Institute of Physics ran an event in November 2015 targeted at PhD students and early career researchers on “Taking Control of your Career as a Female Physicist”. After the event, I spoke with Dr Valerie Berryman-Bousquet, R&D Manager at SHARP Laboratories, and Dr Jenny Wooldridge, Associate Programme Manager at the National Physical Laboratory, about their career paths in industry. After our first discussion, we continued our conversation.

Sarah-Jane Lonsdale

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Most read on Naturejobs: March 2016

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With one quarter of the year done already, we look back at your favourite posts from last month. We’ll get right to it.

Answering the most-feared interview question is high on everyone’s mind. Our guide to expressing your greatest weakness in a positive way is on the leader board as the most read piece on Naturejobs this month. Glad you liked it!

Chris Woolston talked us through the best make-up for a lab in group dynamics: a lab of their own in March. Your research group is important, and finding the right balance between different members of staff may just tip you into academic success. Continue reading →