Archive for August, 2007

Trends in Employment of Scientists

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

FASEB just published a wonderful report, correlating data from all sorts of national surveys on Education and Employment of Biological and medical Scientists. There is a detailed Powerpoint presentation, with notes which detail data sources and contact information, as well as a one page summary of trends.

The most interesting finding, at least to me, is that the number of tenure (or tenure track) academically employed scientists has remained relatively unchanged for the last 20 years. But he number of doctorate degrees awarded during this time has doubled. Not surprisingly, industry is the fastest growing employment sector for biological and medical scientists. Where else would they go?

What this means, of course, is that there are many more highly educated scientists competing for the same positions. Those who chose not to go that route move into industry, and many of them move into nontraditional careers.

The good news is this means there are more chemists out there blazing the way, who can provide guidance and advice for those coming behind. The bad news, of course, is that there’s more competition for those postions. This means it’s ever more important to figure out exactly what you want to do, and why you’re good at it. That way you can find the job that’s just right for you, and will be able to explain to the company why you are a perfect fit.

Posted in Education, Resources | No Comments »

Project Management as a Career – who knew?

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

Whether you know it or not, you are a project manager. You are constantly planning, organizing, and controlling various activities – the very defintion of project management. In addition to setting and tracking metrics, good project managers use that information to align, guide and motivate team members. Over time, some scientists come to realize that the management is more interesting to them than the project itself. Project management in general is growing, as the field becomes more well-defined. For those with an organizational inclination, this can be a great career.

See also:
Project Management for Scientists

Project Management Institute

Posted in Nontraditional Career Options, Resources | 1 Comment »

New Technologies for Finding Jobs: Craigslist

Tuesday, August 28th, 2007

An interesting pair of blog posts talk about using Craigslist for employment. This geographically localized, very simple looking site posts over 20 millions classified ads each month. Of those, about 1 million are job ads. Posting a job ad is free in all but a handful of cities, making it a very low-risk way to advertise. Postings are classified by category and location, making it easy to search for specific types of jobs.


Guy Kawasaki posted an ad for an assistant on craigslist, and had his first response 31 minutes later, and the majority of the responses within about 24 hours. His comments on the experiment at reported in How to Get a Job on Craigslist. He lists six tips that would serve any job applicant well – apply quickly, write a targeted cover letter, figure out what will impress the employer and do it, highlight your qualifications not lack thereof, and so on. He followed this up with another article on what employers do wrong when posting jobs – mainly unrealistic demands for too much talent for too little money. This entry is How Not to Hire someone Via Craigslist.

Craigslist can be a great place for contract or entry-level positions, especially for those that require a highly technical and/or connected person. However, since the postings are basically free, the quality may be questionable. Applyer, beware!

Posted in Job Searching | 1 Comment »

Current Employment Trends

Monday, August 27th, 2007

There was an interesting piece on Good Morning America today, also online as Which Job Search Trends Help, and Which Ones Hurt?”. Since I basically agree with what they said, I thought I”d point it out. ;-)

Video Resumes, while trendy, are an idea whose time is not yet here. They are exceptionally hard to do well, as the tons of poor quality videos on YouTube proves. Furthermore, they open a company to charges of selecting applicants based on looks, race, etc. instead of qualifications. Unless you are applying in a field where presenting yourself well on video is a key part of the job, you’re much better off focusing on qualifications and a traditional paper resume.

From the other side, videos produced by companies to recruit people are a much better idea. Companies can generally afford high quality productions that really let candidates see what it’s like to work there, and attract the type of people they want to hire. Candidates can make a much more informed decision before applying, and go into the interview really knowing what they’re going to get into.

The article also discusses several other ways to stand out – using odd sized business cards, printing your resume on strange paper, sending gifts to recruiters, etc. In most cases, these are a bad idea. Yes, you may be remembered, but not how you would like to be remembered. You want to impress a potential employer with your qualifications and professionalism, not some odd gimick. Spend your time instead figuring out what you do well, what you really want to do, and where will let you do that. It will take the same amount of time as thinking up trendy gimicks, but you’ll be much happier in the long run.

Posted in Interviewing, Job Searching, Resumes/CVs | No Comments »

Teaching as a Second Career

Saturday, August 25th, 2007

Teaching, especially high school teaching, is often suggested as a second career for those looking for a change. Part of the reason is that everyone knows what a teacher does. But many people feel the need to give back, and sharing your love of science with others can be a nice way to do that.

In many states, specific education is required in order to teach in public high schools, even for a Ph.D. chemist. Obtaining this extra education can be difficult, especially if one is trying to support a family at the same time.

One resource that can make it easier is the Hach Scientific Foundation. They offer $6,000 annual ($3,000 for part-time students) scholarships for chemists who want to obtain their teaching certification. A great resource for those who feel the call to return to the classroom.

Posted in Compensation, Nontraditional Career Options, Resources | 7 Comments »

Use of New Technologies for Finding Jobs

Tuesday, August 14th, 2007

I’m currently writing a talk on the use of new technologies, with a specific focus on how they can be used to find jobs. I’ve been looking at blogs, wikis, social networking tools (Myspace, Facebook, Linkedin), VoIP, IM, and so on. I’ve heard a few anecdotes about people who made connections using social networking tools which lead to jobs. Linkedin seems especially good for finding contacts at particular companies, to get the inside scoop. Linkedin will search the whole network for you, and tell you which of your contacts can get you to someone you really want to talk to. This really helps narrow your search – you don’t have to ask everyone if they know anyone at XYZ company, and it can find people 2 or more degrees removed from you. As more people join, the network becomes every more valuable, but only if people only make connections to people they really know, and are willing to recommend.

While this is certainly an interesting tool to add to your arsenal, in the end it still comes down to who you know, and how well you do your homework.

Posted in Education, Nontraditional Career Options, Resources | 3 Comments »

You don’t know until you’ve been there….

Friday, August 10th, 2007

Job-Search Expert Revises His Advice for the Unemployed by Joann S. Lublin tells the plight of an outplacement professional who was himself let go. For the first time in 8 years, he faced the plight that he had spent his career counseling other through. The emotional pain he went through was enormous, and he vowed never again to downplay the emotional aspects of being let go.

Reading this article reminded me of the advice I often give people who hear about a type of job, and decide it sounds perfect, without experiencing it, or even really researching it. There are many things in life that you think you understand, but don’t fully “get” until you have experienced them yourself.

Think back to college, graduate school, marriage, childbirth…..you thought you knew what you were getting into, and had maybe even talked to lots of people who had “been there, done that.” But your personal experience was very different from theirs.

So if there’s a task or field that appeals to you, find a way to get involved. Take on an extra assignment, do volunteer work, invent a project on your personal time – anything to experience what it’s really like. Only when you have “been there, done that” can you accurately decide if this is something you want to do more of, or if once was enough.

Posted in Career Fulfillment, Job Searching | 2 Comments »

Personal Branding

Wednesday, August 8th, 2007

I have been reading a lot lately about “personal branding”. This has to do with the idea of creating a tagline, logo, etc. for yourself, to make you stand out from the crowd of other potential employees. I can see the value of this for consumer products – in fact, a recent study showed that preschoolers thought french fries tasted better when they were in a McDonald’s wrapper, rather than a plain one.

However, I’m a little more skeptical about branding individuals. (Doesn’t that sound painful?) Certainly you need to understand the unique skills, knowlege, attitudes and attributes that you have to offer an employer. But you are not out to prove that your particular combination is the best for everyone. You want to find the position that is the right fit, both for you and the employer. Making a good match seems to me very different from selling to as wide an audience as possible.

Still, I will be watching this field as it develops. Who knows where it will lead?

Posted in Career Fulfillment, Job Searching, Networking | 2 Comments »

Setting Goals/Finding your Bliss

Tuesday, August 7th, 2007

I just finished reading a great book, “From the Heart: Seven Rules to Live By“, by Robin Roberts. It’s a quick read, probably no more than a couple of hours. Ms. Roberts talks about her career, what choices she made and why. She is a journalist, starting out in sports and currently an anchor on Good Morning America. She has had an interesting career path, and I found a few of the lessons she’s learned are especially valuable.

One of her major career goals was (still is?) to anchor coverage of the Olympics. While working as a sportscaster, she was offered a position hosting a show that paid more money, but was not a serious sports show. She wondered if taking the position would damage her credibility, and hurt her chances of eventually hosting the Olympics. Instead of just wondering, she called the head of NBC sports – the person who hires the broadcast anchors for the Olympics – and asked him! What a great idea! If you know what your dream job is, and aren’t sure which steps to take to get there, call someone who knows and ask them.

When she gives speeches, Ms. Roberts asks the audience “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” That’s what you should do! The fear of failure is what keeps us on the safe, traditional, easy path. Many people would end up happier if they stepped out of their comfort zone a little and found a job that lets them live their passion. There is almost always a way to balance the dream job with the praciticalities of making a living, it just takes a little time and creativity to find it.

Ms. Roberts loved sports, but being a professional athlete wasn’t in the cards. So she found her bliss as a sports reporter – still being in and around the things she loves, while playing to her own personal strengths.

What is your bliss? What would you do even if no one paid you? What parts of that can you turn into a career? Identify the obstacles, then find ways to overcome them. Collect stories of people who have done that, or similar things. What can you learn from them – both things to imitate, and things to avoid? Time will pass no matter what you do – are you going to stay in the same place, or work to change your life for the better?

Posted in Career Fulfillment, Compensation | 2 Comments »

Project Management as a Career – who knew?

Friday, August 3rd, 2007

I have recently been running into a number of chemists who have moved into project management as a career. At first I was puzzled – don’t we all manage our own projects? How can someone else set timelines, write requirements and specifications, watch budgets and people, and so on? As an independent consultant, I pretty much take care of all these things for every project I work on – and it’s part of what I enjoy about my work.

But for larger projects, this can quickly become too much for one person to handle – especially on top of trying to actually do the work. This is where the professional project manager comes in. They handle these “administrative” tasks, allowing others to focus on their areas of expertise.

The Project Management Institute http://www.pmi.org/, defines project management as “the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to a broad range of activities in order to meet the requirements of a particular project.” The talk about the five stages of a project – Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing. I’d never thought in those terms, but they are exactly right. (No wonder they’re the experts!)

PMI offers classes, certification, publications, career advice and a wealth of information on project management theory and practice. If this intrigues you as a posible career path, check it ou!

Posted in Career Fulfillment, Nontraditional Career Options, Resources | 2 Comments »