{"id":2721,"date":"2014-04-07T12:30:41","date_gmt":"2014-04-07T11:30:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/?p=2721"},"modified":"2014-04-07T14:39:09","modified_gmt":"2014-04-07T13:39:09","slug":"how-to-break-out-of-a-scientific-career-rut-part-3-investigate-internal-barriers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/2014\/04\/07\/how-to-break-out-of-a-scientific-career-rut-part-3-investigate-internal-barriers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to break out of a scientific career rut, Part 3: Investigate internal barriers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Contributor, Ben Thomas<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Time spent gathering data on potential career options is time well-spent. As the saying goes, \u201cknowledge is power\u201d, and a clearer view of the non-academic job market, along with a few encouraging emails from scientists in other sectors can serve as powerful motivators to start making your own career upgrade.<\/p>\n

\"Thinkstock\"<\/a>

Thinkstock<\/p><\/div>\n

As described in Part 2 of this series<\/a>, seeking new professional connections, retooling your r\u00e9sum\u00e9 and facing comments from some of your peers can set you on the right path, but you might have to face some unintentional internal barriers.<\/p>\n

In this third and final post, Rebecca Anderson, author of the books Career Opportunities in Clinical Drug Research<\/i><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Nevirapine and the Quest to End Pediatric AIDS<\/i><\/a>,<\/i> and Sherry Marts, life and career coach and co-author of The Book of How: Answers to Life\u2019s Most Important Question<\/a>\u00a0<\/i>describe techniques they\u2019ve discovered for moving from the world of \u201cshould do\u201d into the world of \u201cwant to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

As you strike out on your own, you\u2019ll find that securing a job in a new field requires you to be able to \u201csell\u201d your skills<\/a>. Just as you wouldn\u2019t buy a car that has never been road-tested, an employer will expect to see proof of your skills in action. \u201cWhat many people don\u2019t realize,\u201d says Anderson, \u201cis that they have to use their current work to demonstrate that they can do the next job. I know this from years working as a manager responsible for hiring new employees,\u00a0you\u2019ve got to prove you can do the work before you\u2019ll be considered a good candidate for the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

An effective way to explore your skill set is to compile a list of the concrete skills you have. Start by writing out some of the major tasks you perform in your current job and consider the skills involved in each one. Planning and reviewing daily research, for example, involves administrative organization, goal-setting and retrospective analysis. Keeping a project on-budget involves cost projection and financial management. All these skills are highly valued in corporate environments. You’ll also gather more ideas as you write or rewrite your r\u00e9sum\u00e9, and talking to your friends about your current job can also help you notice skills you might’ve otherwise missed.<\/p>\n

\u201cScientists aren’t always aware of how many transferable skills they have,\u201d Marts says. \u201cJust completing a graduate degree proves that you can think strategically, set a long-term goal, and achieve that goal despite repeated setbacks.\u201d What\u2019s more, you\u2019ve learned to work both independently and as part of a team; to convey information graphically, in writing, and aloud; to think analytically and critically. If you\u2019ve written grants and helped keep projects on-budget, you\u2019ve got skills in fundraising and finance. All these will score you points in a job interview.<\/p>\n

Confidence arises from experience and familiarity, which come from taking the initiative yourself. Start this process in your current job, even if it\u2019s not particularly fulfilling. \u201cTake advantage of opportunities when they emerge,\u201d Anderson says. \u201cSay \u2018yes\u2019 when somebody asks you to do something that you don\u2019t want to do or don\u2019t feel qualified to do. Treat it as training for your future.\u201d<\/p>\n

You may find that your peers and superiors may disagree with your choice to leave your current role, whether you\u2019re in the academia bubble or not. One trick for disarming the internal effects of this is simply to reframe the comments others are making: this change is about your life, not theirs, you\u2019re the only one who knows what you\u2019ll find satisfying. \u201cIgnore anything that includes the words \u2018should\u2019 or \u2018ought,\u2019\u201d Marts says. \u201cThat includes the things you tell yourself. If you can escape the prison of \u2018should do\u2019 and \u2018ought to do\u2019 and reach the place of \u2018want to do\u2019 – or, ideally, \u2018love to do\u2019 – you will be on your way to a satisfying career in science.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whenever you face a crossroads in your career, anything can appear weighted against your progress. Staying focused on your reasons for making a change, tackling external barriers in a rational manner and remaining honest with yourself about your internal doubts will help you get ahead. \u201cEvery new job situation will have good things and bad things associated with it,\u201d Anderson says. \u201cSo accept those things and move forward from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The willingness to confront the facts and a\u00a0 readiness to change will carry you all the way through the process of launching a better career.. What\u2019s more, the techniques you\u2019ve learned from this process can be used the next time you find yourself looking for a career change. So start reaching out to interesting new employers and clients. The door to your career path is wide open, just waiting for you to walk through.<\/p>\n

Ben Thomas writes articles about a variety of topics for <\/i>the Riley Guide<\/i><\/a>, an online repository for career and education resources. As a freelancer, Ben also covers scientific research and technological breakthroughs as well as social issues involving the sciences. A regular contributor to several leading science news websites, Ben helps scientists and academics connect with the general public by explaining their latest discoveries and controversies in clear, down-to-earth terms. You can follow Ben on <\/i>Google+<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Contributor, Ben Thomas  … Read more<\/a> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45013,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[323],"tags":[337,459,457],"class_list":["post-2721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-career-paths","tag-career-paths-2","tag-internal-barriers","tag-scientific-rut"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45013"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2721"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2721\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.nature.com\/naturejobs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}