In a recent blog post published by Penn Career Services, Pharmacology graduate student Katherine Webb shares what she’s learned from coordinating Penn’s PhD Career Exploration Fellowship 2020. According to Katherine, the fellowship provides an opportunity to, “simultaneously support other graduate students’ career exploration as well as improve my own professional skill-set and networking.”
Read the full post here.
The NIH Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) career development blog recently published this post about navigating a multi-prong career search. The author is a postdoctoral researcher who found themselves weighing their interest in a tenure-track faculty job versus a non-academic career, either in medical writing or graduate & postdoc professional development. They reflect on the logistical challenges of strategically applying to both academic and non-academic jobs as well as the factors that led them to ultimately accept a role helping postdocs navigate their career search processes. These factors included intuition, work-life balance, and salary, among other considerations.
Read more here.
“Are you interested in supporting the mission and goals of academia, but not sure that a faculty position is the right path for you? Come explore how you can leverage your PhD to continue to support the university in a different capacity.
Hear from our diverse panel of experts, drawn from administrative offices and centers all around Penn, on how & why they decided to pursue a career in university administration after completing their own PhDs. Find out what that path looked like for them, and what steps you can take to move in that direction yourself. Brief introductions by the panelists will be followed by an audience Q&A, with time to chat freely with our experts over catered snacks at the end.” (Via the Grad Center at Penn)
Monday, April 22, 4:00-5:30 PM
ARCH 108 (3601 Locust Walk)
No registration required.
And now for something different! The next session in the BGS Professional Skills Series is, ‘Philanthropy & Fundraising.’ It will be led by Torren Blair, Senior Director of Development, Basic Science and Translational Science Programs, and Megan Osvath, Associate Director of Development for Biomedical Research on March 26, 2019 from 4-5 PM in the Barchi Library (140 John Morgan Building.)
For most, the talk will be a revelation, and certainly useful. Philanthropy and other forms of fundraising are central to the growth of institutions such as Penn, but they are relevant as well to numerous, smaller spheres of nonprofit activity. Importantly, these activities embrace a number of skills relevant to a variety of pursuits: valuation of what we do, how to communicate with the public, creating win-win situations, and teamwork. Please join Torren and Megan as they describe the objectives and skills required in a behind-the-scenes look at how these activities are conducted at Penn.
Light refreshments will be served!
Please register here by March 22, 2019: https://goo.gl/forms/CAxW3SlWz1aVS1Zl1
If you have any questions, please contact Rebecca Lopez.
This article in Nature explains how a doctorate in STEM prepares individuals for a career as a diversity and inclusion (D&I) professional within academia.
The article details the experiences of various underrepresented minorities (URMs) – the challenges they faced as doctoral students and the careers in diversity and inclusion that they built to ensure other scientists would have adequate support systems. The scientists interviewed focus especially on the parallels between their doctoral research and their current work in D&I.
Read more here.
This Science article discusses the emerging field of career development for doctorates in STEM. As STEM grad students and postdocs consider their career prospects, they may realize their greatest passion to be helping other Ph.D.s find impactful careers. The article discusses recent growth in formal institutional administrative divisions, such as postdoc affairs offices, where Ph.D.-trained professionals may find opportunities in career development.
The article features insights from Ph.D.s who have successfully pursued their passion in career development. They draw parallels between their research training and their varied professional responsibilities. For example, proposal development and data collection prove similar to event planning, communications, fundraising, and more. They also discuss the gratification of remaining a part of the scientific enterprise and influencing future scientists.