Cristina Lo Celso: Career-changing encounters
Why did you choose a career in academic research rather than medicine? … Read more
Know the odds
Both supply and demand have contributed to an research-and-development (R&D) career bottleneck, according to a 15 December Science article signed by the 10 research leaders, who call themselves the Coalition for Next Generation Life Science. US federal research funding, when adjusted for inflation, declined by nearly 20% from 2003 to 2016, according to the article. Meanwhile, PhD candidates continue to enroll in doctoral programmes. The result is that only one in 10 trainees will gain a tenure-track position within five years of receiving their PhD. Many PhD holders then spend longer than they had anticipated in postdoc training positions, sometimes taking multiple fellowships while waiting for academic job openings to materialize. And the ones who do land such positions are taking longer to secure their first independent grant. Read more
The struggles of female and underrepresented scientists
Female and Hispanic faculty representation in the United States increased significantly between 1992 and 2015, but more slowly for black and indigenous faculty members, according to a review study of personnel records from four large US land-grant institutions published in PLoS One . The small numbers of URM lack the data necessary to draw valid conclusions about retention. However, the study found, URM hiring is increasing, but not at the rate expected for the number of STEM doctoral degrees earned by the populations. Read more
Boyfriends and husbands may put female researchers at a hiring disadvantage
Female candidates’ – but not male candidates’ — relationship status was a primary consideration in hiring committees’ discussions and decisions, according to study co-author Lauren Rivera, an associate professor at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She found that committee members assumed that heterosexual female candidates whose partners or husbands held academic or high-status jobs could not relocate for the job, and excluded them from offers when the committee had viable male or unpartnered female options. Yet, she says, committees — whose members included women — rarely discussed male applicants’ relationship status and assumed that those candidates’ partners or wives would be able to move for the position if an offer were made. Read more
Surviving academia as an early career researcher: an unreliable guide
In today’s cut-throat world of grants and publications, being an early career researcher (ECR) can feel more than a little daunting. As an ECR myself, I can’t guarantee that this will help you make it to the other side unscathed. But I’m still here, and if you’re reading this, you probably are too. Outlined below are the things I’ve learnt during the ups and downs of post-PhD life. Read more
Building skills through a gig
I don’t see a lot of scientists taking advantage of the gig economy yet. People earning graduate degrees or working on postdocs are so focused on those immediate challenges, and most advisers don’t want them to work outside the lab. Read more
The power of data shared
Better Science through Better Data writing competition winner Katie Ember … Read more
Dealing with dyslexia: Let’s redefine the term “smart”
We love and revere intelligence as one of the greatest of virtues. Its importance is ingrained in us even before we can talk. Think of parents boasting about their children figure out that cubes fit into square shaped holes and spheres into circles. This mentality is carried with us as we move through elementary school (“You read so well, you’re so smart!”), middle school (“You solved that algebra equation, you’re so smart!”), high school (“You’re in advanced placement classes, you’re so smart!”), all through the rest of our lives. “Smart” is among the highest of praise; we admire, respect, and love the smart. Read more
Adios to academia
US science and engineering PhD students are losing interest in academic careers because their career preferences change throughout their training, finds a study – not because of limited faculty-job availability. Read more
Multidisciplinary research: pros and cons
By bringing together experts from different disciplines we can find the solutions for today’s global challenges. Having spent a year in a multidisciplinary research group, Mit Bhavsar shares his thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of multidisciplinary research in science. Read more
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