Career Development for Scientists

Another non-traditional career for chemists, as explained by ChemJobber in his recent post Process Wednesday: operational qualification.

Another post has appeared on the ACS Careers blog site – Organization of Resumes:  When vs What.  Check it out.

Another of my career articles was published on the ACS Careers blog.  This one is entitled Take Charge of Your Training.  Check it out!

I have been remiss in posting notes here when my ACS Careers blog articles have been published.  For your reading pleasure……

• How to Fill a Hole, published 2010 Jan 18.
• How to Ask for Help, published 2011 Jan 10.
• Who Are You Following?, published 2011 January 04.

Check out the blog of “Just Another Electron Pusher” for an interesting behind the scenes look at the life of Will O’Neal, Congressional Legislative Assistant.  My favorite part?  The quote that ““Politics is about weighing competing interests, and there may be very legitimate reasons for doing the exact opposite of what ‘science tells you to do.’ It’s very important to understand and respect that part of the job.”

A blog article I wrote was recently published on the ACS Careers web site. Check it out at

Negotiating: Do You Want Lemons or Lemonade?

A new post on ScienceCareers.org talks about how 2010 was the year of incremental progress, complete with numbers. They also list their own top articles from the past year – great place to make sure you haven’t missed anything.

The first author of this year’s Science “Breakthrough of the Year” paper intends to leave Physics and go into finance. Read all about it in Breakthrough of the Year: Bridging the Quantum and the Classical Worlds.

An interesting blog roundtable about the future in jobs in chemistry is going on this week.  The first two articles have been posted, and there will be another every day this week.  Definitely food for thought…..

#1 We are the grist: “The Real Science Gap” and the present and future of industrial jobs in chemistry by ChemJobber

#2 -Too many PhDs? That’s anybody’s guess. – by Just Another Electron Pusher

Check them out, then follow the rest of the discussion by ChemBark on Wednesday, ScienceGeist on Thursday, and a recap on FridayChemJobber

I often say that an education in the sciences prepares you for a wide range of careers.  Here’s one even I never thought of  dressing as a giant panda to prepare panda cubs for life in the wild.

Hat tip to @orlando_acevedo for pointing this out.