Hire me, I’m a Scientist! Career challenges for students

Detbra Rosales, Melanie Jackson, Chih-Hsien (Michelle) Lin ·
12 May 2015
Applying Science |     1 comments

Detbra Rosales, Melanie Jackson, Chih-Hsien (Michelle) Lin

career_arrows_cartoon_imageTo go to grad school or not go to grad school that is the question”, every student has at some point of his or her life. Is graduate school required to get you that dream job in marine science or any science in general? This all depends on what career path you want to take. In high school, guidance counselors would advise you to take a career test to help you decide on what career you should focus on. Key words such as dolphins, ocean, and swimming might have led you to follow a career in Marine Biology.

Once a graduate career is started many struggle with grants and proposal writing. The key points in grant writing are outreach and having a multidisciplinary approach. The foundation for STEM research is based on multidisciplinary background and according to analysts, women are needed in research to increase the range of inventions and breakthroughs (NationalGeographic).

The career path of a marine biologist.
The career path of a marine biologist. Credit: wordsinmocean.com

A career in science is not like the board game “life”, where kids mimic real world struggles of having a career, family, and buying a house. A career in science is more like the board game “monopoly”, where scientists have to make strategic plans on deciding a career path (ScienceCareers). There are many choices we can take such as a job in academia, the private sector, or federal government; But how do we know what path is the right for us? One way is to volunteer, get involved in what you are interested in, attend meetings and seminars, and get yourself exposed. Talk to people in the field ask them questions about their jobs and responsibility’s, this may help you narrow down your choices.

What do you want to be? from PhD Comics
What do you want to be? Credit: PhD Comics

What happens when you finish your degree? As Michelle pointed out in class there are too many PhD degrees out there and not enough jobs for all of us. Where do we search for jobs and how do we get one? If you want a job in academia you can directly look at the Universities' websites, look at the available positions and start tracking down the jobs at least one year before you graduate. When applying to governmental jobs, make sure you have all the skills that they have listed in the job description, because they usually have a specific person in mind. Improving your CV/Resume and cover letters can make you stand out and help you get that job you want. When writing a resume make sure to add all your accomplishment, your motivations, do not falsify any information, and make sure you tailor your resume for each job you apply to. Analytic capacity, communication, and people skills are also important skills to have when applying to a job. Once you get an interview, do your homework, ask the right questions, and tell them what you can do for them. Now go out into the world young jedis and succeed in your field!

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Comments

  • Whitney Hoot 9 years ago

    I think you bring up a really interesting point about women in science. Although our class of 15 students has only one male, there is still a gender gap in the field of biology. Approximately half of graduate students studying biology are female, but this number drops to less than 20% for full professors in biology in the US. Among major biology labs run by male PIs, only about a third of the postdocs are women. Part of this may be due to self-selection by applicants - are female scientists more likely to apply to labs run by women? If so, this means that we, as young female biologists, should perhaps actively consider labs run by men to reduce the disparity. However, if this discrepancy is due to bias by male PIs in hiring, this is indicative of a systematic issue that requires a different approach. Is it possible to make the hiring of postdocs completely gender-blind? Although this won't address the larger issue of gender bias, it could reduce the difference in hiring for male and female postdocs.

    Trafton, A. 2014. Research reveals a gender gap in the nation's biology labs. MIT News. 30 June 2014. Accessed 13 May 2015 (http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/research-reveals-gender-gap-nations-biology-labs-0630).

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