Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BASICS
Advice and Resources
for Scientists from
Science Careers
2009 edition
This booklet is brought to you by the AAAS/Science Business Ofce
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FlhulhC 0uk wA
Masterlng our Ph.u.: Mentors, Leadershlp,
and Communlty Pctriric Ccslir, 8crt NccrJcn
7 Masterlng our Ph.u.: Preparlng for our Post-Ph.u. Career
8crt NccrJcn, Pctriric Ccslir
10 Crad School Campus vlslts /chr k. 8crrhcrJt
MAkKFTlhC 0ukSFLF: Cvs, kFSuMFS, Ahu hFTw0kKlhC
1 Toollng up: kesume kocket Sclence 2007 0cviJ C. /crscr
18 wrltlng a wlnnlng Cover Letter /chr k. 8crrhcrJt
21 F-Persona hon Crata: Strateglzlng our 0nllne Persona Pctcr Fiskc
SKlLLS F0k ThF ACAuFMlC SClFhTlST
25 Tlps for Publlshlng ln Sclentlfc }ournals kctrirc kclrcr
29 Faculty Posltlons: Seeklng the Skllls for a Successful
Career ln Academla Fnnc hitt
CkAFTlhC Ah lhuuSTk CAkFFk
35 Toollng up: Three Categorles of kules 0cviJ C. /crscr
39 Transferable Skllls and Portable Careers Christic AsrhwcrJcr
0pportunltles: More School! Pctcr Fiskc
h0hTkAulTl0hAL CAkFFkS
7 A Matter of Pollcy 8ricr vcstc
50 worklng as a Medlcal wrlter Scrch wcbb
5 Masterlng our Ph.u.: A Career ln Management Consultlng
8crt NccrJcn, Pctriric Ccslir
ulvFkSlT lSSuFS lh SClFhCF
58 Famlly Trallblazers Suscr CciJcs
61 hurturlng women Sclentlsts /ill u. AJcns
66 0penlng uoors for Sclentlsts wlth ulsabllltles lcurc 8crcttc
LFAuFkShlP Ahu LA8 MAhACFMFhT
72 Maklng the Leap to lndependence lrcrc S. lcvirc
77 Managlng Sclentlsts kcryr hcJc
3
page chapter
1
2
5
6
7
3 Alcr l. lcshrcr, CF0, AAAS lhTk0
Contents
2008 by The American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.
Thls booklet ls also avallable onllne at sclencecareers.org]careerbaslcspdf
Christina Kakeyannis, Ph0
Forest kesources,
0regon State university
zcc-zcc; AAAS Fellow
at the u.S. Environmental
Protection Agency in the
0ffice of Environmental
Policy Innovation,
Evaluation Support 0ivision
howan evaluation officer
at the hational Fish and
wildlife Foundation in
washington, 0C
Lnhoncing Public Pclicy,
AJvoncing Scicncc Corccrs
Make a 0iIIerence. Relp give science a greater voice in
washington, 0C! Since 1;, AAAS Fellows have applied
their skills to federal decision-making processes that
affect people in the u.S. and around the world,
while learning first-hand about the
government and policymaking.
|ein the ketwerk. Year-long
fellowships are available in the u.S.
Congress and federal agencies.
Applicants must hold a Ph0 or
equivalent doctoral-level degree in
any behavioralJsocial, biological,
medicalJhealth, or physical science,
or any engineering discipline.
Individuals with a master's degree
in engineering and
three years of post-
degree professional
experience also
may apply. Federal
employees are not eligible
and u.S. citizenship is required.
App|y. The application deadline
for the AAAS Fellowships is
1 0ecember. Fellowships are
awarded in the spring and begin in
September. Stipends range from
approximately $;c,ccc to $z,ccc.
Nctc: AJJiticnol jcllcwships orc
ovoiloblc thrcugh opprcximotcly
c scicntijic sccicty portncrs.
lnJiviJuols orc cnccurogcJ tc
opply with AAAS os wcll os with ony
scicntijic sccictics jcr which thcy quolijy.
Full details at: Ie||ewships.aaas.erg
II\1III YCII'III A' A
AAA' '\II!\I & 1I\I!CIC\Y
ICII\Y IIIIC\
CarBasic08KakoyannisB:Layout 1 10/28/08 ?:3. PM Page 1
lntroductlon
T
oday's sclentlsts have many lntrlgulng opportunltles for career paths,
and the purpose of thls book ls to offer advlce and guldance that can
add vltal skllls to your formal educatlon, wherever your |ourney leads.
Any |ob search career track, whether ln academla, lndustry, government,
or nonproft organlzatlons, always beglns wlth the baslcs. The artlcles ln
thls book cover Cv wrltlng that opens doors and lntervlewlng technlques
that result ln offers, how to wrlte grant proposals and fnd fundlng sources,
connectlng through networklng, speclfc strategles for underrepresented
mlnorltles and women, movlng up to lab management, navlgatlng the
publlshlng maze, and other valuable lnformatlon.
Sricrrc, one of the most prestlglous and hlghly clted sclentlfc |ournals ln
the world, and AAAS, the world's largest multldlsclpllnary soclety for sclence-
related professlonals, are dedlcated to helplng gulde quallfed sclentlsts
to meanlngful careers at all stages. Sricrrc publlshes speclal lnternatlonal
careers features detalllng new opportunltles ln varlous countrles and reglons.
The AAAS Center for Careers ln Sclence & Technology (www.aaas.org]
careercenter), a collaboratlon of our departments and affllated
organlzatlons, offers a wlde range of career development optlons, lncludlng
fellowshlps and lnternshlps, as well as llnks to our programs and partners.
The artlcles throughout the book have been carefully selected from AAAS's
SclenceCareers.org, the most comprehenslve lnternatlonal resource for |ob
postlngs, career development tools, and llnks to the Mlnorlty Sclentlsts
hetwork, Crantshet and other Sricrrc resources. The freely accesslble slte
also offers lnformatlon about career outreach forums and courses held ln
locatlons across the unlted States and Furope.
Tralnlng and retalnlng a superb S&T work force ls a top prlorlty for AAAS.
we work to advance sclence by advanclng the careers of sclentlsts who serve
global soclety. we hope you fnd thls book to be a valuable resource.
Alan l. Leshner
CF0, AAAS
Fxecutlve Publlsher, Sricrrc
www.sclencecareers.org
3
www.asee.org]smart
lcs, lt may be |ust that. Schwartz, therefore, advlses approachlng
the mastery of these tasks as a llfelong learner, whlch makes lt all
more palatable.
"lf you thlnk about the |ob of a unlverslty faculty member, we're
ln a unlque posltlon," says Llotta. "we can do whatever klnd of
research we want to do and have the opportunlty to work wlth
brlght young people year after year. we can go out and talk about
our work wlth colleagues at meetlngs, we tend to have falrly fex-
lble schedules so we can do a lot of lnterestlng thlngs, and you
know-that's a fantastlc |ob."
Additiena| Artic|es 0n|ine
Learnin the Ropes of Peer Reviewin
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0800122
Maximizin Productivity and Reconition, Part 1:
Publication, Citation, and Impact
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700155
If at first ou 0on't 5ucceed, Cool 0ff, Revise, and 5ubmit Aain
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0800123
Masterin our Ph.0.: 0ivin a 0reat Presentation
sclencecareers.sclencemag.org]career_magazlne]prevlous_
lssues]artlcles]2006_10_20]nou0l.700062121856857132
i 5cience at a 5mall Collee
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700171
Make Way for the hext 0eneration: |unior faculty Are Movin In
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r0700038
Community Collee faculty: Must Love to 1each
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a07007
A 0uide to h5f 5uccess
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700108
1his booklet is also available online at sciencecareers.orJ
careerbasicspdf
www.asee.org]smart
1oolin 0p: 1hree Cateories of Rules
From: dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a070018
8y uavld C. }ensen- Flrst publlshed uecember 21, 2007
M
any of my columns here descrlbe dlffcultles people experlence
when they dlscover how dlfferent llfe ls ln lndustry than ln aca-
demla. Fach sector has lts own rulebook, new graduates often feel
they've been thrown lnto the fre when they make the change to a company
employer. The conventlons at work ln lndustry aren't taught ln college.
Mlchael Zlgmond of the uepartment of heurosclence at the unlverslty of
Plttsburgh ln Pennsylvanla runs the hlghly regarded "Survlval Skllls and Fth-
lcs Program" semlnars held each year ln Aspen, Colorado. he told me recently
that he belleves there are three categorles of rules that we come across ln our
work llves. The rules themselves may dlffer, but Zlgmond's categorles hold
true no matter where you work.
"Flrst off, there are rules that are true and whlch deserve that dlstlnctlon.
ln academla, one example of thls category would be the rule that 'kesearch
equals experlments plus publlcatlons,'" Zlgmond explalned to hls class ln
Aspen. "Another type of rule ls one whlch ls true, but whlch shouldn't be.
Some examples are 'Always have prellmlnary data for proposals,' or 'Always
do hypothesls-drlven research.' Lastly, some rules are rct true but shculJ be.
'Cood teachlng ls essentlal to promotlon' ls an example that l polnt to from
4. Craftin an Industry Career
35
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36
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the world of academla, where countless students have wondered
how some people have moved up the ranks."
Sometlmes a rule from the unlverslty clashes wlth a rule from ln-
dustry. Conslder Mlchael's frst example: kcsccrrh = Fxpcrincrts
+ Publircticrs. would you land a |ob at a top-tler blotech company
lf you went to an lntervlew espouslng that as a guldlng rule for
your career! ho way!
ln lndustry lt looks llke thls: kcsccrrh = Fxpcrincrts + PrcJurts.
The slngle most lmportant evldence of productlve research ln ln-
dustry ls the development of research appllcatlons that can return
value on shareholders' lnvestments. Most of the tlme thls means
products. Although at some polnt ln a well-run research organlza-
tlon you wlll be able to publlsh your work, lt only ever happens
after the company has protected lts lntellectual property.
Sometlmes ln thls column l polnt out how a rule rcclly works
or make you aware of a rule that you may not have known about.
That's my |ob here. Sometlmes l try to help you learn to work
wlthln the rules. And sometlmes my columns tell you how to work
around the rules.
Thls tlme l provlde some examples of rules from the blotechnol-
ogy lndustry lndexed lnto ur. Zlgmond's three categorles. Studylng
rules from the three categorles wlll help you come away wlth a
better understandlng of how company pollcy and polltlcs lmpact
llfe ln a company and why, on occaslon, lt ls better to clrcumvent
rules than to follow them.
Ru|es 1hat Are 1rue and Which 5heu|d e
(PPEDPNNVOJDBUJPOTLJMMTBSFFTTFOUJBMGPSTVDDFTTJO
BOZKPC kead the |ob ads and you'll notlce that good communl-
catlon skllls are mentloned ln more than half. lnslders know thls
ls more than standard hk-speak. Fmployers can't help but be
lmpressed wlth good communlcators, because anyone who runs
a |ob ad knows these people are few and far between. lf someone
asked me what the ho. 1 sklll ls that lmpacts hlrlng declslons, lt
would be thls one. And communlcatlon skllls are crltlcal for mov-
lng up the ladder once you have that posltlon.
/FUXPSLJOHJTBHSFBUXBZUPOEBKPC Ads, |ob falrs, the
lnternet, headhunters, networklng-don't mlss any of these when
you go looklng for a new posltlon. 8ut stay partlcularly close to
your networklng contacts. hetworklng ls a llfe sklll and not |ust a
|ob-search tool. Llke communlcatlon skllls, networklng can help
you get a |ob-and then help you perform well once you've got
lt. Those who learn lt early and practlce lt often are among the
successful people ln sclence. ears from now, you'll have new
opportunltles to thank the contacts you make today, assumlng, of
course, that you make those contacts.
Those
who learn
networklng
early and
practlce lt
often are
among the
successful
people ln
sclence.
ears from
now, you'll
have new
opportunltles
to thank the
contacts you
make today,
assumlng, of
course, that
you make those
contacts.
www.asee.org]smart
37
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Chapter 4
Craftin
an Industry
Career
*OEVTUSZTVDDFTTSFRVJSFTUFBNXPSLBOEJOUFSEFQFOEFODFlndepen-
dence rules ln academla. Collaboratlon and teamwork get a lot of llp servlce,
even ln academla. And ln fact, even there some value lt and do lt well. et a
lab of your own, tralnees asslstlng you, your own grants-all these aspects
of lndependence are essentlal to success at a unlverslty. 8ut that's not what
lndustry employers want or need. The blologlsts and chemlsts who dlscover
a new drug work closely wlth the englneers who scale lt up and turn lt lnto a
product. 8oth those groups rely on teams of regulatory and cllnlcal profes-
slonals to help take the next steps. "Teamwork" ls more than a buzzword ln
lndustry, lt's a way of llfe.
Ru|es 1hat Are 1rue ut 5heu|d ket e
*UUBLFTBIPVSXPSLXFFLUPCFBTVDDFTTJOTDJFODFls there cry
|ob ln the blotech lndustry where successful people work a normal 0-hour
week! l don't thlnk so. "hormal" was replaced long ago by early-mornlng
meetlngs, evenlng work, and Saturdays ln the offce or lab. Success ln elther
track-academlc or lndustry-starts at 50 hours a week and may average
60 to 65. wouldn't lt be nlce for your famlly and outslde lnterests lf thls rule
were not true! A recent work-llfe balance feature ln Sricrrc Careers featured
an artlcle on part-tlme sclentlsts and another on corporate work]llfe pollcles
that lnclude part-tlme work. So thls rule may not be unlversally true, but lt
almost ls.
*UTSFBMMZIBSEUPOEBKPCPODFZPVBSFPWFSBHFLet's hope all
your |ob searches occur whlle you're stlll young. 0nce you're past about 5,
searchlng for a |ob becomes very dlffcult, assumlng you're approachlng lt vla
the usual anonymous appllcatlon. Although lt rarely rlses to the level of overt
age dlscrlmlnatlon, employers often note your years of experlence and use
words llke "overquallfed" to descrlbe you. lt's wlse to have a large bank of
networklng contacts, an establlshed reputatlon, and a head of steam when
you face a sudden, unexpected, late-career |ob search.
:PVHFOFSBMMZIBWFUPSFMPDBUFUPUIFDPBTUTJOPSEFSUPOEBCJPUFDI
KPC lt would be great lf there were blotechnology clusters equlvalent to
San ulego, San Franclsco, or 8oston ln all reglons. 8ut desplte the many
states where pollcy makers promote blotechnology as a future economlc
development englne, there probably never wlll be more than 10 or 12 ma|or
blotechnology clusters ln the unlted States. very llkely, ln the future as ln the
present, the great ma|orlty of good blopharma |obs wlll be ln blotech centers
at the coasts. lt's a tough reallty for a person wantlng to stay ln the Mldwest.
0f course lt's always posslble that other blotech centers could develop, such
as agrltech ln the Mldwest, or nanoblo ln Texas.
Ru|es 1hat Are ket 1rue ut 5heu|d e
1SPNPUJPOSFXBSETTUSPOHMFBEFSTIJQTLJMMTStrong leadershlp skllls
are the frst thlng you'd thlnk of when someone moves up the ladder lnto a
management |ob. unfortunately, lt doesn't always work that way. Sometlmes
the person the most skllled ln company polltlcs gets promoted lnstead of the
38
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one wlth the best leadershlp skllls. Then, there's that excellent
communlcator who |ust talks hls or her way lnto the |ob, desplte
thelr lack of leadershlp ablllty.
(PPETDJFODFBMXBZTTFMMTJUTFMGMany sclentlsts were taught
ln academla not to worry about a |ob-to focus lnstead on dolng
good sclence. unfortunately, for a lot of people thls approach
doesn't work. ln lndustry, you have to be able to communlcate
your strengths, whlch can be really dlffcult. ou need to stand
up for who you are and what you are good at-a type of ethlcal
self-promotlon that ls very dlffcult for many sclentlsts to get thelr
arms around. Movlng past the ethlcal polnt-to self-promotlon
not grounded ln ablllty-looks llke playlng polltlcs. That klnd of
self-promotlon ls rlsky.
#SJHIUTDJFOUJTUTIBWFFYDFMMFOUQFPQMFTLJMMTPeople skllls
and sclentlfc skllls don't necessarlly go hand ln hand. There's a
lack of lnterpersonal-skllls tralnlng and evaluatlon ln academla,
whlch leaves many technlcal people bellevlng that declslons
about thelr future wlll be based upon thelr sclentlfc credentlals
and not those "soft skllls" l talk so much about ln Toollng up. 0f
course, lt's posslble for really brllllant sclentlsts to succeed wlth-
out soclal skllls-we've all known frst-rate academlc sclentlsts
who succeeded vla sheer brllllance, never mlnd the fact that no
one could stand worklng wlth them. 8ut unless you're really cocky
about your sclence-or totally lacklng ln soclal potentlal-your
chances of success wlll be better lf you bathe, communlcate, and
treat your colleagues wlth respect.
0iIIerent Ru|ebeeks Ier 0iIIerent nvirenments
At a recent AAAS semlnar ln San Franclsco, our lnvlted panel
lncluded two of our Sricrrc Careers ulscusslon Forum advlsers
and two senlor executlves from the local blotech lndustry. The goal
that nlght was to dlscuss the lessons our speakers had learned
along the way, what mlstakes they had made, and to pass thelr
wlsdom along to the younger folks ln the audlence.
The common thread ln all the speakers' remarks was that the
"rulebook" ls dlfferent ln lndustry. All these professlonals had
succeeded, but for every one there was a tlme ln thelr careers
when they were polsed between |umplng over the wall between
academla and lndustry and falllng through the cracks. 0nly by
learnlng all three types of rules-and how they dlffer from one |ob
sector to the other-dld they navlgate the move from an academlc
lab to an lndustry |ob.
Strong
leadershlp
skllls are the
frst thlng
you'd thlnk
of when
someone
moves up the
ladder lnto a
management
|ob.
unfortunately,
lt doesn't
always work
that way.
www.asee.org]smart
39
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Chapter 4
Craftin
an Industry
Career
1ransferable 5kills and Portable Careers
From: dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r0700030
8y Chrlstle Aschwanden- Flrst publlshed Aprll 20, 2007
S
uccess ln today's |ob market requlres more than |ust solld lab skllls
and a stack of publlcatlons. whether seeklng tenure-track academlc
|obs, lndustry research posltlons, or nontradltlonal sclence careers,
many |ob seekers are fndlng that a well-honed plpette thumb ls not enough
to land them an offer. "l don't know anyone who's gotten a |ob who spent
thelr postdoc at the bench the whole tlme," says Crystal lcenhour, who
was recently hlred as vlce presldent and dlrector of research at luX Labs, a
startup ln Charlottesvllle, vlrglnla.
Postdocs must develop skllls beyond the laboratory lf they're to be com-
petltlve ln the tlghtenlng |ob market, says lcenhour. where nonacademlc |obs
once requlred skllls that dld not carry over to academla, that's not necessarlly
the case these days, says Cregory Kopf, who spent more than two decades
at the unlverslty of Pennsylvanla before movlng to wyeth kesearch. he has
slnce returned to Penn as an ad|unct professor. "when l frst started ln aca-
demla, the tralnlng sklll sets were very dlfferent for lndustry and academla,
but the llnes are startlng to become a lot more blurred," says Kopf. "Leader-
shlp, pro|ect management skllls, the ablllty to develop goals and manage
budgets and your lab-these are skllls that are |ust as lmportant for aca-
demla as for lndustry."
The ablllty to work well ln a team ls the ho. 1 sklll that lndustry employers
look for, says hell Stahl, senlor vlce presldent of research and development
sclences at kegeneron Pharmaceutlcals ln Tarrytown, hew ork. "ou have to
be able to sort through lssues and communlcate effectlvely ln a nonthreaten-
lng way."
Academlc sclentlsts also need team skllls so they can work effectlvely on
commlttees and form successful collaboratlons. kunnlng a lab or worklng on
a research team both demand strong lnterpersonal skllls and dlplomacy. "ou
have to be able to say the rlght thlngs wlthout antagonlzlng your colleagues,
and that's a sklll that many postdocs don't have," says Chee-Keng hg, a prln-
clpal research sclentlst at wyeth 8lopharma ln Andover, Massachusetts. "we
need people who can ft lnto the teamwork culture."
whether the goal ls to secure hlh fundlng or to sell the corporatlon on a
novel ldea, success hlnges on the ablllty to communlcate. "how you pack-
age and present your data matters, especlally ln a large company," says hg.
"ou need to be able to communlcate well, especlally to people who aren't
as expert as you. ou have to be able to explaln the sclence to the managlng
dlrector on the pro|ect," says Stahl.
Pro|ect management ls another sklll ln hlgh demand. "ln academla, you
have to manage your research so you're competltlve for the next fundlng
round. ln lndustry, you have very tlght tlmellnes, and you have to manage
your pro|ect so you can meet those deadllnes," says Kopf. Meetlng pro|ect
goals requlres effectlve management of people and tlme, yet many postdocs
don't recognlze the lmportance of honlng management skllls untll they start
0
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sendlng out thelr resumes, says Phlllp Cllfford, assoclate dean
for postdoctoral educatlon at the Medlcal College of wlsconsln ln
Mllwaukee.
"when you get to a postdoc, there are vlrtually no rules," Cllfford
says. Many postdocs lock themselves ln the lab and hope that
thelr toll wlll pay off ln publlcatlons that lead to the |ob they want.
"People feel that they need to do pro|ect after pro|ect and publlsh,
publlsh, publlsh," Cllfford says, but he suggested that they need
to develop skllls beyond the bench too, even lf lt means gettlng
out of the lab.
Charting a Path
From the start, postdocs should ldentlfy the skllls they need
to make themselves marketable ln thelr chosen career path so
they can maxlmlze thelr tralnlng, and the sooner the better, says
Cllfford. "we propose that people go through a self-assessment
process to ldentlfy thelr own values, skllls, and lnterests and then
look at the potentlal unlverse of |obs that ft those," he says.
SclenceCareers.org webslte offered by AAAS (Amerlcan
Assoclatlon for the Advancement of Sclence) and books llke
Cynthla kobblns-koth's Altcrrctivc Ccrccrs ir Sricrrc: lccvir
thc lvcry 1cwcr are good places to start. "uo some lnformatlonal
lntervlews wlth people ln the career path you're lnterested ln and
fnd out what skllls they use, then fgure out what you need to
do to get them," says Cllfford. Some lnstltutlons employ career
counselors that speclallze ln sclence. For lnstance, the Medlcal
College of wlsconsln has hlred a career advlser speclfcally to work
wlth postdoctoral fellows and medlcal students.
kobert Tlllman, postdoctoral program coordlnator at hew ork
unlverslty School of Medlclne, advlses buddlng sclentlsts to create
an lndlvldual development plan (luP), through a process llke the
one developed by the FASF8 Tralnlng and Careers Commlttee.
Creatlng an luP lnvolves a four-step process to ldentlfy a well-
sulted career path and formulate a plan to achleve lt. Tlllman's
lnstltute has adopted luPs as part of lts postdoctoral handbook.
"lt's a way to focus my strengths and weaknesses ln relatlon to my
goals," Tlllman says. "lf l'm a postdoc and ln four years l want to
become faculty, what do l need to do to achleve that! how do l get
there!" An luP provldes the roadmap for gettlng from a postdoc to
a dream |ob.
Some postdocs expect that they wlll try for a tenure track
research posltlon and, lf that doesn't work out, then they'll thlnk
about a plan 8. 8ut thls type of approach sets postdocs up for fall-
ure, says Cllfford. "Keeplng your optlons open ls exactly the wrong
approach. ou're not really dolng the thlngs that wlll dlrect you
toward a speclfc career." There slmply aren't enough tenure-track
posltlons to go around, so postdocs should have an alternate plan
ln place from the start, Cllfford says.
Many postdocs tell themselves that lf they don't land a |ob at
a top research lnstltutlon, then they'll |ust apply for a teachlng
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posltlon. 8ut that's a mlstake, too, says Cllfford, because teachlng-orlented
unlversltles want people wlth proven teachlng skllls. "lf your goal ls to work
at a teachlng lnstltutlon, you need to fgure out how to get that experlence,"
he says. kegardless of what career path you hope to follow, "you need to
ldentlfy the sklll sets that are necessary for that career optlon, and fgure
out how you're golng to get those," says Cllfford. Someone seeklng a |ob ln
blotech, for lnstance, mlght conslder a buslness course or even an M.8.A., he
concludes.
Managing te Learn
8ench skllls are |ust one component of a successful sclence career, yet
they've long been the focus of graduate and postdoctoral tralnlng programs.
"whether you run your own academlc lab or take a posltlon at a company,
learnlng how to manage people, pro|ects, and budgets are necessary skllls,
but tradltlonal graduate and postdoctoral tralnlng do not offer formallzed
courses ln these toplcs," says Carth Fowler, outreach program manager
for SclenceCareers.org. 8ut that's changlng as AAAS, SclenceCareers.org,
and other organlzatlons step ln to fll the vold wlth courses and workshops
devoted to these toplcs.
ln 2002 and 2005, the 8urroughs wellcome Fund and the howard hughes
Medlcal lnstltute partnered on a course to teach laboratory management
skllls to postdocs and beglnnlng faculty members. Though the course's focus
stood squarely on the needs of the academlc sclentlst, many of the skllls
taught, such as tlme management, pro|ect management, collaboratlons,
and mentorlng, carry over to nonacademlc |obs as well. 0rganlzers have
turned the course lnto a book, Mckir 1hc kiht Mcvcs: A Prcrtircl CuiJc 1c
Sricrtir Mcrccncrt Fcr PcstJcrs ArJ Ncw Fcrulty avallable for free from
the hhMl webslte (www.hhml.org]resources]labmanagement).
ln 2005 organlzers of the 8wF]hhMl program put on a "traln the tralners"
course ln an effort to encourage slmllar programs at lnstltutlons across the
country. "They wanted to spread the wealth," says Llsa Kozlowskl, asslstant
dean for postdoctoral affalrs and recrultment at Thomas }efferson unlverslty
ln Phlladelphla. Kozlowskl attended the course and then, wlth support from
AAAS and SclenceCareers.org, collaborated wlth three other Phlladelphla-
area lnstltutlons to develop a lab management course for postdocs from all
four lnstltutlons.
A total of 55 postdocs enrolled ln the Phlladelphla Sclentlfc Management
Course, whlch ls ongolng and spllt lnto four sesslons spread over fve
months (www.t|u.edu]}CCS]postdoc). Toplcs lnclude leadershlp skllls, tlme
management, pro|ect management, fundlng, mentorlng, and landlng a
faculty posltlon. vera hlntz, a postdoc ln T}u's department of dermatology,
ls attendlng the course and says lt prodded her to look for opportunltles to
galn skllls that wlll enhance her resume. when she looked at |ob ads, she saw
that many wanted experlence plannlng meetlngs, so she volunteered to help
plan the T}u's postdoctoral research symposlums. hlntz says the course has
taught her to vlew her career as a pro|ect that she needs to manage, rather
than |ust somethlng that slmply unfolds on lts own.
Laboratory management courses llke T}u's are becomlng more com-
mon. Last hovember, the hew ork unlverslty School of Medlclne, also wlth
support from AAAS and SclenceCareers.org , put on a two-day workshop,
2
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Management Skllls for Sclentlsts, open to 25 people. "we wanted
lt small so lt would be lnteractlve," says Tlllman of hu. Postdoc
Marle-hlne uelmotte attended the course and says lt helped
her recognlze that her lab skllls alone mlght not be enough to land
her the posltlon she wants. "My resume ls good but l reallzed that
l need more to fnd a |ob. l need to know myself and know how to
sell myself." uelmotte says the program helped her understand the
lmportance of developlng short-term and long-term goals for her
career. lnstead of focuslng solely on her research, she ls puttlng
energy lnto mentorlng, an effort that wlll pay off ln a sklll she can
add to her resume.
The management course ls |ust one way Tlllman's lnstltute ls
promotlng career development. The school's offce of learnlng and
development offers courses on toplcs ranglng from how to glve an
effectlve presentatlon to managlng conflct and runnlng meetlngs.
Tlllman says that hu also helps about a half dozen of lts postdocs
enroll ln a 16-week Fundamentals of the 8lotech lndustry course
at the Center for 8lotechnology, a state-funded center created to
support the reglon's growlng blotech lndustry.
Acting the Part
0f all the laboratory management courses that have sprung up,
perhaps the most lnnovatlve ls the Laboratory Management
lnstltute at the unlverslty of Callfornla, uavls. The lnstltute holds
a three-week lntenslve program dlvlded lnto fve courses: leader-
shlp, management, best practlces, mentorlng, and lnnovatlon.
Partlclpants come from a wlde range of dlsclpllnes and recelve a
certlfcate and 1 credlt hours through the uC-uavls extenslon.
The program's hallmark, Lab Act, employs professlonal actors to
play out the concepts explored ln the course. lnstructors dlscuss
strategles for handllng management lssues, then actors play out
scenarlos that workshop attendees anonymously submlt. Partlcl-
pants dlscuss what happened and work on new solutlons that the
actors then try out. "we're all about practlclng," says LMl dlrector
}ohn Calland. "we use Lab Act to allow students to try out dlfferent
solutlons wlthout puttlng anyone on the spot."
ln addltlon to the summer program, LMl offers a year-long
program for postdocs. "l'm lmpressed at how effectlve lt has
been to watch the actors role play," says partlclpant Tamara
holst, a postdoc at the Publlc lntellectual Property kesource for
Agrlculture. "lt's almost uncanny how well the scenarlos translate
across dlfferent labs, and the way to defuse a sltuatlon ls usually
slmllar across the board."
1aking the tnitiative
Formal programs llke LMl's are not yet the norm, but even wlthout
them, motlvated postdocs can fnd ways to develop useful and
necessary addltlonal |ob skllls. lcenhour of luX Labs made her
resume stand out from the rest by gettlng lnvolved ln the postdoc-
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Chapter 4
Craftin
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Career
toral assoclatlons at the Mayo Cllnlc ln kochester, Mlnnesota, and at uuke
unlverslty where she dld a second postdoc. She also |olned the board of
hatlonal Postdoctoral Assoclatlon and credlts thls experlence wlth teachlng
her the skllls she needed to land her current |ob as vlce presldent and dlrec-
tor of research.
"My hPA experlence really emboldened me," says lcenhour. "As a board
member of hPA you're revlewlng the employee handbook, revlslng budgets,
and runnlng commlttee meetlngs. The experlence lntroduced me to a lot of
the thlngs l do ln my dally work llfe now." hot every postdoc has the luxury of
enrolllng ln an lnstltute-sponsored program llke LMl, but as lcenhour's experl-
ence lllustrates, motlvated postdocs can create thelr own opportunltles to
learn skllls beyond the bench lf only they would step out of the lab.
0pportunities: More 5chool?
From: dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700068
8y Peter Flske-Flrst publlshed May 11, 2007
l
n thls column, and ln every career workshop l lead, l emphaslze how
Ph.u. tralnlng can prepare you to be an adaptable problem solver,
capable of taklng on a wlde range of demandlng asslgnments wlth llttle
asslstance. ueveloplng your own research, tackllng a range of technlcal
challenges, fgurlng thlngs out on your own, and pulllng lt all together
lnto an orlglnal plece of scholarly research ls, l argue, very slmllar to the
real-world challenges entrepreneurs and other buslness leaders face when
they bulld companles. Llke the Ph.u., bulldlng a buslness ls about dolng,
not learnlng. So, ln some respects, a sclence Ph.u. ls excellent tralnlng for
people lnterested ln startlng-or leadlng-a buslness.
et, there's no doubt that entrepreneurshlp and buslness management
requlre skllls-accountlng, law, fnance, and a mllllon other toplcs-that no
Ph.u. program l know about teaches routlnely. So, lf you thlnk you mlght llke
to start your own company, or take on a hlgh-level role at an exlstlng early-
stage company, you're bound to conslder addlng an M.8.A. to your degree
collectlon. A Ph.u. ls great on fundamentals-lt teaches you how to make
somethlng completely on your own-but lt falls short on the practlcal stuff
every entrepreneur has to master. Those practlcal skllls are the speclalty of
the M.8.A.
So should you get one! And lf you declde to get one, how can you do lt
as cheaply and convenlently as posslble! These are the sub|ects of thls
month's "0pportunltles."
M..A. versus Ph.0.
Fach degree has lts merlts for entrepreneurshlp, and each glves you skllls and
experlence totally mlsslng from the other.
Most full-tlme M.8.A. programs take two years, and part-tlme programs
usually take three years or more. Most of the work ls coursework, wlth an
emphasls on practlcal skllls and "case studles": select vlgnettes used to ll-
lustrate speclfc lssues ln buslness. Full-tlme M.8.A. tralnlng usually lnvolves
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some practlcal work experlence-a pald lnternshlp, you mlght
say, usually between the frst and second years-whlch glves you
some extra experlence and helps pay some bllls.
The Ph.u., as most of you know, ls very dlfferent. unllke any
other professlonal degree, the Ph.u. ls about Jcir rather than
|ust lccrrir. Some argue that a Ph.u. lsn't a professlonal degree
at all-not a preparatlon for professlonal practlce-but, rather, an
opportunlty to acqulre knowledge for lts own sake. l thlnk thls ls
dlslngenuous and one of the problems wlth the Ph.u. degree-but
let's save that for another column. Although there ls a lot of
coursework at the beglnnlng of many Ph.u. programs, the text-
books tend to dlsappear after two years, lf not sooner. After that,
you drlll lnto a slngle sub|ect and work for years to produce an
orlglnal plece of scholarshlp largely by yourself. l have descrlbed
thls as belng marched to the edge of human knowledge and belng
told to take the next step on your own.
1e M..A. er ket te M..A. ...
lf you are gettlng or already have a Ph.u. and you thlnk you would
llke to steer your career away from the bench and toward busl-
ness-especlally entrepreneurshlp-you have two cholces: Co
back to school for the M.8.A., or make the transltlon to a startup
dlrectly. There are advantages to both approaches.
0ne of the prlnclpal advantages of an M.8.A. ls that the |ob
opportunltles at early-stage companles are excellent for M.8.A.
grads. hot only wlll you have all the knowledge and experlence
of a Ph.u., you'll also have the practlcal knowledge an M.8.A.
provldes. Add to thls the fabulous network you'll acqulre ln busl-
ness school-faculty members, fellow students, alumnl-and the
M.8.A. can be a compelllng path. Many of the people you'll be
learnlng from, and alongslde, have dlrect experlence ln the tech-
nology startup arena, so you'll have a lot of experlence to tap lnto.
The prlnclpal downslde of the M.8.A., of course, ls that lt takes
two more years of expenslve school-and lt's not only the tultlon
and fees that make lt expenslve. The opportunlty cost of those
two years-the salary and experlence you forgo to attend more
school-are even hlgher than the tultlon. lt's a good thlng these
masters of buslness earn a lot rlght out of school: There would be
no way to pay the cost otherwlse!
uependlng on your ambltlons, an M.8.A. may be completely
unnecessary. ln some lndustrles, such as blotech, the path to a
leadlng buslness role ls well establlshed for Ph.u. sclentlsts, even
those wlthout M.8.A.s. 8ecause the work ln blotech lnvolves a
hlgh technlcal component-and because many blotech companles
are started by Ph.u. sclentlsts-you'll fnd Ph.u.s throughout man-
agement. Software englneerlng startups may also recrult Ph.u.s
wlthout any buslness exposure. And lt mlght be posslble to |oln an
early-stage startup as a technlcal expert, lf you can manage, you
wlll have plenty of opportunlty to grow lnto a buslness role.
when to get an M.8.A. ls as lmportant a questlon as whether to
The prlnclpal
downslde of
the M.8.A., of
course, ls that
lt takes two
more years
of expenslve
school-and
lt's not only
the tultlon
and fees
that make lt
expenslve.
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Chapter 4
Craftin
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do so. Colng stralght from a Ph.u. to an M.8.A. ls not advlsable. For starters,
you'll be more attractlve to prospectlve M.8.A. programs lf you have a few
years of work under your belt. Second, gettlng multlple degrees wlthout ac-
cumulatlng real-world work experlence mlght turn off certaln-although cer-
talnly not all-hlrlng managers. So lf lt's posslble, work for a couple of years
before golng back to your M.8.A. our tralnlng mlght end up belng cheaper
thls way. 8est of all, lf you go to work frst, you may fnd you don't need an
M.8.A. after all to do what you want.
Baving eur |eb and ating tt 1ee
lt ls posslble to malntaln a professlonal career crJ get an M.8.A. by enrolllng
ln a part-tlme program that meets evenlngs, weekends, or both. Part-tlme
programs often are populated by people llke you: older, often technlcal,
steerlng thelr careers ln new dlrectlons. l got my M.8.A. at the unlverslty of
Callfornla, 8erkeley, ln the evenlng program, where two-thlrds of my class-
mates were englneers who worked full-tlme. There are lcts of part-tlme
M.8.A. programs, lncludlng a number that teach entlrely onllne. }ust llke full-
tlme programs, the reputatlons of part-tlme programs vary wldely. lf you are
lnterested ln worklng at a startup or an early-stage company, look for M.8.A.
programs that have a strong entrepreneurshlp focus. hot only wlll the currlcu-
lum be better sulted for your ambltlons, but the network and alumnl contacts
wlll be more frultful as well.
lf you are already employed, ask whether your employer wlll pay for some
of your M.8.A. tralnlng. Many, especlally larger, employers have programs
to subsldlze the cost of hlgher educatlon for thelr employees. ln my evenlng
M.8.A. program, two-thlrds of my classmates had some of thelr tultlon pald
by thelr employers. hearly 20 percent had all thelr tultlon pald for.
Rere are some factors that miht favor a decision to o back for an
M..A. to support your entrepreneurial ures.
ou want to make a career transltlon soon.
ou want to obtaln a breadth of sklll that would support an
entrepreneurlal career.
ou have one or more excellent, and approprlate, part-tlme or full-tlme
M.8.A. programs ln your reglon-assumlng you have geographlcal
constralnts.
our employer may subsldlze your M.8.A. educatlon.
Rere are some factors that miht steer you away from an M..A.
ou're not ln a hurry.
ou're ln a feld ln whlch technlcal people often move lnto management
and buslness roles wlthout addltlonal tralnlng.
There are no good entrepreneurshlp programs at any of the
buslness schools that are, reallstlcally, avallable to you.
6
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The opportunlty cost of stepplng out of your career path would
be too hlgh-although you can stlll conslder a part-tlme
M.8.A. ln thls case.
whether an M.8.A. ls rlght for you ls, of course, a functlon of
where you want to go professlonally. helther degree ls a hedg-
lng strategy for professlonal lndeclslon! As wlth the Ph.u., the
best way to ensure that your lnvestment ln an M.8.A. pays off ls
to know what you want out of lt. That requlres some vlslon for
yourself and your professlonal future. That's somethlng you need
to sort out bcjcrc applylng.
Additiena| Artic|es 0n|ine
Ridden 1alents, Runry Markets: Ph.0.s Rave Many 5kills
to 0ffer Industry
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700081
1oolin 0p: 1he finer Points of 0ivin a |ob 1alk
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0800093
1oolin 0p: fmployment 0ue 0ilience
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700022
1oolin 0p: fmployment 0ue 0ilience, Part 2
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700036
Industrial Postdocs: 1he Road Less 1raveled
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r0800055
1he Postdoc fxperience: hot Always What ou fxpect
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r0800058
Interdisciplinary Research: uildin rides, findin 5olutions
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r0700032
1his booklet is also available online at sciencecareers.orJ
careerbasicspdf
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A Matter of Policy
From: dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0800057
8y 8rlan vastag- Flrst publlshed Aprll 18, 2008
l
n early 2005, }oseph helble, a chemlcal englneer, entered the leglslatlve
fast lane. A few weeks earller, the most powerful tsunaml ln decades had
swept across Southeast Asla. Senator }oseph Lleberman (lu-CT) wanted
to know why that reglon lacked a tsunaml warnlng system. So the senator
turned to helble, who was servlng ln Lleberman's offce as a koger kevelle
Clobal Stewardshlp Fellow. Fach year, that fellowshlp sends one mld-career
sclentlst or englneer to a government offce or nonproft organlzatlon to work
on global envlronmental pollcy.
"l walked out of Lleberman's] offce fgurlng, 0K, now l need to fgure out
how to do thls," helble says. The next few weeks were "lncredlbly hectlc."
helble qulckly studled tsunaml warnlng systems. he spoke wlth "everyone
and anyone" who worked on tsunaml warnlng technology and consolldated
hls fndlngs lnto a memo and presented lt to Lleberman, who declded on the
spot to sponsor a blll that would fund a $30 mllllon system. Soon after, helble
found hlmself answerlng questlons at a press conference called by Lleberman
to announce the leglslatlon.
"lt's not the sort of thlng you're prepared to do ln academlc work," helble
says, "but lt was very lllumlnatlng how qulckly thlngs can get done when a
leglslator] ls commltted to lt."
5. hontraditional Careers
7
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8
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Fach year, several hundred sclentlsts and englneers food Capl-
tol hlll and executlve branch agencles ln washlngton, u.C., to get
a taste of pollcy work. From 10-week get-your-feet-wet programs
for graduate students to multlyear stlnts for tenured faculty mem-
bers, sclentlsts and englneers en|oy plenty of opportunltles to
explore sclence pollcy as a career path or as a means to broaden
thelr knowledge and skllls.
After thelr stlnts ln washlngton, u.C., sclentlsts and englneers
head ln one of three dlrectlons, says Cynthla koblnson, dlrector
of Sclence and Technology Pollcy Fellowshlps at the Amerlcan
Assoclatlon for the Advancement of Sclence (AAAS, the publlsher
of Sricrrc and Sricrrc Careers) ln washlngton, u.C.: They go back
to academla, they stay ln the pollcy world, or they declde to do
somethlng completely dlfferent.
helble declded to return to academlc llfe, becomlng dean of the
Thayer School of Fnglneerlng at uartmouth College . As an admln-
lstrator, he constantly draws on hls washlngton, u.C., experlence.
"The skllls l learned are dlrectly transferable," he says.
Pe|icy |ebs Ier fermer fe||ews
Almost half of sclentlsts who do the AAAS Sclence and
Technology Pollcy Fellowshlps declde to stay ln pollcy.
8elow are some |ob tltles of former fellows:
Assoclate ulrector, whlte house 0ffce of Sclence
and Technology Pollcy
Presldent, hatlonal Center for Pollcy kesearch for
women and Famllles
Assoclate ulrector, hlcholas lnstltute of Fnvlronmental
Pollcy Solutlons, uuke unlverslty
Senlor Sclence Advlser, 0ffce of Sclence Pollcy and
Plannlng, hatlonal lnstltutes of health
water kesource Speclallst ln Agrlculture and kural
uevelopment for South Asla, world 8ank
Senlor Advlser, keglonal Conflct, uemocracy, and
Covernance, uS Agency for lnternatlonal uevelopment
(Kenya)
kegulatory Analyst, 8lotechnology kegulatory Ser-
vlces, uS uepartment of Agrlculture, Anlmal and Plant
health lnspectlon Servlce
Speclal Pollcy Advlser to the Fxecutlve ulrector of the
world Food Programme, kome
Program 0ffcer, Sclence and Technology, Clobal uevel-
opment, 8lll & Mellnda Cates Foundatlon
Clobal ulrector, Fleet]Forces uepartment and head,
lnternatlonal Llalson 0ffce, 0ffce of haval kesearch,
uS havy
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Chapter 5
hon-
traditional
Careers
5avvy 5cientists
"0ur goal ls to have more pollcy-savvy sclentlsts out there ln the world,"
sald koblnson. "we belleve that's of value whether they stay ln government,
go back to academla, or go on to the prlvate sector or to a nonproft orga-
nlzatlon." Pollcy fellowshlps are also "a two-way street," she says, where
leglslators and government agencles beneft from the fellows' sclentlfc and
technlcal expertlse.
Llke helble, about a quarter of all AAAS fellows return to unlversltles or
take other nonpollcy |obs. 8ut almost half get "Potomac fever" and declde
to stay ln the pollcy world, elther as a return fellow or as a full-tlme employee
at thelr fellowshlp agency, at a dlfferent government offce, or at an outslde
organlzatlon.
Saharah Moon Chapotln ls one such fellow. She earned a Ph.u. ln plant
physlology from harvard unlverslty but "klnd of knew" she'd never become
a professor. She frst trled the 10-week Chrlstlne Mlrzayan Sclence and
Technology Pollcy Fellowshlp program offered by the uS hatlonal Academles.
Chapotln en|oyed worklng ln washlngton, u.C., so she applled for and won a
AAAS pollcy fellowshlp, whlch lasts one year wlth a second often avallable.
Chapotln ls ln her second year at uSAlu, where she en|oys the "blg plcture"
vlew that worklng on blotechnology safety lssues provldes-a vlew she never
had ln the lab. Chapotln ls hoplng to stay at uSAlu permanently to shepherd
the pro|ects she's been worklng on, such as a technology-exchange program
wlth west Afrlcan
cotton breeders.
whlle Chapotln ls worklng on pollcles related to her degree, many fel-
lows fnd themselves treadlng unfamlllar ground. Katherlne Seley-kadtke,
an assoclate professor of chemlstry and blochemlstry at the unlverslty of
Maryland, 8altlmore County (uM8C), spent a year at the uS State uepart-
ment as a }efferson Sclence Fellow, a program for tenured faculty members.
}efferson fellows typlcally spend a year full-tlme at the State uepartment and
then serve as lnformal advlsers for fve more years. Seley-kadtke was sent to
Moscow as a sclentlst-dlplomat to keep tabs on turmoll ln the kusslan Acad-
emy of Sclences. She soon found herself tasked wlth brlefng top uS embassy
offclals on kussla's new nanotechnology lnltlatlve. As an organlc chemlst,
Seley-kadtke wasn't an expert on nanotechnology. "8ut l certalnly am now,"
she says.
As sclentlsts, the }efferson fellows "know how to go fnd the rlght lnfor-
matlon," Seley-kadtke says. And then they have to turn around and com-
munlcate that lnformatlon to career dlplomats and other nonsclentlsts. As
lnformatlon "goes up the ladder, you certalnly don't want the wrong lnforma-
tlon gettlng to the people who make pollcy declslons," she says. "ou don't
want the secretary saylng the wrong thlng. So you need to understand the
technlcal detalls of a partlcular problem, even lf lt's not ln your area, and then
relate key polnts ln a nontechnlcal way."
1aking tt Beme
0ver and over, former and current fellows emphaslzed wrltten and oral com-
munlcatlon skllls as keys to success ln the pollcy world. "The klnd of wrltlng
you do, the qulck memos, lt's so dlfferent than wrltlng grant proposals and
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papers," sald Seley-kadtke, who returned to her lab at uM8C but
contlnues to advlse the State uepartment on bloweapon threats.
helble added that learnlng how to negotlate on Capltol hlll wlth
"people wlth a broad range of dearly held oplnlons" has served
hlm well as a unlverslty admlnlstrator. Also, he says, "The tlme
scale ln academlc llfe ls very dlfferent. when an lssue comes up
on Capltol hlll], you need to dlgest lt, understand the sclence and
the ramlfcatlons of the sclence, and put lt together ln a coherent
one-page memo-and do that all wlthln an hour." At a unlverslty, a
slmllar pro|ect mlght drag on for months.
ln her keynote address at the AAAS Annual Meetlng ln 8oston,
Massachusetts, ln February, hlna Fedoroff, the State uepartment's
top sclence advlser, emphaslzed the growlng lmportance of pollcy-
savvy sclentlsts. She hlghllghted Alex uehgan, a former AAAS
sclence pollcy fellow at the State uepartment who persuaded
former lraql weapons sclentlsts to help rebulld thelr country.
uehgan, a behavloral ecologlst and conservatlon blologlst, also
persuaded |ournal publlshers to offer dlscount subscrlptlons to
lraql sclentlsts.
Fedoroff would llke to see more sclentlsts and englneers get ln-
volved ln lnternatlonal relatlons. "The ldea of servlng as a sclence
dlplomat ls only now gettlng on the radar screen of the average
englneer and sclentlst," sald Fedoroff. "8ut now ls the tlme for
sclentlsts to stop golng back to buslness as usual."
After hls tlme ln washlngton, helble, too, would llke to see
more of hls colleagues take a slmllar path. "Look at all the ls-
sues-cllmate change, stem cell research, general envlronmental
lssues, health care, energy-that have a fundamental sclentlfc or
englneerlng basls. And we complaln that these declslons are be-
lng made ln a vacuum wlthout slgnlfcant sclentlfc or englneerlng
lnput. well, the way to fx that ls for sclentlsts and englneers to get
lnvolved ln the pollcy process."
Workin as a Medical Writer
From: dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700088
8y Sarah webb-Flrst publlshed }une 22, 2007
w
hen Kara hyberg was about halfway through her Ph.u.
ln molecular and cellular blology at the unlverslty of
Arlzona, she had a revelatlon. "As much as l love thlnk-
lng about sclence," she reallzed, "l don't actually llke dolng lt."
So she set out to fnd a way to use her sclence Ph.u. outslde
research. As she lnventorled her skllls, she reallzed that she re-
ally en|oyed wrltlng.
As she fnlshed her degree, she made contact wlth professlonal
organlzatlons llke the hatlonal Assoclatlon of Sclence wrlters
"The
ldea of
servlng as
a sclence
dlplomat ls
only now
gettlng on
the radar
screen of
the average
englneer and
sclentlst."
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(hASw) and the Amerlcan Medlcal wrlters Assoclatlon (AMwA). She took a
sclence-wrltlng course at the unlverslty of Arlzona and attended the Santa
Fe Sclence-wrltlng workshop. To galn wrltlng experlence, she wrote press
releases for the unlverslty of Arlzona's news offce. She defended her Ph.u.
ln 2003, moved to 8oulder, Colorado, and began worklng as a freelance medl-
cal wrlter.
Writing abeut Medicine
The term "medlcal wrltlng" encompasses dlfferent klnds of work for cllents ln
medla, government, and lndustry. Pharmaceutlcal companles, medlcal-devlce
manufacturers, and cllnlcal research organlzatlons (Ck0s) all employ wrlters
to prepare regulatory documents used to seek uS Food and urug Admlnlstra-
tlon (FuA) approval for drugs and devlces. Medlcal wrlters help doctors wrlte
research artlcles, monographs, and revlews on medlcal toplcs. Contlnulng
medlcal educatlon (CMF) companles employ medlcal wrlters to produce
educatlonal materlals and sllde klts that doctors and nurses use to prepare
for llcense renewals. Medlcal wrlters produce sales tralnlng materlals, press
releases for lndustry, and fact sheets or webslte materlals for government
organlzatlons. Medlcal wrlters also wrlte about research dlscoverles for medl-
cal |ournals, websltes, newsletters, magazlnes, newspapers, and any other
medlum that lncludes coverage of health and medlcal lssues.
5e|id Writing 5ki||s and C|ear Understanding
Sclentlsts lnterested ln a medlcal-wrltlng career should seek pro|ects
outslde the clrcles they normally move ln. Academlc papers and conference
proceedlngs make lousy wrltlng samples because they are dense and |argon-
laden, whereas the emphasls ln medlcal wrltlng ls on clarlty. Fmployers
(and potentlal cllents of freelancers) seek wrlters who can translate medlcal
studles lnto accurate but approachable language and tallor the lnformatlon
to audlences that lnclude regulators, health professlonals, lnvestors, or
the general publlc-but usually not all at once. Medlcal wrlters need solld
wrltlng skllls, attentlon to factual detall and accuracy, and the ablllty to see
relatlonshlps between ldeas and to organlze complex lnformatlon.
"ou need to get your wrltlng to where you're confdent ln your abllltles,"
says Fmma hltt, an Atlanta-based freelance medlcal wrlter. For some people,
thls mlght mean taklng a degree ln |ournallsm or technlcal wrltlng, but a "cou-
ple of wrltlng courses can show people that you're serlous about wrltlng," she
says. "And you can learn a lot on the |ob." AMwA provldes several certlfcate
programs that educate medlcal wrlters about the fundamentals of edltlng and
wrltlng, freelance wrltlng, and wrltlng for speclfc markets.
1we Ways tn
8ecause she wanted to be near her future husband, hyberg launched her
career from Colorado. She spent the frst few post-Ph.u. months networklng
and applylng for |obs. "lt was lnltlally extremely dlffcult gettlng that frst |ob
because l dldn't really have cllps, and l dldn't have any contacts," she says.
"8ut once l had some samples that l could show people, thlngs gradually
started to snowball from there."
how a medlcal wrlter ln Longmont, Colorado, Maggle Merchant was apply-
lng her Ph.u. ln blochemlstry and molecular and cellular blology at a small
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blotech when the company declded to bulld up lts marketlng
department. She wrote the company's customer newsletter and
complled the frst consumer manual for lts product, exerclslng
her edltlng and wrltlng skllls to explaln the technology and the
product's use. That experlence allowed her to cross over to a full-
tlme wrltlng career.
Werking en a 1eam
ueanna heler, a managlng dlrector for Cllnlcal Care 0ptlons, a CMF
company based ln keston, vlrglnla, went stralght lnto freelanclng
after recelvlng her Ph.u ln blochemlstry from Fmory unlverslty ln
Atlanta, Ceorgla. After a year and a half of freelanclng, she |olned
one of her cllent companles, worklng wlth doctors and wrlters to
develop a
package of medlcal educatlon materlals. "l en|oy the fact that lt's a
team effort," heler says. "l felt llke that was mlsslng for me ln my
freelance career."
heler now works ln management, hlrlng wrlters and edltors and
managlng pro|ects, staff, and workfow. "Crltlcal-thlnklng skllls,
pro|ect-management skllls, lndependence, and the ablllty to clearly
communlcate complex toplcs are key assets for succeedlng ln thls
type of posltlon as well as ln research," she says. And all those
skllls are nurtured, lf not always systematlcally and lntentlonally,
by graduate sclence tralnlng. Companles often look for wrlters wlth
an expertlse ln a partlcular medlcal area. So although an advanced
degree ln a relevant feld lsn't requlred for work as a medlcal
wrlter, lt's a dlstlnct advantage.
Cetting 0rugs and 0evices te Market
Medlcal wrlters produce the documents that help companles push
a drug or devlce from cllnlcal trlals through FuA approval, lnclud-
lng llterature summarles, appllcatlons to FuA to lnvestlgate a new
devlce or drug, and documents lntended for revlew by lnstltutlonal
revlew boards (lk8s).
The trlck, says Andrea Frledman, a wrlter who works on a con-
tract for Symblon kesearch lnternatlonal, a Ck0 ln Agoura hllls,
Callfornla, ls "belng able to very conclsely summarlze large bodles
of lnformatlon ln as short a way as posslble."
The responslbllltles of regulatory medlcal wrlters vary depend-
lng on the structure of the company they work for. As a frequent
consultant to small startup companles, Frledman works alongslde
cllnlcal researchers to develop the research protocols ln cllnlcal
studles. At a larger company, she says, she would most llkely focus
more on the wrltlng end of thlngs, uslng lnformatlon provlded by
cllnlcal researchers.
All medlcal wrlters have to know somethlng about medlcal scl-
ence and be able to wrlte. ln addltlon, regulatory wrlters ln cllnlcal
settlngs need to understand the regulatory process and lts re-
qulred documentatlon. Frledman recommends learnlng about good
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cllnlcal practlce, whlch encompasses the sclentlfc and ethlcal standards that
researchers and companles follow ln any study lnvolvlng human sub|ects.
These skllls can be galned on the |ob, but formal tralnlng programs are also
avallable. "There are certlfcatlon programs ln regulatory affalrs and certlfca-
tlon programs ln cllnlcal research," Frledman says. Some master's degree
programs have a regulatory component, and medlcal organlzatlons, such as
the urug lnformatlon Assoclatlon, offer medlcal-wrltlng sesslons at meetlngs.
0ne of the certlfcate programs offered by AMwA covers wrltlng speclfcally
for pharmaceutlcal companles.
Ceed 5a|aries and f|exib|e 0ppertunities
Some medlcal wrlters have |ournallsm degrees, whereas others have M.u.s
and Ph.u.s. ln sclence felds. Thlrty percent of the respondents ln AMwA's
200 salary survey had advanced degrees, up from 21 percent ln 1989.
About a thlrd of all medlcal wrlters freelance, the rest work on staff
for pharmaceutlcal companles, medlcal communlcatlons companles,
and other organlzatlons.
Medlcal wrlters get pald more than many other wrlters because thelr skllls
are more speclallzed and much of the work ls supported by the pharmaceutl-
cal lndustry. The average annual salary for medlcal wrlters exceeded $7,000
per year ln 200, accordlng to the survey. Medlcal wrlters wlth advanced
degrees averaged between $83,000 (for women) and $9,000 (for men).
"l would say that there's defnltely enough work to go around," says hltt,
who runs a free e-mall |obs llst on her webslte. 0n-slte staff |obs are plentlful
ln areas llke hew }ersey wlth a hlgh concentratlon of pharmaceutlcal compa-
nles. Freelancers, of course, can work anywhere once they are establlshed.
tntangib|e Rewards
Some medlcal wrlters fnd a partlcular reward ln the fact that thelr work mlght
have a dlrect lmpact on the publlc's medlcal llteracy. "l belleve ln the power
of communlcatlon, and l belleve medlcal wrlters can make a dlfference," says
Amy Stone, a subcontractor for the CuC who wrltes fact sheets, congresslonal
testlmony, and other documents about hlv.
0ther medlcal wrlters en|oy talklng wlth sclentlsts and learnlng about a
wlde varlety of toplcs as they work on pro|ects and asslgnments. "l don't
have the need to be an expert ln sclence," hltt says, "but l do love to learn."
Frledman, too, en|oys learnlng detalls about dlseases and new lndlcatlons for
drugs or medlcal devlces. "l'm constantly learnlng new thlngs," she says. "For
me, that's really fun."
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Masterin our Ph.0.: A Career in
Manaement Consultin
From:dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0800077
8y 8art hoordam, Patrlcla Cosllng- Flrst publlshed May 23, 2008
A
sslstlng corporate executlves wlth thelr toughest declslons
may not seem the most obvlous career move for someone
who has |ust fnlshed or ls ln the process of fnlshlng a scl-
ence Ph.u. 8ut many consultancles hlre Ph.u.s to |oln multldlscl-
pllnary teams to do exactly that, and new Ph.u.s are often thrllled
to work ln such a novel and excltlng envlronment, ln whlch facts
and analysls play an lmportant role.
lf solvlng problems, uslng your analytlcal skllls, explorlng un-
known terrltory, and learnlng whlle you are worklng appeals to you
more than the sclence ltself, management consultancy mlght be a
good cholce for you. here, we address a number of questlons you
mlght have to help you declde whether you would llke to become a
management consultant.
What 0e Management Censu|tants 0e?
Management consultants help company managers deal wlth ls-
sues and problems that arlse wlthln thelr buslnesses.
0f course, companles have lnternal resources to address thelr
problems. 8ut corporate executlves may declde that a certaln
lssue calls for a team of external, lndependent problem solvers
worklng full-tlme. (See "our Flrst Asslgnment" for an example.)
Typlcally, consultancles send ln a small team of consultants to
address the lssue, supported by partners and expertlse from the
company. usually, the team lncludes a leader responslble for run-
nlng the dally operatlon, senlor team members wlth several years
of experlence, and some younger team members, such as freshly
mlnted Ph.u.s, who are learnlng on the |ob.
Solvlng a corporate problem ls not much dlfferent from solvlng
a sclentlfc problem. lt requlres data, a thorough analysls of the
data, and a synthesls leadlng to the best posslble solutlon. Flnally,
the solutlon has to be reported ln such a way that the audlence
accepts the message and ls wllllng and able to lmplement lt.
Those challenges are famlllar to most sclentlsts fresh from Ph.u.
programs.
There ls one blg dlfference: tlme. Tlme ls money ln the corporate
world, partlcularly for the types of problems that management
consultants are usually asked to solve. So lt ls essentlal to fnd
the best posslble solutlon wlthln a glven tlme frame, rather than a
completely correct "sclentlfc" answer.
Solvlng a
corporate
problem ls not
much dlfferent
from solvlng
a sclentlfc
problem. lt
requlres data,
a thorough
analysls of
the data, and
a synthesls
leadlng to the
best posslble
solutlon.
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0e Censu|tancies Bire Many Ph.0.s?
havlng a Ph.u. ls not a prerequlslte to |olnlng a consultancy, but qulte a few
management consultants do have a Ph.u. track. For example, the 8oston
Consultlng Croup and McKlnsey and Co. both have speclal entry levels for
Ph.u.s. Martln uanoesastro of the 8oston Consultlng Croup reports that
12 percent of lts worldwlde staff have Ph.u.s. McKlnsey and Co. has slmllar
numbers: Accordlng to Teun hermsen, dlrector of personnel at McKlnsey, the
company's Amsterdam offce hlres three to fve Ph.u.s every year.
Why Bire eu?
8ecause your Ph.u. research toplc ls probably of llttle value to a consultancy,
you mlght wonder why they are wllllng to hlre you or another sclence Ph.u.
wlth slmllarly lrrelevant graduate experlence. "Problem solvlng ls a key
asset that Ph.u.s have. hot |ust the analytlcal skllls but also the ablllty to
structure a problem top-down make Ph.u.s well-sulted for a consultancy
career," says hermsen. uanoesastro adds, "To have the ablllty to work lnde-
pendently and come to the heart of the problem ls truly helpful to do a good
|ob as a consultant."
eur first Assignment
8ecause management consultants deal wlth a varlety of problems,
there are no "typlcal" asslgnments. 8ut here's an example of the type
of asslgnment you mlght get as a new hlre at a consultancy:
The company hlghTech ls loslng market share on lts maln product
because last year a competltor lntroduced a superlor product. To
survlve, your cllent needs to regaln lts market share by lmprovlng the
performance of lts maln product-lts prlmary moneymaker.
Thls means expandlng the company's research and development
(k&u) effort.
ln addltlon to that, hlghTech has a breakthrough technology ln the
works, but lt has to be launched ln tlme for the hollday sales season.
8ut the new product has blg technology uncertalntles, and these,
too, requlre a lot of k&u effort.
lt ls up to you and your team to analyze hlghTech's current
posltlon, evaluate the ma|or technology challenges, conslder the
optlons, and declde whether and how to pull addltlonal money from
the market (loans or stock lssuance, for example) to fnance these
optlons. ou'd better hurry, because hlghTech ls loslng money
every day and wlll be bankrupt by next sprlng lf the recovery plan
doesn't succeed.
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What 5ki||s 0e eu keed te 0eve|ep?
our analytlcal and quantltatlve skllls are probably adequate. 8ut
lf llke most sclence Ph.u.s you lack an economlc or buslness back-
ground, you may have to catch up on those skllls. "They have to
acqulre a buslness sense and learn to focus on the most lmportant
lssues," says hermsen.
ln addltlon, provldlng the best posslble answer ln a llmlted tlme
frame ls new to many Ph.u.s, uanoesastro says, so Ph.u. sclentlsts
may "have to learn to be somewhat pragmatlc."
ts the "Up er 0ut" 5ystem a 1hreat te eur Career?
Top-tler consultancles generally have a fast career track, you are
expected to move up to the next role wlthln two to three years.
what lf you can't, or don't want to, make the next step up! ln that
case, most consultancles would advlse you to look for opportunl-
tles outslde the company.
ls thls somethlng to worry about! Probably not. Most former con-
sultants say they learned a lot whlle on the fast track and recelved
good advlce on how to move on ln thelr careers and on what to do
next. "ln the long run, you are better off learnlng fast and movlng
on" when your progress slows, says one seasoned pro.
Bew Can eu Learn Mere Abeut Management Censu|tancy?
Most consultancles organlze buslness courses or master classes
for potentlal hlres. ln a program, typlcally lastlng a few days, you
get to work on a real problem, supervlsed by consultants. lt ls an
excellent way to galn an appreclatlon of the thrlll of the |ob or to
reallze that lt's |ust not your cup of tea.
Bew 0e Censu|tancies 5e|ect a kew Ceneratien?
Applylng for a |ob at a management consultancy ls not much
dlfferent from applylng for a |ob anywhere else. Try approachlng
someone ln the company you know or someone one of your col-
leagues or frlends knows. Follow up wlth an appllcatlon letter that
states your lnterest and wllllngness to work for the company. The
lnltlal lntervlews, whlch usually are wlth recrulters, are llkely to be
conventlonal lntervlews ln whlch you talk about your skllls, your
career hlstory, and your ambltlons and ask questlons about the
company.
our next round of lntervlews may lnclude worklng on a case
study wlth one of the company's consultants. ou recelve lnforma-
tlon about a partlcular problem and, wlth the help of the lntervlew-
er, plan a problem-solvlng approach and try to crack the problem
on the spot. lntervlewers are aware that you aren't an expert, so
they'll focus lnstead on general skllls and the progress you make
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Chapter 5
hon-
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on the case. 8ecause thls ls qulte dlfferent from a normal lntervlew, conslder
dolng a practlce case. Company websltes often provlde examples of case
studles. 8ut "the best plece of advlce l can glve candldates ls to get a good
nlght's sleep and be fresh," suggested one recrulter.
Additiena| Artic|es 0n|ine
0o ou Wanna e a vAP (visitin Assistant Professor)?
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0800107
Creative Ways to fnerize our Career
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r0800059
Packain ourself for Product Companies
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r080005
Careers in Research 5upport
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0800116
Masterin our Ph.0.: fxplorin honprot 0ranizations
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0800065
Masterin our Ph.0.: 0oodbye to All 1hat
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a080005
5hort-1erm 5cience
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700181
1his booklet is also available online at sciencecareers.orJcareerbasicspdf
family 1railblazers
From: dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0800075
8y Susan Caldos- Flrst publlshed May 23, 2008
k
ebecca Conry, who grew up on an lndlan reservatlon, was the frst
member of her famlly to go to college and also the frst to become a
college professor.
Professors llke Conry are more numerous than you mlght thlnk, although
thelr representatlon has decllned as college attendance has rlsen. uata
from the 2006 Survey of Farned uoctorates, an annual census of research
doctorate reclplents conducted by the hatlonal 0plnlon kesearch Center
at the unlverslty of Chlcago, show that ln 1976, percent of doctorate
reclplents reported that nelther of thelr parents had an educatlon beyond a
hlgh school dlploma. 8y 2006, that number was halved to a stlll-substantlal
22 percent. ho one knows how many research doctorate reclplents go on
to become members of college facultles, but 0hlo State unlverslty reports
that lt has 50 or so on a faculty of approxlmately 3,500 on lts campuses.
how a tenured professor at Colby College ln watervllle, Malne, Conry has
much ln common wlth other professors who, llke her, are famlly trallblaz-
ers on college campuses. Such faculty members often report feellng llke
outslders, allenated from the culture and not knowlng the rules. And when
they could really use help, they tend to go lt alone lnstead. "Looklng back, l
6. 0iversity Issues in 5cience
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never really got the fact that l needed to fnd a mentor. l |ust declded l needed
to fgure lt out, and l fgured lt out on the fy," Conry says.
finding the 1rai|head
Conry ls not hatlve Amerlcan, but she grew up on the akama lndlan reserva-
tlon ln central washlngton. She says she always knew she wanted to go to
college, she |ust dldn't know how to make lt happen. wlth no famlly experl-
ence or advlce to fall back on, she set out to negotlate the maze of appllca-
tlons and scholarshlps on her own.
0nce she got there, lt took her a whlle to settle on a ma|or. "l went ln thlnk-
lng l would be a doctor, but l dldn't have the confdence that l would get lnto
medlcal school. So l chose the nurslng track." A defnlng moment came, she
says, when she took her frst chemlstry course and found herself at the top of
the class. "My professor encouraged me to ma|or ln chemlstry. The rest of the
class hated me because l rulned the curve."
Some "serlous soul-searchlng" was requlred, but Conry took her profes-
sor's advlce and set her slghts on a tenure-track academlc career. wlth what
she calls "no real understandlng of what graduate school was," she applled
to a slngle lnstltutlon, the unlverslty of washlngton, and was accepted.
Under the Micrescepe
After maklng lt through graduate school, Conry was surprlsed to fnd that
the maze of requlrements and expectatlons permeatlng the academlc culture
dldn't end. 0n the tenure track, Conry says, she began to feel pressure to "ft
ln" to the academlc envlronment. She found herself navlgatlng a culture wlth
an unfamlllar set of rules.
"ln academlcs, the blg prlze ls tenure. 8ut lf you ask people ln any depart-
ment what lt takes to get tenure, they probably can't tell you. The problem ls,
lt's a movlng target," she says.
Although teachlng and scholarshlp are generally recognlzed as "the
blg two" requlrements for tenure, the ablllty to get along and ft lnto the
academlc department ls equally lmportant. The hldden, often lmperceptlble,
expectatlons can catch some frst-generatlon graduates off-guard, Conry
says. "ou have to be savvy to all the nuances, the posltlon, the place, and
the lnstltutlon's pollcles. Thls can be dlffcult lf you come from a very dlfferent
culture."
8y the tlme she got to Colby, Conry had grown more savvy. 8ut she was
late, she says, ln plcklng up on some of these messages durlng her frst
tenure-track posltlon, at the unlverslty of hevada, keno. After seven years as
an asslstant professor, she was denled tenure. "lt was a spllt declslon. l was
close. l |ust wasn't enough above the bar, and, belng dlfferent, you get looked
at under more of a mlcroscope," she says.
5ecia| Cha||enges
Although belng a frst-generatlon student may present some unlque chal-
lenges, lt need not stand ln the way of success. }ohn T. Croves, hugh Stott
Taylor Professor of Chemlstry at Prlnceton unlverslty, says he was the frst ln
hls famlly to attend college. unfamlllar wlth the school's orlentatlon process,
when lt came tlme to reglster for classes hls father pulled up to 77 Massachu-
setts Avenue ln Cambrldge-the front door of the Massachusetts lnstltute of
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Technology-and dropped hlm off. Croves found hls way to the reg-
lstratlon offce and on, eventually, to a named chalr at Prlnceton.
ln hlndslght, Croves says, he recognlzes that hls sons, who
are both Ph.u. chemlsts, "en|oyed an abundance of opportunltles
and experlences" that he never had. "They used to vlslt me at
the laboratory, and one of them dld a hlgh school pro|ect uslng a
mass spectrometer."
8ecause many frst-generatlon graduates come from less affu-
ent famllles, such socloeconomlc dlfferences are common, says
kebecca Lamb, asslstant professor of plant cellular and molecular
blology at 0hlo State unlverslty ln Columbus and a frst-generatlon
college grad. "Many of my peers ln graduate school had parents
who were college professors or professlonals. They often talked
about places they had been or research opportunltles that they
had been able to pursue on a volunteer basls."
The routlne soclallzlng and networklng ln an academlc commu-
nlty may also cause feellngs of lnsecurlty. "The wlne, the beer, the
fancler foods-when l got out of undergraduate school, l slmply
wasn't famlllar wlth all that. l don't thlnk anyone went out of thelr
way to make me feel bad. Stlll, l felt awkward at tlmes and some-
tlmes stlll do," Lamb says.
8ecause many of the soclal cues are subtle-people dlscusslng
art flms or books wlth lntellectual vlgor, for lnstance-Lamb says
fndlng a way to ft lnto a culture that comes wlth lts own set of
rules can sometlmes be confuslng. "l go to artsy movles, too, but
sometlmes you don't want to admlt that you saw the latest shoot-
'em-up escaplst flm."
Struggles to ft ln at the new workplace are often matched by
struggles to ft ln back home, as some frst-generatlon scholars fnd
themselves loslng the support of thelr famllles. Shella Smlth, assls-
tant professor of chemlstry at the unlverslty of Mlchlgan, uearborn,
says her famlly encouraged her to go to college and become a hlgh
school teacher "because that was a good career for women."
She entered horth Carollna State unlverslty on a fellowshlp that
requlred her to teach ln the state's publlc schools after graduatlon.
8ut durlng her sophomore year, Smlth got lnvolved ln research
and dlscovered that she loved solvlng problems that people dldn't
have answers for. when lt came tlme to do her student teachlng,
she was told she would have to glve up her research to fulfll the
requlrement. "l had a manuscrlpt ln preparatlon and wouldn't have
been able to contlnue wlth my pro|ect. From then on, l wasn't get-
tlng an educatlon degree, l was golng to graduate school."
8ecause her new career path requlred years of addltlonal study
and obllgated her to repay the state loan, Smlth says, her declslon
dldn't go over well wlth her famlly. "My parents dldn't go to college,
so they expected me to go and lnstantly get a |ob maklng twlce
as much as my father ever made. lnstead, l chose to go to school
agaln. lt was a source of great frlctlon between me and my famlly
for a whlle."
Struggles
to ft ln at
the new
workplace
are often
matched by
struggles to
ft ln back
home, as
some frst-
generatlon
scholars fnd
themselves
loslng the
support of
thelr famllles.
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Chapter 6
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financia| Cha||enges
Fven wlth the emotlonal support of famlly and peers, frst-generatlon stu-
dents who come from a background ln whlch money ls tlght may contlnue
to grapple wlth the fnanclal aspects of college long after they are awarded
a degree.
Although hls parents saved to send hlm and hls slster to college, Marcus
Chacon, asslstant professor of neurology at the unlverslty of wlsconsln,
Madlson, School of Medlclne and Publlc health, borrowed nearly $200,000 to
complete medlcal tralnlng. "l'm certalnly at the hlgher end of debt of anyone
that l know," Chacon says, "and to a certaln degree lt affects what l can do."
he has consldered gettlng some addltlonal tralnlng, elther through a master's
or Ph.u. program, but fnanclally, he says, lt's |ust not feaslble.
Chacon comes from a large, extended hlspanlc-Amerlcan famlly and says
concerns about money mlght also lnclude "background lssues" that can brlng
addltlonal stress whlle attendlng school or embarklng on a new career. "l've
often wondered lf there are some of us who worry about how our parents
are dolng fnanclally. l've seen people ln even more extreme sltuatlons than
myself, who are actually sendlng money to thelr parents."
Chacon, who |uggles a medlcal practlce and a faculty posltlon, says the
medlcal school admlnlstratlon has been very supportlve. The dean and oth-
ers, he says, have helped hlm navlgate the system and plan for hls career.
"lt was one of the reasons l chose thls medlcal school, and lt has been a very
valuable resource."
hurturin Women 5cientists
From: dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r080007
8y }lll u. Adams- Flrst publlshed February 8, 2008
w
hen the uS hatlonal lnstltutes of health (hlh) surveyed lts postdoc-
toral fellows ln 2003, more than 1,300 of them answered questlons
ranglng from marltal and famlly status to thelr vlews on the value
of a good salary, fexlble hours, and other workplace lssues. 0ne result was
partlcularly worrylng. whlle women and men both felt equally well tralned
for a career ln academlc sclence, women were less confdent about thelr
chances to land a posltlon, much less achleve tenure.
Fllsabeth Martlnez, who was a postdoc at the tlme and helped deslgn the
above survey, expected preparedness and career outlook to be ln allgnment.
wlth her task force colleagues, Martlnez, now an lnstructor at the unlverslty
of Texas Southwestern Medlcal Center, predlcted that women mlght feel less
ready-but they dldn't. "8y and large women felt equally well prepared, and
yet there was stlll a blt of a confdence lssue," she sald.
Thls fndlng bodes poorly for efforts to close the gender gap ln representa-
tlon at hlgher levels of the academlc ladder. And yet, those lnvolved ln such
efforts-ln academla, government, and lndustry-contlnue to move forward,
castlng a wlder net for hlrlng, pushlng famlly-frlendly lnltlatlves, and lncreas-
lng the emphasls on mentorlng.
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"lt ls reasonable to assume that those women who have
assessed the sltuatlon carefully recognlze that they're golng to
have more problems than men," says Phoebe Leboy, the presldent-
elect of the Assoclatlon of women ln Sclence (AwlS). "So you can
call lt lack of confdence or you can call lt an accurate perceptlon of
the sltuatlon."
0ne reason women mlght have grounds for less confdence ln
thelr careers than men has to do wlth the pressures of ralslng a
famlly, says Leboy. 8ut even puttlng famlly lssues aslde, she says,
"women are golng to have a harder tlme than men succeedlng" at
every stage of the tenure-track academlc career.
Leboy polnts to data made avallable by the hlh that showed
women lagglng behlnd men ln terms of grants per lnvestlgator, dol-
lars per grant, success ln gettlng grants renewed, and responslbll-
lty for blg budget center grants. And because success ls so closely
tled to fundlng, partlcularly ln academlc health centers, says
Leboy, all of these thlngs mean that women are havlng a harder
tlme achlevlng tenure than men.
Add all thls to what Leboy calls "the escalatlng rat race ln aca-
demla" and lt palnts a bleak plcture.
Leeking Past the kumbers
lt's no longer a plpellne lssue, says hancy hlelsen, presldent-
elect of the Amerlcan Medlcal Assoclatlon. She cltes the hatlonal
Academy of Sclences (hAS) report from last year whlch showed
that although women have earned more than half of the 8achelor's
degrees awarded ln sclence and englneerlng slnce the year 2000,
thelr representatlon on unlverslty facultles remalns woefully low.
lndeed, for those wlth Ph.u.s ln englneerlng and sclence, four
tlmes more men than women hold full-tlme faculty posltlons. And
mlnorlty women wlth doctorates are less llkely than whlte women,
or men of any raclal or ethnlc group, to be ln tenure posltlons.
lt's a problem of numbers, but as ls so often the case, numbers
do not tell the whole story. A survey of faculty at Prlnceton fve
years ago looked at promotlon, compensatlon, and retentlon by
gender. "The ma|or fndlng was that we have made progress ln at-
tractlng and retalnlng women faculty," sald }oan Clrgus, a psychol-
ogy professor who serves as a speclal asslstant to the dean of
faculty, a post that was created as a dlrect recommendatlon of the
survey's task force. "8ut, we stlll found that women were under-
represented."
when the Prlnceton survey team looked beyond the quantltatlve
data, one thlng they found was that women were less llkely to
request extenslons of tenure for chlldblrth than were men. "how
thls ls really odd, rlght!" Clrgus sald. "when we asked people to
comment, they sald thlngs llke: we don't know lf lt's okay to ask for
lt, we're afrald we'll be seen as less serlous, we're afrald we'll be
penallzed ln the tenure conslderatlon."
Prlnceton's response! Make the extenslon of the tenure clock
automatlc. when a tenure-track faculty member, male or female,
when the
Prlnceton
survey team
looked
beyond the
quantltatlve
data, one
thlng they
found was
that women
were less
llkely to
request
extenslons
of tenure for
chlldblrth
than were
men.
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Chapter 6
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brlngs a new chlld home, the dean of faculty sends a letter wlth a new tenure
date and a book for the baby, sald Clrgus.
ln addltlon to the postdoc study run by Martlnez, the hlh conducted an
extenslve survey of lts tenure-track and tenured sclentlsts (as well as other
staffers) to examlne gender lssues. ln general, "women do not percelve the
hlh as a female-frlendly envlronment," sald }oan Schwartz, an Asslstant
ulrector ln the 0ffce of lntramural kesearch. "8ut to tell you the truth we
don't know how exactly to defne that because we dldn't ask them what they
meant by lt."
Schwartz ls presently conductlng followup focus groups on the same popu-
latlons to try to get at speclfcs. "we need to understand what the lssues are
so we can work on comlng up wlth solutlons," she sald. "That's the ultlmate
goal-to develop practlcal solutlons."
eyend ducatien and 1raining
0bvlously, progress has been made. 0ne success story found ln the hAS
report ls the number of women gettlng Ph.u.s ln sclence and englneerlng. ln
blomedlcal sclence, some 5 percent of postdoctoral fellows are women. As
the problem-women leavlng sclence or thelr careers stalllng-moves to a
later |uncture on the career path, the solutlons must be tallored to a dlfferent
set of clrcumstances.
Put a dlfferent way, the problem of equal representatlon of women has
moved from the educatlon and tralnlng realm to the employment realm. Aca-
demlc sclence mlght look no further than corporate Amerlca to fnd expertlse
ln the practlces of hlrlng, career development, and famlly-frlendly pollcles.
"Attentlon to career development and advancement ls more part of the
culture of lndustry than lt ls ln academla," says Call Cassell, who ls vlce
presldent of sclentlfc affalrs at Fll Lllly and Company and was prevlously
a department chalr ln mlcroblology at unlverslty of Alabama Schools of
Medlclne and uentlstry at 8lrmlngham. "Lllly certalnly lnvests a lot of tlme
and resources ln nurturlng the careers of females ln both technlcal and
management posltlons."
Fmployees at Fll Lllly undergo evaluatlons twlce a year and, ln addltlon to
belng evaluated by thelr bosses, those ln supervlsory posltlons recelve per-
formance revlews from peers and the people they manage. wlth multlple ln-
puts golng lnto an employee's revlew, the process ls more ob|ectlve than the
oplnlon of a slngle person, llke one's boss. Thls contlnual feedback "lmproves
the lndlvldual, lmproves the system, and bullds a better relatlonshlp between
employee and employer," says Cassell.
From an employer's perspectlve, evaluatlons help ldentlfy talent and hold
onto lt. "So you don't turn around and they're belng courted by one of your
competltors. Successlon plannlng ls a very lmportant part of human re-
sources here. l'm not so sure that's the case at unlversltles, partlcularly wlth
admlnlstratlve posltlons."
Kourtney uavls, senlor dlrector of worldwlde epldemlology at ClaxoSmlth-
Kllne, can speak to her company's helplng her meet her ob|ectlves. Farller thls
year, she co-chalred a women ln sclence program that pulled together women
across the whole k&u organlzatlon to offer networklng and mentorlng. uavls
says lt was a great chance to promote opportunltles for women. "lt was also
on my development plan, because l want to work on leadershlp outslde of my
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department." She credlts the company's human resources team for
trylng to fnd opportunltles for women sclentlsts to lncrease thelr
leadershlp skllls.
wlth regard to famlly-frlendly pollcles, both ClaxoSmlthKllne and
Fll Lllly were recognlzed by wcrkir Mcthcr magazlne as two of the
top 100 companles ln Amerlca, based on measures of work force,
compensatlon, chlld care, leave pollcles, and the llke.
uavls |okes that she's a poster chlld for the company's famlly-
frlendly programs. wlth each of her two chlldren, uavls took advan-
tage of extended leave-tlme beyond pald maternlty leave-and
then came back at reduced hours for another three to slx months.
"l also telecommute one day a week," she says. "My supervlsor
has been lncredlbly supportlve."
The blotech frm Cenencor has gone so far as to provlde a lacta-
tlon room and the servlces of a lactatlon consultant, says Llsa
Zanetto, dlrector of human resources for k&u. Fmployees at the
company also take advantage of fextlme schedules, backup day
care, and uslng slck days to take care of slck chlldren.
Zanetto notes that men use famlly-frlendly pollcles too, llke the
slngle dad who works a reduced-hour schedule. The phllosophy
behlnd these programs ls based on the bellef that employees are
the company's greatest asset. "we put programs lnto place, not
|ust to have a program, but so lt wlll actually beneft employees,"
she says. "we do these thlngs because we belleve lt's rlght."
Fll Lllly's commltment to dlverslty has led the company to create
a new posltlon, a vlce presldent of dlverslty. The company also
helped fund the hAS report on academlc sclence and has encour-
aged the academy to do a followup study on women sclentlsts and
englneers ln lndustry.
"wlth our sclentlfc talent pool belng what lt ls today around the
globe, you want that dlverslty to ensure success," Cassell says.
"ou have to have lt."
Changing Cu|ture
lndustry dlffers from academla ln how achlevement ls measured.
"ln lndustry, as ln much of corporate Amerlca, rewards are con-
sldered for the team, for how the team does," says hlelsen, whlch
affects not only how sclence ls done, but how sclentlsts are |udged.
8y contrast, the emphasls ln academla ls on lndlvldual achleve-
ment. That works agalnst women, says hlelsen, who adds that for
all the talk about partners sharlng home and famlly dutles, "the
reallty ls women stlll do the brunt of that."
hlelsen, who ls senlor assoclate dean for medlcal educatlon
at the unlverslty at 8uffalo School of Medlclne and 8lomedlcal
Sclences, lllustrates the contrast wlth a change she's wltnessed ln
cllnlcal medlclne. Thlrty years ago obstetrlcs and gynecology was
domlnated by men, but now the ma|orlty of resldents ln any 08]
Ch program are women, she says. "l thlnk lt was because the llfe
of an 08]Ch belng on call all the tlme was very dlffcult. ln the old
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Chapter 6
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days solo practlce was the model." how group practlce ls more common and
allows doctors ln a large group to have a very reasonable call schedule. "They
can have a llfe," says hlelsen. "And those are lssues for my medlcal students,
male and female. They want a reasonable llfe balance."
Several unlversltles have launched lnltlatlves to change the culture
of academlc sclence and to lncrease the representatlon of women on
the faculty at the hlghest ranks. The hatlonal Sclence Foundatlon has
been fundlng many of these efforts through lts AuvAhCF program.
0ne of the frst awardees ln hSF's AuvAhCF program was the unlverslty of
wlsconsln at Madlson. "The unlque thlng about these awards ls they're really
worklng on the lnstltutlon level," says }ennlfer Sherldan, who dlrects uw-
Madlson's women ln Sclence and Fnglneerlng Leadershlp lnstltute. "Thls klnd
of money has never been put at the top, at a system level before. lt's always
been a 'fx-the-women' approach."
0ne of uw-Madlson's approaches ls to educate faculty-those who serve
on hlrlng and tenure commlttees-about research-based evldence on uncon-
sclous blas. Studles have shown that ldentlcal resumes are percelved dlffer-
ently dependlng on the gender of the name at the top. "we use the research
as a way ln," says Sherldan, to persuade sclence faculty that lf they're not
paylng attentlon, these blases can emerge. "lt takes the blame off men," she
says, "because women do lt, too."
The hlrlng workshops have been effectlve at wlsconsln, says Sherldan, who
has measured a posltlve correlatlon between departmental partlclpatlon ln
hlrlng workshops and more women hlred. ln addltlon, responses on cllmate
surveys showed that new hlres were more satlsfed wlth the hlrlng process.
"The workshops talk a lot about the lntervlew process and treatlng candl-
dates respectfully," she says.
Another hSF grantee ls kensselaer Polytechnlc lnstltute, whlch has created
a program called kAMP-uP (keformlng Advancement Processes through
unlverslty Professlons). kensselaer Presldent Shlrley Ann }ackson sald the
program ls focused on two thlngs: "we are worklng to lmprove career pro-
gresslon for women from the |unlor faculty ranks to the senlor ranks, and to
expand recrultment of accompllshed women at the senlor level."
Startup packages and access to resources wlll be looked at more carefully.
ln addltlon, the lnstltute ls expandlng lts mentorlng and coachlng servlces to
better gulde women faculty through the advancement process.
"lt starts at the departmental level, because that ls where hlrlng starts and
where the promotlon and tenure process occurs," }ackson sald. ln addltlon,
the "tone at the top" ls lmportant, she says. "lt ls essentlal to set clear expec-
tatlons. l am very focused on the need to ensure that the processes affectlng
the progresslon of women faculty-and of all people ln thelr careers here at
kensselaer-are falr and conslstent."
To fll loomlng gaps ln the sclence, technology, englneerlng and mathemat-
lcs (STFM) work force, }ackson says the unlted States must engage more
women and mlnorltles. "uemographlcs are changlng. women and mlnorl-
tles now constltute one-half to two-thlrds of the populatlon, yet they have
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tradltlonally been underrepresented ln the STFM felds. lf we are to
sustaln our capaclty for lnnovatlon, lt must be an all-ln proposltlon.
ou cannot presume to have tapped the best talent lf you do not
tap the complete talent pool."
0penin 0oors for 5cientists with
0isabilities
From: dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r07000
8y Laura 8onetta- Flrst publlshed hovember 16, 2007
C
had Cheetham ls pursulng a Ph.u. ln neurosclence at the
unlverslty of Alabama ln 8lrmlngham. he ls one of slx
students at hls lnstltute to have recelved a coveted howard
hughes Medlcal lnstltute scholarshlp for hls graduate work.
Megan hlx, an electrlcal englneerlng graduate of the unlverslty of
Callfornla, klverslde ls looklng for a full-tlme posltlon, probably
at the }et Propulslon Laboratory (}PL) where she lnterned ln the
sprlng of 2005. She recelved frst place ln a competltlon from the
lnstltute for Flectrlcal and Flectronlcs Fnglneers for her pro|ect
at }PL.
These are typlcal success storles of students pursulng careers ln
sclentlfc felds, except that the students happen to have a dlsabll-
lty. Cheetham has no left vlsual cortex, whlch means he lacks the
rlght vlsual feld and depth perceptlon, whlle hlx has fbromyalgla,
a chronlc condltlon that causes wldespread paln ln the body and
exhaustlon.
ln many cases, dlsabllltles are not barrlers ln sclence and
technology felds, where mental capaclty and creatlvlty are keys
to success. honetheless, lndlvlduals wlth dlsabllltles face unlque
challenges as they transltlon from hlgh school to college and from
college to employment.
They mlght need software or other technologles to help them
follow along ln classes, face problems fndlng adequate llvlng ar-
rangements close to thelr unlverslty, or come up agalnst faculty or
employers who are fearful of deallng wlth a person wlth a dlsabll-
lty. A number of programs and resources are helplng to allevlate
such challenges.
1he veice eI xperience
Ted Conway dld not dlvulge to prospectlve employers that he had
cerebral palsy. when lnvlted for an ln-person lntervlew, he would
explaln he had a loss of muscle actlon caused by a lack of oxygen
durlng blrth to the part of the braln that controls muscle move-
ment. "l always descrlbe what the dlsablllty does rather than call-
lng lt by lts name," says Conway. "lf people hear cerebral palsy, or
ln many
cases,
dlsabllltles
are not
barrlers ln
sclence and
technology
felds, where
mental
capaclty and
creatlvlty
are keys to
success.
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muscular dystrophy, or cancer, they always thlnk the worst."
A professor and assoclate dean at vlrglnla Commonwealth unlverslty,
Conway has, for the past 21 years, been golng up the academlc ladder ln the
felds of mechanlcal, aerospace, and, more recently, blomedlcal englneerlng.
he has held |obs ln lndustry, government, academla, and as a consultant.
"The only challenges that l have faced have been overcomlng other people's
predetermlned ldeas about what a person wlth a dlsablllty could do," he says.
An effectlve way for attltudes to change ls for more people to see lndlvldu-
als wlth dlsabllltles ln establlshed posltlons. "kole models serve as exam-
ples, but also act as mentors for people who want to acqulre that posltlon,"
says Conway. "Someone has to blaze that trall and then the next person who
comes along can ask 'what do l have to do to get there!'"
tncreasing kumbers
A handful of programs are trylng to lncrease the numbers of lndlvlduals
wlth dlsabllltles ln sclence, technology, englneerlng and math (STFM) felds.
Fleven years ago, the Amerlcan Assoclatlon for the Advancement of Sclence
(AAAS), publlsher of the |ournal Sricrrc and Sricrrc Careers, establlshed
FntryPolnt! The program provldes lnternshlp opportunltles to students wlth
dlsabllltles at l8M, Merck & Co., the hatlonal 0ceanlc and Atmospherlc
Admlnlstratlon (h0AA), the hatlonal lnstltute of Standards and Technology
(hlST), Lockheed Martln, CvS, hAvAlk, and hASA.
"A perslstent student can get an undergraduate degree. There are
barrlers, but lf you want to do lt, you can do lt. lt may be harder at the
graduate level. 8ut lt ls harder stlll to get employment ln your feld,"
says FntryPolnt! ulrector vlrglnla Stern. "The lnternshlp ls crltlcal. The
employer gets to know you and what you can do. And you fnd out
what you want to do."
To partlclpate ln FntryPolnt! a student wlth a dlsablllty not only has
to be lnterested ln STFM careers but also have a 3.0 or above grade
polnt average. "The organlzatlons we work wlth want the dlverslty,
but they need competltlve students," says Stern. "we do the talent
search."
Cheetham spent a summer at Merck & Co. where he was ln charge of devel-
oplng an assay to screen compounds related to obeslty. "FntryPolnt! does not
lower expectatlons. They only take the best," says Cheetham. "They are advo-
cates for people wlth dlsabllltles, but they want really quallfed students. lt's
not 'Poor me glve me an lnternshlp because you feel sorry for me.' lt's 'Clve
me an lnternshlp because l am really good!'"
Successful work experlences are not only crltlcal to openlng career doors,
they also change the attltudes of employers who may be wary of hlrlng
lndlvlduals wlth dlsabllltles. "we make sure that the employer has a posltlve
experlence," says Sheryl 8urgstahler, dlrector of the ulsabllltles, 0pportunl-
tles, lnternetworklng and Technology (u0-lT) program at the unlverslty of
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washlngton. "lf there ls a problem we lntervene, and most of the
tlme lt ls not a dlsablllty-related lssue. That ls what we help the
employer see."
u0-lT, a multlfaceted program to help people wlth dlsabllltles
succeed ln college and the work force, lncludes an onllne
mentorlng network and an lnternshlp program that are part of
the program entltled Access to Sclence Technology, Fnglneerlng
and Mathematlcs (AccessSTFM). lt provldes about 50 lnternshlp
placements a year ln the states of 0regon, washlngton, Alaska,
and ldaho.
nab|ing 1echne|egies
Fstabllshed ln 1992, AccessSTFM makes extenslve use of com-
puters, asslstlve technologles, and the lnternet to help students
wlth dlsabllltles become more lndependent ln thelr academlc and
career actlvltles. "An employer mlght say 'how can you have a bllnd
person do programmlng!' 8ut lt ls not hard. ou need a standard
computer wlth a refreshable brallle dlsplay and a brallle prlnter,"
explalns 8urgstahler. "we want to show that wlth the rlght technol-
ogy people wlth dlsabllltles can succeed."
help obtalnlng those technologles can be a boon to students.
"Most asslstlve technology ls overprlced and yet may be a
student's sole means of communlcatlon or may glve someone the
ablllty to use a computer," says Chrls Schlechty, a senlor at the
unlverslty of washlngton studylng computer sclence.
Schlechty has llmb glrdle muscular dystrophy and uses a power
wheelchalr to get around. "l need an accesslble workstatlon, whlch
conslsts of a certaln keyboard and mouse set, a helght ad|ustable
desk, and an alternate headset or handset for the phone as l can-
not llft up the recelver," he explalns.
Schlechty lnterned at Mlcrosoft through the u0-lT program. After
graduatlng ln }une 2008, he hoped to obtaln employment at Mlcro-
soft or one of the other ma|or software companles ln the area. "A
student should not prematurely label classes or careers as lnacces-
slble. 8y worklng wlth the professors and uslng a blt of creatlvlty,
we were always able to make accommodatlons that worked, and l
have been able to successfully complete all of my courses, lnclud-
lng those that seemed to requlre a falr amount of physlcal actlvlty,"
says Schlechty.
The hatlonal Sclence Foundatlon has supported u0-lT's Ac-
cessSTFM and other slmllar programs through lts kesearch ln
ulsabllltles Fducatlon (kuF) program. 0ther kuF awards lnclude
pro|ects that develop new asslstlve technologles for people wlth
dlsabllltles. 0ne example, developed by a team at Pennsylvanla
State unlverslty, unlverslty Park, ls a hand-held submerslble
audlble llght sensor that fts ln a test tube and converts the llght
lntenslty to an audlble slgnal to help bllnd sclentlsts conduct chem-
lstry experlments.
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51M Careers Make 5ense
lndlvlduals wlth dlsabllltles are generally underrepresented ln sclence and
englneerlng professlons. hevertheless the employment rate for sclentlsts and
englneers wlth dlsabllltles ls 83 percent, much better than the estlmated 26
percent for the overall uS populatlon wlth dlsabllltles. These statlstlcs sug-
gest that the englneerlng and sclence felds provlde careers ln whlch lndlvldu-
als wlth dlsabllltles can fnd success.
"l actually thlnk those felds are good ones for students wlth dlsabllltles to
get lnto, because there are |ust so many opportunltles avallable to help get
women, mlnorltles, and now people wlth dlsabllltles lnvolved, slnce they are
so underrepresented," says Allson Fcker, a |unlor at the unlverslty of 0regon
ma|orlng ln comparatlve llterature.
Fcker, who ls hard of hearlng, completed a u0-lT lnternshlp ln vltlculture,
an area outslde her feld of study. 8ecause of the lnternshlp, she would now
conslder a career ln sclentlfc research. "l would hlghly recommend havlng
an lnternshlp, posslbly even before decldlng a ma|or, as lt allows you to get
real-llfe experlence, to see lf lt's a career that you mlght actually be lnterested
ln," she says.
why are STFM careers a good match for lndlvlduals wlth dlsabllltles who
have an lnterest ln these felds! "lt ls a comblnatlon of thlngs. There tends
to be an lncreased use of technology ln those felds whlch makes lt easler to
lntegrate asslstlve technologles," says 8urgstahler. "STFM |obs are often not
physlcally demandlng |obs. ou are uslng your head, not your muscle."
1he mp|eyers' Perspective
And lf STFM careers make sense for people wlth dlsabllltles, lt also makes
sense for employers to hlre them. "we are competlng wlth countrles that
have plenty of lndlvlduals wlth technlcal expertlse. we cannot afford to leave
any talented people out of the work force," says Ted Chllds, former vlce presl-
dent of global dlverslty at l8M.
Llke l8M, the Center on Polymer lnterfaces and Macromolecular Assem-
blles, an hSF-sponsored center and a |olnt effort between Stanford unlverslty
and l8M Almaden kesearch Center, has had students wlth dlsabllltles as sum-
mer lnterns for the past slx years.
These lnternshlps requlred maklng some changes ln the bulldlngs, such as
addlng touch plates to doors, and maklng other accommodatlons, lncludlng
hlrlng slgn language lnterpreters durlng meetlngs and semlnars as well as
purchaslng some speclal software. "lt ls a comblnatlon of changes ln the
bulldlngs and worklng wlth the students to fnd out what they need," says
center dlrector Curtls Frank, who had two students wlth dlsabllltles ln hls
own lab.
8ut Frank sees many advantages to these lnternshlps. "For the other group
members, lt glves them an example of what can be accompllshed. My group
already has a good colleglal worklng relatlonshlp. 8ut havlng someone wlth
speclal needs helps brlng the group even closer together," says Frank. "lt
requlres more folks to pay attentlon to what ls happenlng ln the lab."
}ulle Peddy, program manager at h0AA's horthwest Flsherles Sclence
Center and FntryPolnt! coordlnator for h0AA, has also had good experlences
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hostlng students wlth dlsabllltles as summer lnterns. "Some
employers are worrled about what the cost wlll be, but for the most
part lt ls not costly to provlde some accommodatlons for a person
wlth a dlsablllty," she says. "The response has been very favorable.
A number of lnterns have been repeat lnterns and a couple wlll be
plcked up as permanent employees."
Changing Attitudes
Many sclentlsts wlth a dlsablllty, partlcularly one that ls apparent,
say lt ls lmportant to dlscuss the dlsablllty wlth teachers and pro-
spectlve employers and advocate for whatever accommodatlons
are needed to succeed. "As a student you have to make sure that
you are not excluded from obtalnlng the same skllls, or equlvalent
skllls, as everyone else ln the class," says lmke uurre, a physlcal
sclentlst at h0AA. "Part of that responslblllty falls on the teacher,
but lt ls also up to the student to say, 'Thls ls how l could do lt.'"
After completlng her Ph.u. ln atmospherlc sclence from the
unlverslty of washlngton, uurre applled for a fellowshlp from the
hatlonal kesearch Councll. uurre, who ls bllnd from blrth, added a
"personal statement" ln her appllcatlon explalnlng what accom-
modatlons she uses. "l wrote 'Thls ls how l handle graphlcs. Thls
ls how l read prlnt documents,' and so on," she explalns. "The
approach worked for me."
She landed a postdoctoral posltlon at h0AA's hatlonal Cllmatlc
uata Center, whlch later converted to a staff posltlon ln the Cllmate
Analysls 8ranch. uurre got hooked on cllmate sclence as a chlld,
when her mother would read her the newspaper's weather page.
lt never occurred to her that thls was somethlng she could not do.
"l dld encounter a teacher ln |unlor hlgh school who dld not thlnk l
could do hlgher-level math, but l dld not pay much attentlon," she
says. "l fgured she dld not know me."
lnclght, a not-for-proft organlzatlon based ln Portland, 0regon,
works wlth hlgh school and college students wlth dlsabllltles to
help them overcome thelr own fears and become better advocates
for themselves. "when we hear 'l would llke to do thls but l don't
thlnk l can do lt,' that ls when we get really motlvated," says ln-
clght's Aubrle Abbott. "we work wlth them and say 'well, actually,
we thlnk you can. Let's fgure out the steps you need to get there.'"
lnclght works closely wlth a set of college students from all over
the country, provldlng them wlth scholarshlps, mentors, and as-
slstance ln fndlng lnternshlps. Thls year the scholarshlp program,
whlch started only four years ago, recelved 800 appllcatlons for
70 spots. ln addltlon, lnclght helps prepare 0regon hlgh school
students for llfe after graduatlon, through tralnlng and mentorlng.
"8y the tlme they get to college they are better at belng thelr own
advocates," says Abbott.
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Programs llke FntryPolnt!, u0-lT, lnclght, and many others are worklng
to change the face of research by provldlng tools and advlce to talented
students who have dlsabllltles. They are also creatlng networks of students
and professlonals wlth dlsabllltles who can serve as role models for others to
follow. "Fventually we would llke to put ourselves out of buslness," laughs
Abbott. "ln a perfect world you would not need us. we are trylng to develop
leaders who can remove barrlers and pave the way."
Additiena| Artic|es 0n|ine
1op five Challenes for Prenant 5cientists
sclencecareers.sclencemag.org]career_magazlne]prevlous_lssues]
artlcles]2006_0_07]the_top_fve_challenges_for_pregnant_sclentlsts]
Mind Matters: Culture 5hock
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a070005
Incubatin Innovation - 0iversity ffforts Re[uvenate the Life 5cience
Work force
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r0700033
Meaninful Mentorin - hative American and Latino 5uccess 5tories
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r070001
0L1 5cientists
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r0800063
Afnity 0roups for 0iversity
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.opms.r0800053
1his booklet is also available online at sciencecareers.orJcareerbasicspdf
Makin the Leap to Independence
From: dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700029
8y lrene S. Levlne- Flrst publlshed March 2, 2007
l
ndependence ls a lofty goal. lt's what every parent wants for thelr
chlld and every cltlzen wants for thelr natlon. lt ls also what most scl-
entlsts asplre to after years of tralnlng and worklng for other people.
8ut the practlcal challenges of achlevlng lndependence ln a sclentlfc
research settlng are formldable. Flrst, you have to secure a posltlon, lab
space, and suffclent funds to buy equlpment and hlre people, durlng
a tlme of constrlcted budgets and lncreased competltlon. And once the
frst round of resources ls ln hand, you have to be sklllfully employed ln
a coherent sclentlfc effort even as you seek another round of resources.
The effort requlres a mlx of sclentlfc, technlcal, pro|ect management, and
lnterpersonal skllls. More lntanglbly, the path to lndependence requlres
fexlblllty, perslstence, and self-confdence. hot everyone has what lt
takes. Then agaln, not everyone asplres to sclentlfc lndependence.
"Those who succeed are well-grounded people who have seen suc-
cess and belleve they can do lt too. They are not the type of people
7. Leadership and Lab
Manaement
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who worry too much or are easlly lntlmldated," says Mlchael hochella, }r.,
a professor of mlneralogy and geochemlstry at vlrglnla Polytechnlc lnstltute
and State unlverslty ln 8lacksburg, vlrglnla.
arning eur Wings
0ne prerequlslte to lndependence ls an academlc posltlon that provldes the
space, freedom, and employment stablllty necessary to engage ln lndepen-
dent research and to bulld a research team. 8ut thls ls only the beglnnlng.
Although academlc posltlons generally come wlth startup packages, settlng
up a lab from scratch ls expenslve and lt's soon necessary to go huntlng for
more fundlng.
The sclentlfc communlty has long consldered slngle-lnvestlgator research
grants, such as the k01 offered by the uS hatlonal lnstltutes of health (hlh),
the holy Crall of sclence fundlng-but that goal often remalns eluslve, par-
tlcularly for young lnvestlgators. The success rate for k01 grants, for example,
remalns dlsappolntlngly low. 0f 22,18 appllcatlons revlewed ln 2006, only
3,610 (or 16.3 percent) were funded. 0ver the 25-year perlod between 1978
and 2002, the medlan age of doctoral blom edlcal researchers recelvlng thelr
frst lndependent research grants from the hlh rose from 37 to 2.
kecognlzlng thls as a threat to the development of the next generatlon
of researchers, hlh declded to turn the problem on lts head. Last year, lt
announced the K99]k00 Pathway to lndependence award, a new mecha-
nlsm deslgned to lncrease the share of federally funded awards recelved by
younger lnvestlgators and to create lnstltutlonal lncentlves to help postdocs
become lndependent lnvestlgators. After two years of fundlng at $90,000
per year, grantees can apply for an addltlonal three years of fundlng for up to
$250,000 per year. And slnce the grants cover full overhead costs, they pro-
vlde a strong lncentlve for unlversltles to create posltlons for these grantees.
ln Furope, the governments of the uK and lreland have made slmllar efforts
to expand the number of transltlonal awards for early-career sclentlsts. 8ack
ln the unlted States, hlh has |ust announced a "new" award-dubbed the
hew lnnovator Award-that ls lntended for newly lndependent blomedlcal
sclentlsts. The number of hew lnnovator awards ls llkely to be tlny, however.
Mere 1han 5cience
8ut money lsn't everythlng. 8ecomlng a successful sclentlst requlres gettlng
the work done. what dlfferentlates those tralnees who go on to become lnde-
pendent lnvestlgators from those who contlnue to work for others! Although
there ls llttle hard data, the common assumptlon ls that only the best and the
brlghtest go on to lndependence.
8ut there ls more to lt than lntellect and sclentlfc sklll. To become suc-
cessful as lndependent lnvestlgators, young sclentlsts must possess-or
acqulre-a battery of nonsclentlfc skllls. Tradltlonally, lndlvlduals were left
to plck these up on thelr own, but they may now take advantage of many
excellent programs that focus on teachlng them the skllls of successful grant
appllcatlons and sclentlfc management. 0ne of the most ambltlous and com-
prehenslve of these efforts ls a program ln lab management supported by the
howard hughes Medlcal lnstltute (hhMl) and the 8urroughs wellcome Fund
ln the uSA. (howard hughes Medlcal lnstltute, Mckir thc kiht Mcvcs: A
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At the top
of the llst
of tralts
requlred
for lndepen-
dent research
are persls-
tence, self-
confdence,
and fex-
lblllty.
Prcrtircl CuiJc jcr Sricrtir Mcrccncrt jcr PcstJcrs crJ Ncw
Fcrulty, ScrcrJ FJiticr, wlth a free download)
A successful prlnclpal lnvestlgator (Pl) must know how to brlng
a team together and nurture each lndlvldual, says Peter }. 8runs,
vlce presldent for grants and speclal programs at the hhMl, who
was on the faculty of Cornell unlverslty ln lthaca, hew ork, for
more than 30 years. hls advlce to buddlng lab managers: "when
you look at successful mentors, you'll fnd that they recognlze the
human needs of thelr people. They llsten to thelr problems, work-
related or not. They help them succeed as people," 8runs says.
Many sclentlsts belleve that personallty plays a cruclal role ln
achlevlng lndependence as well. "The sclentlfc abllltles of lnde-
pendent lnvestlgators versus the nonlndependent ones are es-
sentlally the same," says hochella. "ln my experlence, the dlffer-
ence may lle ln both the level of ambltlon and baslc personallty,"
says hochella, whose career mentorlng doctoral and postdoctoral
tralnees has spanned more than two decades.
0e eu Bave What tt 1akes?
The foundatlons of personallty are part nature and part nurture.
wlth effort, people can make some changes around the edges but
most core character tralts endure. how we are hard-wlred may
make us more or less llkely to become lndependent researchers.
Accordlng to some of the experlenced lab managers lntervlewed
for thls artlcle, at the top of the llst of tralts requlred for lndepen-
dent research are perslstence, self-confdence, and fexlblllty.
Persistence. lndependent research lsn't the path for the
sclentlst who ls motlvated by qulck rewards, hochella says.
kesearch lndependence requlres tenaclty, drlve, and the
wllllngness to hang ln for the long haul. "oung sclentlsts who
wlsh to become lndependent need to be able to see the rewards
down the llne, set thelr mlnds on lt, and go for lt," says hochella.
"They remaln calm, take thlngs one step at a tlme, and know
that lf they pass all the lndlvldual hurdles, they wlll have a good
chance of maklng lt."
Mlchael Thoennessen, a professor and assoclate dlrector of
the hatlonal Superconductlng Cyclotron Laboratory (hCSL) at
Mlchlgan State unlverslty ln Fast Lanslng belleves that mentors
can help young sclentlsts by modellng the costs and rewards of
perslstence. "he can convey to the mentee that he loves hls |ob,
although lt lnvolves lntense work, long hours, and ls sometlmes
loaded wlth admlnlstratlve tasks," he says.
Fxperlence ln the Pl's baslc tasks can also glve asplrlng scl-
entlsts a leg up whlle they're stlll ln tralnlng. Steve K. Lower, an
asslstant professor of earth and envlronmental sclences at 0hlo
State unlverslty ln Columbus ls one of hochella's protgs who
has gone on to secure hls own grants from the hatlonal Sclence
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Leadership
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Manae-
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Foundatlon (hSF) and the uepartment of Fnergy. "As a graduate student, my
advlser allowed me to play a blg role ln the wrltlng of hSF grants. he also
allowed me to revlew the panel revlews" of the grant proposals he helped
wrlte, says Lower. Aslde from learnlng the nuts and bolts, those experlences
helped hlm recognlze the lmportance of perslstence and humlllty, he says.
Cenhdence. "Those who succeed are well-grounded people who have seen
success and belleve they can do lt too. They are not the type of people who
worry too much or are easlly lntlmldated," says hochella.
Adam klch, an asslstant professor of blologlcal sclences at the State
unlverslty of hew ork, 8rockport, belleves that "confdence" doesn't qulte
descrlbe the essentlal quallty-more llke fearlessness, he suggests. "l was
wllllng to develop new or novel protocols to get an experlmental questlon
answered. l was baslcally wllllng to try anythlng, and therefore, wasn't afrald
to push technlques beyond where they were supposed to work," says klch.
Mentors can help tralnees become more self-confdent by engaglng
them ln meanlngful dlscusslons and treatlng them as peers rather
than "down-the-pecklng-order" students and postdocs, says Thoen-
nessen. "Tralnees galn confdence when they reallze the people they
respect ln the feld don't have all the answers," he says.
f|exibi|ity. "The ablllty to handle amblgulty and uncertalnty wlth some
equanlmlty, even to embrace lt, ls really crltlcal," says Thoennessen. Thls
requlres a wllllngness to learn new roles, even or especlally when lt means
movlng beyond one's comfort level or sklll set, he says.
"l en|oy the process of sclence and can be happy worklng on a varlety of dlf-
ferent pro|ects," says klch. he took hls prlor work and expertlse ln the area of
gastrolntestlnal motlllty and applled lt to a new anlmal model, the zebrafsh,
to show that he could do what he proposed to do and then added a new hook
to get lt funded. "when conslderlng pro|ects, l always keep two thlngs ln
mlnd: what work wlll be fun to do and what work ls fundable," says klch.
Werking smart. 0ne of the most unlversal keys to adaptlng to an
lndependent posltlon ls learnlng to get more done ln less tlme. 8etween
teachlng, research, grant wrltlng, mentorlng, and commlttee work, new
faculty members have a lot more to do than they dld when they were grad
students and postdocs, so they can't afford to waste tlme-and that means
worklng smart as well as hard.
"l recall professor hochella saylng, 'ou can make dlscoverles by spendlng
a month ln the lab or a day ln the llbrary,'" Lower says. he frst put that lesson
lnto practlce when he spent a good part of hls frst summer of grad school
ln the llbrary. "At the end of the summer, l had fgured out what was mlsslng
from my area of research. l knew where l could carve a nlche," he says. he's
been applylng the lesson ever slnce.
76
www.asee.org]smart www.sclencecareers.org
0iIIerent strekes. hot everyone ls lnterested ln pursulng lnde-
pendent research. "There are many young sclentlsts who don't
have a burnlng ambltlon or an lnherent need to lead. They are
content wlth followlng, knowlng that they are |ust as capable,"
says hochella. "They |ust don't want the hassle."
"Today, many students don't want to be clones of thelr
professors," says 8runs. he hopes that the graduate school
communlty wlll recognlze the need to prepare some equally
talented graduate students for |obs other than dolng "blg
research ln blg groups."
lndeed, ln a tlme of lncreaslngly collaboratlve sclence, per-
haps lt's the concept of lndependence ltself that needs revls-
lng. A semlnal report from the hatlonal kesearch Councll (hkC)
publlshed ln 2005, called 8riJcs tc lrJcpcrJcrrc: Fcstcrir thc
lrJcpcrJcrrc cj Ncw lrvcstictcrs ir 8icncJircl kcsccrrh, sug-
gests that the tradltlonal defnltlon of an lndependent research-
er-as an lndlvldual, usually ln a tenure-track posltlon, who has
recelved hls or her frst k01 research pro|ect grant (or equlva-
lent) as a prlnclpal lnvestlgator-ls too narrow. kather, lt says
an lndependent researcher ls "one who en|oys lndependence
of thought-the freedom to defne the problem of lnterest or to
choose or develop the best strategles to address the problem."
Fncompassed ln the broader term ls the notlon that researchers
need not be ln tenure or even self-sustalnlng to be lndependent.
They can achleve lndependence by maklng dlstlnct contrlbutlons
to the research enterprlse even lf they're not ln charge of the lab.
The problem ls that there aren't many alternatlves to Pl-shlp
for establlshed academlc sclentlsts. Although some non-Pl
|obs may be found wlthln unlversltles-runnlng core facllltles,
for example-these klnds of |obs are relatlvely few. Far more
common are older sclentlsts stuck ln postdocs wlth llttle |ob
securlty, even a decade or more past thelr Ph.u.s. 8ut these
are not |obs that anyone asplres to. So early-career sclentlsts
who aren't eager to head up thelr own research enterprlse
should conslder opportunltles to teach or to fnd work outslde
academla-at government labs or ln prlvate lndustry-where
they can do good work wlthout havlng to bulld and support a
laboratory and a team. The klnd of teamwork descrlbed ln that
hkC report ls far more common ln lndustry than lt ls ln academla.
ln one of the all-tlme most popular career advlce books, whct
Cclcr ls cur Pcrcrhutc? (frst publlshed ln 1970 and updated
many tlmes slnce), author klchard helson 8olles says, "The key
to a happy and fulflllng future ls knowlng yourself. Thls self-
knowledge ls the most lmportant component of fndlng the rlght
career." lf your pursult of lndependence feels llke a sllppery
slope and you're not en|oylng lt, sometlmes lt helps to reassess
your career goals and talk them through wlth a trusted mentor, a
career counselor, or a mental health professlonal.
www.asee.org]smart
77
www.sclencecareers.org
Chapter 7
Leadership
and Lab
Manae-
ment
Manain 5cientists
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700160
8y Karyn hede- Flrst publlshed hovember 9, 2007
C
hrlstlna hull chuckles when asked where sclentlsts acqulre thelr
lnterpersonal skllls. She acqulred hers the same way most sclentlsts
do: They were thrust upon her when she started her laboratory at the
unlverslty of wlsconsln, Madlson. Suddenly she was the boss, faced wlth
the dally challenges of motlvatlng students, negotlatlng wlth peers ln com-
mlttee meetlngs, resolvlng conflcts ln the lab, and a dozen other tasks that
requlre what are broadly called "people skllls."
hull acknowledges that possesslng good management ablllty ls essentlal
to productlve sclentlsts, but she recelved no formal management tralnlng
prlor to taklng the relns. her experlence ls not unusual. Fully half of uS
postdoctoral sclentlsts respondlng to a 2003 Slgma Xl survey sald that they
had recelved no tralnlng ln lab or group management, and nearly all the
rest had recelved only ad hoc or "on-the-|ob" tralnlng. Most wanted formal
tralnlng ln lab management, but only percent had attended a workshop or
done formal coursework.
Fven establlshed senlor sclentlsts recognlze the dlsconnect. "Sclence ls odd
ln some ways," says kobert uoms, chalr of the uepartment of Mlcroblology at
the unlverslty of Pennsylvanla School of Medlclne. "ou spend all your tlme
as a student and postdoctoral fellow learnlng how to be a good experlmen-
tallst. Then you become an lndependent sclentlst, and lf you are successful,
before long you are no longer dolng experlments because you don't have any
tlme, and personnel management becomes a ma|or lssue."
Llke many sclentlsts, uoms modeled hls management style on that of hls
sclentlfc mentor, Arl helenlus, a vlrologlst at ale unlverslty School of Medl-
clne, whose style uoms admlred. The ad hoc method can work sometlmes,
but lt's hlt-or-mlss.
"There are some horrlble pathologles ln some labs ln the relatlonshlps,"
says Fdward 0'hell, dlrector of the Center for the health Professlons at the
unlverslty of Callfornla, San Franclsco (uCSF), who offers laboratory manage-
ment workshops throughout the unlted States. "People stay because they
are lnsplred by the sclence, but they leave the tralnlng ln some of these labs
really wounded people. Then they wlll use that as a model for leadershlp."
ln hls workshops, 0'hell trles to get sclentlsts to change thelr behavlor by
asklng them to frame a hypothesls. For example, "lf l stop yelllng at my tech-
nlclan when he makes a mlstake and work together to correct the problem, he
wlll fnlsh experlments more qulckly and completely." Then, 0'hell asks them
to collect and analyze data to see lf the data ft the hypothesls.
eceming an IIective Leader
Success ln sclence ls often measured by number of publlcatlons, cltatlons,
and slmllar metrlcs. 8ut when Allce Saplenza, a chemlst wlth a Ph.u. ln
organlzatlonal behavlor who ls now at Slmmons College ln 8oston, Massa-
chusetts, asked experlenced sclentlsts what qualltles they most admlre ln a
sclentlfc leader, she got a very dlfferent answer.
78
www.asee.org]smart www.sclencecareers.org
Saplenza says her research suggests that the best leaders are
those wlth the best people skllls. She surveyed more than 200
sclentlsts and englneers from the unlted States, Furope, and
Asla, asklng them to descrlbe the most effectlve sclentlfc leader
they knew. Leadlng the llst were people of "carlng and compas-
slon," followed by those who "possess managerlal skllls" such
as effectlve communlcatlon and conflct resolutlon. Technlcal sklll
was a dlstant thlrd.
Another common mlsperceptlon among sclentlsts, she says, ls
that managlng people ln a laboratory envlronment ls somehow
dlfferent from managlng people ln other types of workplaces.
"People are people," Saplenza says. "There's a very short llst of
thlngs that go wrong when people work together."
So how do you make sure those thlngs don't go wrong! "There
ls no easy fx," she says. "lt should not be surprlslng that lt
wlll take tlme to become an expert ln the dlsclpllne of lnterper-
sonal behavlor."
Carl Cohen, co-author of the book lcb 0yrcnirs: Mcrccncrt
Skills jcr Sricrtists (and a former Sricrrc Careers contrlbutor),
recommends taklng short courses ln management and readlng
books such as wllllam ury's Ccttir Pcst Nc, whlch he found
lnvaluable ln developlng negotlatlon skllls. There's a whole lltera-
ture out there, he says, that can be very helpful.
0'hell recommends yearly performance evaluatlons for
everyone ln the lab, lncludlng the lead lnvestlgator, uslng what's
known as a 360-degree evaluatlon ln whlch people glve and get
constructlve feedback from supervlsors and those they supervlse.
Thls klnd of assessment taught Saplenza that she needed to be
more expllclt wlth her students and postdocs ln settlng goals
and expectatlons.
ferma|izing 1raining
hot long after her trlal by fre at wlsconsln, hull, a former 8ur-
roughs wellcome Fund (8wF) Career Award reclplent, got a taste
of formal tralnlng when she partlclpated ln a fve-day lab manage-
ment "boot camp" sponsored by 8wF and the howard hughes
Medlcal lnstltute (hhMl) ln Chevy Chase, Maryland, ln 2005.
"l declded to go to the course] grudglngly," she acknowledges.
"l wasn't sure lt was worth a week of my tlme." She feared the
course would be a bunch of "buslness-speak" that dldn't apply to
the lssues she faced ln the lab. 8ut by the end of the course, she
was glad she had gone. She says she valued hearlng the collec-
tlve expertlse of experlenced sclentlsts who had been through the
same lssues she faced, and she learned enough about her own
personallty and management style to make changes she says
have lmproved her skllls as mentor and manager.
"l reallzed there were some thlngs l was dolng that my lab
expected me to do dlfferently," she says. "My students polnted
out that l don't manage lnterruptlons well-that l allow them to
Saplenza says
her research
suggests
that the best
leaders are
those wlth
the best
people skllls.
www.asee.org]smart
79
www.sclencecareers.org
Chapter 7
Leadership
and Lab
Manae-
ment
lnterrupt me too much. l thought that was lnterestlng because l was very
much lnto my open-door pollcy. when l became more protectlve of my tlme,
they respected my tlme more."
Peter 8runs, vlce presldent for grants and speclal programs at hhMl,
says that hhMl ls unllkely to offer the lab leadershlp course agaln.
lnstead, the lnstltute ls trylng to dlssemlnate lts model by "tralnlng the
tralners": teachlng the nuts and bolts of how to run such courses to a core
group of 17 lnterested professlonal socletles and unlversltles that want
to offer them.
hhMl gave small seed grants to each partner and asked for evaluatlon
data from the workshops. ln aggregate, more than 90 percent of respon-
dents who partlclpated ln the courses sald that they would recommend
them to a colleague, accordlng to Maryrose Franko, senlor program offcer
at hhMl.
Mlchelle hermlston, a new asslstant professor of pedlatrlc hematology
at uCSF, took a laboratory leadershlp course offered by uCSF's offce of
postdoctoral educatlon thls past sprlng. "l'm a huge cheerleader for the
leadershlp course. l found lt extremely useful, as dld all of my frlends
who also took lt," she says. She partlcularly appreclated the tlps on how
to assess work styles and how to ask dlffcult questlons about potentlal
weaknesses durlng the hlrlng process. "For many of us who have been
tralned ln sclence, learnlng how to do those thlngs can be challenglng."
hermlston says that the course has already had an effect ln her lab.
her technlclan told her recently that she has become much more open to
feedback and sald how nlce lt has been not to have to guess what she ls
thlnklng. "l've become much more cognlzant of what level of hands-on
management people need at dlfferent stages of thelr tralnlng," she says.
"lt's probably changed some of my behavlors for the better ln that l glve
and ask for feedback more often."
The unlted Klngdom has declded that such tralnlng should come long
before a sclentlst fnds herself runnlng her own lab: A fundamental change
ls under way that alms to make "soft skllls" a part of doctoral educatlon ln
sclence. ln 2002, a government-commlssloned panel recommended that all
sclence graduates recelve such tralnlng. ln answer to those recommenda-
tlons, kesearch Counclls uK, the natlon's prlmary research-fundlng body,
now dlsburses 21 mllllon (about uS$2 mllllon) per year to unlversltles
for professlonal development for graduate students and postdocs ln areas
such as pro|ect management, supervlslng others, and communlcatlng wlth
the publlc. The goal lsn't to lmprove laboratory management per se, lt ls,
rather, to glve graduates skllls that make them more attractlve to potentlal
employers ln all sectors.
There ls stlll some skeptlclsm on the part of supervlsors, and some
people belleve that the money would be better spent elsewhere. 8ut the
program seems to be havlng an effect. "we're probably about halfway
there ln terms of gettlng transferable skllls lnto Ph.u. programs," says laln
Cameron, head of the kesearch Careers and ulverslty unlt wlthln kesearch
Counclls uK. "we've made a huge amount of progress slnce 2003, but
we've stlll got some way to go."
Such skeptlclsm ls not confned to the unlted Klngdom. when Fllzabeth
Fllls, dlrector of Craduate Tralnlng ln 8lomedlcal Sclences at the unlverslty
80
www.asee.org]smart
of Strathclyde, uK, gave a talk on the uK's lntegrated-tralnlng
model at an Assoclatlon of Amerlcan Medlcal Colleges meetlng
last year, she encountered skeptlclsm there as well. "There
seemed to be some reslstance to movlng] towards skllls-based
tralnlng ln the unlted States, and there was llttle understandlng of
why transferable skllls were needed," she wrltes ln an e-mall.
8rlan Schwartz, a physlclst and vlce presldent for research and
sponsored programs at the Craduate Center of the Clty unlverslty
of hew ork, has been co-teachlng courses on buslness skllls
for sclentlsts for 10 years. Schwartz says students and postdocs
are often savvler than thelr supervlsors about the need for such
skllls ln the |ob market. he advlses students to take such courses
throughout thelr graduate careers. "Fven whlle gettlng a Ph.u.,
take some other courses," he says. "A lot of students say, '8ut my
thesls advlser won't allow me.' l say, 'uon't tell 'em.'"
"Sclentlsts have to learn that lt's not the sclence they're
managlng, lt's the people who are dolng the sclence that they're
managlng," says Saplenza. "Sometlmes that's a quantum leap for
people to understand."
Additiena| Artic|es 0n|ine
Mind Matters: 1oo Perfect?
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a08000
Masterin our Ph.0.: 0ealin with 0ifcult Colleaues
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0800013
1oolin 0p: 1ransitionin to 1eamwork
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0800076
Mind Matters: Workin 5pace
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a0700093
Maximizin Productivity and Reconition, Part 3: 0evelopin
a Research Plan
dx.dol.org]10.1126]sclence.caredlt.a080018
1his booklet is also available online at sciencecareers.orJ
careerbasicspdf
www.asee.org]smart
Photo Credlts
$07&3
$6#&4 lStockphoto.com]Alex Slobodkln
CL0CKwlSF Fk0M T0P: lStockphoto.com]}eff 8anke
lStockphoto.com]lgor Kragul|ac, lStockphoto.com]klch Legg,
lStockphoto.com]Laurence Cough, lStockphoto.com]La|os kpsl,
lStockphoto.com]Laurence Cough
$)"15&3'*/%*/(:0638":
lStockphoto.com]muffnmaker
ChAPTFk 2: MAkKFTlhC 0ukSFLF: Cvs, kFSuMFS, Ahu hFTw0kKlhC
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ChAPTFk 6: ulvFkSlT lSSuFS lh SClFhCF
lStockphoto.com]tlmsa
ChAPTFk 7: LFAuFkShlP Ahu LA8 MAhACFMFhT
lStockphoto.com]Alexkaths
1itles and afliations for authors and for sources quoted were correct at
the time of oriinal publication.
81
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Communicatin 5cience
communlcatlngsclence.aaas.org
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natlonalacademles.org]rap
hIR 0fce of Research Interity
orl.hhs.gov
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0niversity of Pittsburh 5urvival 5kills and fthics Proram
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hhml.org]resources]labmanagement]
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aamc.org]research]postdoccompact]
American Physician 5cientists Association
physlclansclentlsts.org
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mentornet.net
hA5 Career 0uides
natlonalacademles.org]careerguldes.html
0C5f 0ffice of Career & Professional 0evelopment
career.ucsf.edu
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