Tag Archives: Core Facilities

Careers in academia: Different options

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The traditional career path in academia isn’t the only option available for scientists, say panelists at the 2015 Naturejobs Career Expo in London.

Guest contributor Gaia Donati

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L-R: Frances Ashcroft, James Hadfield, Frederique Guesdon, Lisa Fox and Anna Price. {credit}Image credit: Julie Gould{/credit}

Are you close to finishing your degree, and tempted by the academic environment you came to know well? If yes, then you’re in good company: according to the Vitae Careers in Research survey from 2015, 77% of researchers in the UK aspire to a position in academia, and 60%  expect to find an academic job. However, the Royal Society estimates that only 3.5% of PhD graduates land a permanent position as researchers or lecturers. But all hope isn’t lost: alternative options for those wishing to stay in academia exist, as panelists discussed at the Naturejobs Career Expo in London on Friday 18 September 2015.

The panel offered a refreshing perspective on some options that allow scientists to maintain the link with academic research without facing years of potential postdoctoral insecurity. Dr Anna Price, chair of the panel, left academic research because she lacked a specific question to answer as a scientist. As the head of Researcher Development at Queen Mary University of London, she now works with researchers on planning their careers and honing their transferable skills. Price is well aware that academia is a competitive sector; for this reason, and from her own career development perspective, she introduced four panelists to talk about traditional academic positions as well as roles at the crossing between research and management. Continue reading →

The postdoc series: What comes next?

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A postdoc sets you up for a variety of careers, including academia, editing, working in industry, core laboratories and more.

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The obvious path for many people doing a postdoc is to look for a more permanent academic position as a tenure-track professor. But it isn’t the only one! There are plenty of other things a postdoc can do. Here are just a few examples.

For those who have the want, determination, and, let’s face it, a bit of luck, working as an academic professor can be worth the battle. Dr Esther Bullitt is currently going through her application to become a tenure-track professor. “There were biological questions that I wanted to pursue, and having the independence to do so was absolutely compelling,” she says. One of the challenges that she faces in her application is to make sure that she stands out from the rest of the crowd. “There are many excellent scientists working on many interesting questions, so you need to demonstrate a broad set of skills that go beyond a great project and a well-developed plan for the science.” To be promoted to professor, Bullitt says that postdocs need a well-documented track record in: funding; publishing your research; being nationally and internationally recognized as an expert in your field; giving invited seminars; teaching; university committee work. “Probably in about that order,” she adds. Continue reading →

Scientific blogging: Why it might just be good for your CV

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Who needs paper?

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Blogging about your own research and science could help set you apart from others when applying for a job.

Contributor James Hadfield

The impact of social media on our lives is undeniable, most people have heard of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Blogging even if they do not actively participate. And although the impact of these media on science is still a matter of debate, their increasing use, i.e. blog commentary of journals, and non-traditional metrics (altmetrics) to assess scientific impact, does appear to be changing the way we work. Blogging about your science can be part of this non-traditional commentary and can also add something to differentiate your CV from the pile.

A scientific blog does not have to be anything more than a way for you to organise your thoughts. One of the most interesting examples (at least I think so) of how a blog can be used in a research group is by the Redfield lab. The group blogs about its projects and plans, as well as presenting experimental results and is a very open-access operation.

Like many other researchers, I started my blog (core-genomics.blogspot.co.uk) as a way to get more writing experience. I manage a genomics core facility lab at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute and wanted to do more technical writing, a blog seemed an easy way in. I set myself the challenge of writing two or three posts a month and I hoped a few people would find it interesting. Three years on and my technical writing probably hasn’t improved as much as I’d hoped, but then again my Blog is not a technical one. I’ve managed to keep up the pace but have suffered from writers block and having too much else to do. However it has been incredibly rewarding to see large numbers of people reading what I have to say. And even more so are the comments I get on the blog, at meetings or conferences, although no-one’s bought me a beer because of my blog – yet! Continue reading →