Career Development and Networking
A Beginner’s Guide to Biocuration—and How to Become a Biocurator
Discover more about biocuration, why it’s so important, and what it takes to become a biocurator. It turns out that biocuration as a career choice is easier than you might think!
Read MoreHow to Become a Bioinformatician
Interested in a career in bioinformatics? We’ve got the lowdown on the ways bioinformatics skills can be used, and the training you’ll need to pursue this career path.
Read MoreAlternative Careers For Scientists
Want to leave the lab but not sure what alternative career options are available? Our guide can help you decide what to do after hanging up your lab coat.
Read MoreWhat Comes Next After Completing Your Undergraduate Degree?
If you’re coming to the end of your undergraduate life sciences degree, you might be wondering what to do next. Fortunately, there are many life sciences career paths that you could take. We explore some of the options here.
Read More10 Great Tips To Make A Good Impression At Your Interview
Are you busy applying for your first biotech or life sciences job? Or are you thinking about a postdoc? Whatever your next steps, you’re likely to face an interview. Here we’ll guide you through some of the common questions and situations you might find yourself having to deal with in a life sciences interview.
Read MorePostdoc Interview Preparation: Sample Questions and Answers
Are you trying to prepare for an interview but not sure what sort of questions you’ll get asked? Check out our top 10 Postdoc interview questions to help prepare you.
Read MoreIs it Worth Doing a PhD After a Master’s?
Thinking of starting a PhD? Wondering if it will be worth it? Read our handy tips and advice to help you decide.
Read MoreNext Generation Sequencing: Academia vs Industry
A quick-fire interview with someone working in a private NGS hub on how they got there and what they do – for anyone considering a move from academia to the private sector.
Read MorePhD vs Master’s: Which to Choose?
If choosing between a PhD or a Master’s has you frazzled, don’t panic. We weigh the pros and cons of both in terms of time, money, and career prospects.
Read MoreHow to Get a Scientific Research Job in the US (If You Are Coming from Elsewhere)
Growing up in Australia, I remember a common phrase: ‘only in America’. Sometimes this was in reference to bizarre cultural events or phenomena but it was generally accepted that the USA was an extraordinary place, where everything was bigger, brighter, and more outrageous. America has fostered a culture of big ideas and innovation, partly because…
Read MoreHot Tips for Creating a Scientific Special Interest Group at Your Institute
Universities are often organized by faculties, colleges, schools, and/or departments. So, as an academic, you often work closely with colleagues studying similar subject areas. A common interest, however, often transcends the boundaries of this organizational structure. Enter scientific special interest groups. What Are Scientific Special Interest Groups? Scientific special interest groups are member-led initiatives within…
Read MorePhd Skills That Landed Me My Corporate Job!
Transitioning from a PhD in Biotechnology to the industry of my choice (scientific communication and marketing) involved an intense period of application and rejection. Every time I got a rejection letter, I feared that the industry probably did not want fresh graduates like me, that they wanted someone with years of experience. These were moments…
Read MoreNine Tips for Clinicians Starting a Scientific Career
There are many examples of the impact of physician-scientists on translational research. Dr Barry Marshall swallowed a steaming culture of Helicobacter pylori which eventually resulted in antibiotics curing peptic ulcer disease. However, the process of training these individuals is as effortless as training fish to ride bicycles. Our journeys into the laboratory have been equally…
Read MoreWays to Pursue Science Careers in Business After a PhD
Obtaining your doctorate is one of the toughest academic and professional tasks that you can take on. The stats on future employment in academic science careers are horrifying at worst or misleading at best. At the same time, many argue that we need more scientists with a PhD.1,2 With these statistics, it might be time to…
Read MoreWhat to Do If You Want to Become a Freelance Writer
A lot of people today are drawn to freelancing and want to become a freelance writer. There are great benefits when you work from home (like doing work in your pajamas) or wherever you feel most comfortable. The appeal is even greater when you count in that you make your own hours and you are…
Read More20 Telling Signs You’re a Scientist
According to Bill Nye, “Science rules!” – and I think most of us would agree. We are learning more and more about the world around us each day, as well as about ourselves. But is there a difference between a Science Fan, and a Scientist? Everyone has their own parameters, but below are some that…
Read MoreDefend Science Funding! A Brief Guide
With the scientific community potentially facing deep cuts to grant-awarding agencies, like the NIH, advocacy for funding research efforts has been re-ignited. Not only does science funding provide financial support for academic and government scientists, it fuels product development and collaboration opportunities for scientists in industry and scientists abroad. Engaging in the advocacy process and…
Read MoreNetworking – You Know It’s a Thing
A supportive network is important for your mental health and happiness. This is particularly true during stressful times, like grad school and career transitions. Networking – meeting people in the science community is important for professional development and meeting people outside of science is good for balance. At every transition after grad school, you start…
Read MoreA Quick Guide to Organizing Your First Academic Event
Scientific meetings provide an opportunity to learn, network, and explore new ideas. They are also an exciting break from the usual lab routine. Although organizing a Departmental or Institutional academic event takes up your research time, the experience helps develop leadership, project and budget management, and problem solving skills that will make your CV shine.…
Read MoreThe Seven Top Benefits of Starting Grad School Early
Your grad school acceptance letter finally came in the mail. Congrats, that’s no small thing to accomplish! You did your happy dance, but then it hit you: Grad school in the fall is a reality and things in your life are going to change. So now you’re wondering how to fill those awkward months between…
Read MoreHow to Pick a Great Postdoc Position
Are you finishing up your PhD and starting to think about the next step? It can be overwhelming to consider all of the personal and professional aspects involved in deciding and beginning this next stage of your career journey. With personal perspective from someone who has been there, here are some tips on how you…
Read MoreWhy You Should Apply to Science Jobs Early and Often
There are many reasons to apply for jobs. You might be in the latter stages of grad school, busy getting those last experiments done so you can focus on writing your thesis. You might already have a job, but want to move to a different location or step into a new field. Or maybe you’re…
Read MoreHow to be a Scientific Social Media King/Queen!
You have a nicely baked research project, all set and ready to tempt the world. Then comes an afterthought. It needs some spice, decoration, and even more. As a young or mature scientist your work is often confined to a niche area, riddled with scientific jargon, and confined to intellectual circles. In the 21st century…
Read More6 Career Building Steps to Take While in Graduate School
You chose a great lab in a great graduate program, you work around the clock to get data, you know the literature like the back of your hand, and you have regular meetings with your boss to assess your progress. You are doing everything you can to start your career on the right foot, right?…
Read MoreScientific Conferences: What to Expect Other Than Lectures and Coffee?
Ever wanted to go to a conference, but don’t know what to expect, which one to go to, or how to even begin to ask your boss to let you attend a conference? Look no further! I have some suggestions on how to choose from the many great scientific conferences out there, how to get…
Read MoreWhy You Should Defend Science
It’s probably safe to say that most people reading this article are big fans of science. As scientists, we love using rigorous methods to learn more about how the world works. So it may come as a shock to realize that science is often viewed as flawed, immoral or just plain wrong – especially when…
Read MoreA Graduate Degree in Biomedical Science: 5 Things You Should Know
As a child, chances are that there were a few different things you wanted to be when you grew up—an NBA player, an astronaut, a rock star. And as you were growing up, you started shifting your interests towards science and medicine. If this sounds like you, then congratulations—it appears that a career in Biomedical…
Read MoreHow to Have a Great Scientific Collaboration
Why do we need scientific collaboration? There is no science without collaboration: science is incredibly social. When you publish a paper or even a conference abstract, you collaborate with editors or a committee to produce an outcome (successful journal or scientific event) together. So, you have to understand the principles of collaboration even if you…
Read MoreScience Research at the Crossroads: Academia versus Industry
Academia or industry? Basic research or applied research? You are thinking of what to do next. What is right for you? Honestly, it is a never ending discussion. So what should you do? Here are some insider tips from a person who has worked in both biotech industries and universities. The Freedom to Manage your Own…
Read MoreHow to Become a Medical Writer
If there is one profession that benefited from globalization, it is the medical writer. While the university research groups shrink and global biomedical companies fire their research stuff, medical writing companies are expanding, providing stable jobs with good salaries. The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) reported in 2011 that the median salary of an experienced…
Read MoreQualifications for Off-the-Bench Science Careers
Scientific research is a demanding and stressful career requiring lots of patience, dedication and hard work. Sadly the monetary benefits are not commensurate with the effort. Moreover, lack of opportunities, uncertainty, instability and the pressure to publish makes a traditional academic science career difficult. Inspiring (forcing?) many scientists and researchers to leave their traditional science…
Read MoreHow to be Proactive in Your Career Planning
Nowadays, it is no longer absolutely true that applying for a PhD means that you are striving for an academic position in the future. Although a majority of graduate students are certainly still aiming for a career in academia, and will thus benefit from doing a postdoc or two, more and more graduates are pursuing…
Read MoreWhat You Need to Know to Get into Your First Lab: A guide for the Overwhelmed Undergraduate
If I had a barrel of apples for each time I’ve heard one of my classmates or friends say, “Oh, I want to work in a lab, but I don’t know how to find one” I could build a moon base out of apples. Working as an undergraduate will help you land sweet internships, look…
Read MoreMy job as a Clinical Study Coordinator
Clinical Trial Coordinator, Clinical Study Coordinator, and Clinical Research Coordinator are all names for the same job and refer to the person responsible for the day-to-day running of human trials. Usually when I tell someone that I’m a Clinical Study Coordinator, they have no idea what that means. I guess it’s like when someone tells…
Read MoreAlternative Careers: Day in the Life of a Flow Cytometry Core Facility Manager
I have been working and managing flow cytometry core facilities in Cambridge for 10 years and I would like to share with you some of my experiences. I have worked up the career ladder in the past 10 years and in 2012 I became the Head of Flow Cytometry at Babraham Institute. This means that…
Read MoreTo Be or Not to Be a Post-doc? A Recurring Dilemma
A recent article published in Nature, The future of the postdoc, painted a very bleak picture of how there is a “growing number of post-docs and few places in academia”, a concern that I am very much familiar with. As an Early Career Research Scientist, nearing the end of my first post-doc, I am faced…
Read MoreThe Leap of Faith – Are You Ready for Biotech?
So let’s just say, hypothetically, that you’re defending your thesis in 2 months and it’s only recently occurred to you that “I really should figure out what I’m doing after grad school.” Or you’re a post-doc whose boss just informed you that they’re interviewing for a position 2 time zones away. Or you’re a technician…
Read MoreDo’s and Don’ts of Writing a Cover Letter
A cover letter is a letter written to accompany a job application, a grant application, project reports, manuscripts, etc. that explains the purpose of your writing and incorporates certain key points of your application. It plays a decisive role in accomplishing the task it’s been written for, which is why it is so important to…
Read MoreHow to Stay on the Margin of Academia During Your Gap Year(s)
The gap year I intended to take between my Master’s degree and hypothetical Ph.D. is now going into its 4th year. Here’s why I’m not worried. These days it seems like undergraduates are proceeding en masse to graduate programs shortly after completing their senior year of college. An abundance of undergraduate research opportunities and poor…
Read MoreScience on Wheels: How to Bring Science to the Masses with a Mobile Lab!
Ask a scientist why they love their job, and they will likely tell you it’s because they get to see and discover amazing things! Why, then, does science class in school never reflect this? A major problem identified in our society is lack of science interest and literacy. Mobile labs are helping to turn the…
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