BGS Career Development

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IHE: “Powering Up Your Résumé for a Nonfaculty Job Search”

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This Inside Higher Ed article details the importance of writing a nonacademic resume from scratch, rather than converting an academic CV into a resume. While the reviewer of an academic CV would understand the intricacies of a scientific discipline and eagerly read all relevant accomplishments, a hiring manager in industry will generally be interested in broad-picture competencies and skills. The author explains how to extract these wider competencies from specific academic accomplishments (as well as from volunteer or work experiences) and communicate them in the form of a resume.

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Science: “A social media survival guide for scientists”

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This Science article, posted under “Letters to Young Scientists,” describes the merits of maintaining a social media presence. Even without posting original content, becoming an active member of online communities creates a curated list of discoveries, events, and discussions. The authors also describe the potential outreach benefits, stating:

“Having a presence on social media may even lead to opportunities,  exposure, and impact beyond scientific circles. A recent study suggests that scientists with more than approximately 1000 Twitter followers reach a broad audience, including educational organizations, media, and members of the general public—people who are unlikely to dust off an academic journal to read your research.”

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Science: “What I learned by leaving my comfort zone”

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Science features a career story from Jet-Sing M. Lee, an assistant professor of chemistry at Kyoto University in Japan. Lee describes how he made the decision to pursue a fellowship in Japan rather than a postdoc within his PhD lab. Despite natural misgivings, Lee sought the additional perspective that observing a different approach to science could contribute to his career development. In the article, Lee shares the challenges and rewards of gaining this perspective, both within and outside of the lab.

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Medical Affairs – Job Description

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BioCareers, a career service for life scientists with advanced degrees, provides an informative description of medical affairs. The author explains:

“While there is some variation in segmentation and structure, most pharmaceutical companies have two kinds of scientific teams: research / development and medical affairs.  While R & D defines the scientific direction and early stage development, medical affairs provides scientific support for late stage development and post market support for drugs and devices. In small companies, the same team may be responsible for both kinds of activities.” 

They go on to explain that medical affairs can encompass a wide variety of activities, many of them scientific, informational, communications, and interpersonal in nature. Personal characteristics particularly useful to the field include joy in building relationships and a mind for entrepreneurism.

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Science: “When it comes to having a family and an academic career, find what works for you”

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This article in Science features insights from various scientist parents about beginning a family, with a focus on academic careers. They discuss planning a successful parental leave and return, as well as the challenges of maintaining work-life balance after settling back in at work.

The work-life balance of any given career path warrants consideration, and doctoral students considering a career in academia may find the insights shared in this article helpful as they navigate career choices. 

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