Career Development for Scientists

Scilink, a sort of Facebook for chemists, now has a job board. It seems to have a nice list, and might be worth keeping an eye on.

….and you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for it. I talk a lot about asking colleagues and friends for help. But don’t for get about those who are paid to help you! A recent article in the Wall Street Journal points out that many people are now going Back to School –For Career Advice. It points out that your alma mater probably has a great career center, and as an alumni you are entitled to use their services. You may also be able to register to help other job-seekers, which we all know is a great way to give back, and maybe learn something yourself in the process.

I recently found a new blog - The Alternative Scientist. It appears to be written by a group of scientists, talking about nontraditional careers.

One recent post in particular caught my attention Marketing: The Good, The Boring, and the Ugly. One person’s perspective on what a job in scientific marketing is really like.

I was on a careers panel at the University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign last week, talking about careers in sales and marketing. One of the other speakers talked about careers in public policy, and shared a few resources. Thanks Barclay!

Scientists and Engineers for America - (sefora.org) conducts programs on how to run for office

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS , fellowships.aaas.org) - offers yearlong fellowships in science and technology policy. Also has tools for communicating science (communicatingscience.aaas.org) and Science and Policy Programs (aaas.org/spp/leadership)

I was recently at the ACS Northeastern Regional Meeting in Burlington, VT, speaking on career development for scientists (surprise!). During one of my talks, I mentioned that no one - not even Wikipedia - has a good definition of the difference between sales and marketing. Peter Lantos was in the audience, and he offered to give it a try. Here are his definitions:

Marketing is the macro endeavor by which the supplier (manufacturer, service provider, etc.) makes known to the target population at large his/her offering. This is a process which can entail advertising, personal contacts, newsletter, giving talks, writing articles, participating in symposia and meetings, etc.

Selling is the micro process in which you present your capabilities and your specific offer (of product, services, etc.) to one specific, prospective customer or client. You try to persuade the prospect to buy your product or utilize your services.

What do you think? From what you know about how your company sells things, does this distinction make sense? Does either of these sound like an area you’d be interested in knowing more about?

I just finished a great book - “Our Iceberg is Melting” by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber. It’s a quick read, less than an hour. The book talks about how to recognize when change is needed, and how to manage a group through the process of change, but does it in a fun way. The book is a fable, the story of a group of penguins who discover that the iceberg they live on is melting, and have to figure out what (if anything) to do about it.

While it sounds silly, and does contain some humor, sometimes a simple story can convey many important lessons. This is one of those times. In reading the story, I kept thinking back to teams I’d worked on, and seeing similarities between particular colleagues and particular penguins.

As the authors point out at the end, much of the power of this story is in it’s simplicity. By stripping it down to the essential details, it’s much easier to follow the process. They also point out that if a group of people are all familiar with the story, it gives them a common language to use when dealing with these issues.

This fable can also be applied to your career. Is your current position an iceberg - there are cracks and holes, but you’ve been ignoring them? It is destined for even bigger problems as winter approaches? What do you need to do to ensure that you are safe and warm in the future? Who do you need to enlist to help you? Who is likely to oppose, or at best ignore, your predictions?

Book Review: Career Opportunities in Biotechnology and Drug Development, Toby Freedman, 2008, Cold Spring Harbor Press, $59

Current conventional wisdom for scientists concerned about their careers says “there are lots of jobs in the biopharma industry”, so you should look there for options. But what are those jobs? Written by Toby Freedman, a PhD molecular biologist who has moved into life sciences recruiting, this volume gives a comprehensive answer to that question. Along the way, she provides a detailed description of the discovery process.

The first 6 chapters of this book provide general career advice, giving an overview of what is expected in the biopharma industry, what it takes to succeed, how to write a resume, network, etc. Most of the advice applies to all jobs, but some is specific to science or these industries. The advice is very good, and includes lots of details, examples, and resources for further information. Freedman provides a balanced overview, pointing out both the good and bad points of this industry.

The industry she is focussing on includes biotechnology and drug discovery/development, also called biopharma. These industries have a great deal in common, and similar career paths and positions are available in each. The process is very complex, and often not well understood by those who have not worked in it.

The second, and major, part of the book breaks the drug discovery enterprise down into its various stages, describes the role of each step in the process, and details positions available at each stage. The positions described range from those that require a PhD or MD, to those that are accessible to those with a college degree, and so on. Freedman describes the types of positions, typical job titles and career paths, roles and responsibilities, typical tasks, and relative salaries and other compensation. She also describes in detail the pros and cons of each field, how to excel in the field, and what personal characteristics are most often found in those who succeed in that field. She predicts where the field is going and what job prospects will be like, and also talks about how to get started in each field. Finally, each chapter ends with recommendations for training, professional societies, and other resources.

The entire volume is well organized, with important points in callouts, and many clarifying diagrams.

Anyone who reads this book will come away with an in-depth understanding of the drug discovery industry, and how complex it really is (and perhaps why marketed pharmaceuticals really cost more than you’d think). Hopefully, they will also come away with several ideas of places they might fit into that industry, and the resources and inspiration to follow them through. Overall, a very thorough book, and highly recommended.

I hope everyone took a break over the holiday weekend, to relax and recharge their batteries.

Perhaps you had a brilliant insight….

…enjoyed an exciting time….

Or got to do something you really love….

(notice the heart-shaped fireworks). Maybe you tried something new - like me, taking pictures of fireworks. Sometimes trying something new can help you see new things and connections in what you’ve been doing. Whatever you choose to do with your time, I hope you found it enjoyable.

I will be attending the ACS national meeting in Philadelphia in August, and chairing a session on the use of new technologies in finding jobs. One of the things we are going to talk about is Second Life. Many people have asked me what that is. While it’s hard to describe, there is now a blog entry that describes One Month in Second Life by Doug Ross – a.k.a. Dustin Rechter (in-world). Written by an intern at ACS, it gives a short introduction to what Second Life is, and what it isn’t. If you’re a scientist thinking about networking in Second Life, this article might be a good place to start.

….they use them to their advantage. With all the bad economic news lately, it was just a matter of time until we started hearing about the layoffs. Here’s one of the first articles I’ve seen on the topic recently. This one also give advice on how to use a layoff to re-assess your professional goals, and get yourself on the right professional path.

Turning That Layoff Into Career Catalyst: Young Workers Who Lose Job Should Get Proactive, Reassess Professional Path

Of course, you don’t have to wait until you’re laid off to take a critical look at where you are going, and decide if that’s really where you want to be going.