OITE’s Career Options Series will give you a snapshot overview of different career paths. The goal of this series is to help you explore a variety of different options by connecting you to new resources. A large part of making a good career decision is done by gathering information about that field. We encourage you to follow up this online research by conducting informational interviews with individuals in each field. Search the NIH Alumni Database to find alums doing similar work. What is Technology Transfer? Technology transfer is the sharing of scientific and technological advances from one enterprise, institution, or country to another for further development and commercialization in the…
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In Industry, It’s About More Than Just Salary
Pondering a career in industry? Then you need to be aware that the industry job offer may contain elements not part of offers in academia, government or non-profits; industry jobs often include a profit sharing plan. Industry profit sharing takes two basic forms; dividends, a cash payment made to employees and share-holders based upon the performance of the company, usually on an annual basis, and equity, the actual ownership of shares of the company. Equity in a company is granted by one of the following methods: Stock grants: A company may grant actual shares of its stock to employees. The value of these grants is determined by the price…
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Preparing for the Application Season
Regardless of whether you are planning on applying to Graduate School or Professional school, a successful application requires preparation. If you remember one word from this post, remember “Early.” Take your exams (GRE, MCAT, LSAT, GMAT, etc.) early. Get your letters of recommendation lined up early. Write your personal statement early. Have someone look over your materials early. Submit your applications early. When you get an interview, show up early. For those applying to graduate school: You will want to have your GRE taken by the end of August or beginning of September. This means you need to start studying now. In particular, you need to go back and review…
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Finding Time for Career-Enhancing Activities
Research is your top priority as a graduate student or postdoc. That, coupled with your passion for science, may drive you to devote every waking moment to your research. You love discovery. You need to publish. However, regardless of your career aspirations, your regular routine may benefit from a slight change of pace. Maybe there is a certain career you’ve always wanted to explore or skill set you’ve wanted to develop. Participating in activities outside of lab can help you learn a lot about yourself, forge meaningful networks, and potentially guide your future career path. Earlier, we discussed serving on the career symposium committee and how to make the most…
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How I Overcame My Fear of Informational Interviewing
Post written by a guest blogger Yewon Cheon, former postdoc in the National Institute of Aging and current Program Coordinator in OITE. “I love interviewing people!” One day, I was full of energy, running down the hall and shouting with excitement, coming back from an interview. It surprised everyone, including me. Because I am shy and afraid of talking to people I don’t know, it was very hard for me to absorb and initiate informational interviews for my career development. I am a researcher who hates networking, but I am NOT afraid of doing an experiment. So, I designed my new experiment: informational interviews. When I started to treat informational…
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The AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship: An Insider Look at Getting Prepared
This post was written by guest blogger Pat Sokolove, PhD, Deputy Director, OITE; AAAS Policy Fellow, 2003 – 2005; Health, Education, & Human Services Selection Panel Member, 2006; Chair, 2008 – 2009. The online application system for AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships is now open; the deadline is 5:00 pm (EST), December 5, 2013. The AAAS materials are exceptionally clear, but potential applicants always have questions. Here are some of the questions I hear most often. Am I a good candidate? AAAS selection panels adhere carefully to the published evaluation criteria. That means that your science counts most (40 points)! You need to demonstrate a credible publication record for…
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Preparing to Negotiate Non-Academic Job Offers
In our last blog post we talked about negotiating for an academic job search. This week, we will highlight tips for negotiating any non-faculty position. Like last week, this blog post is intended to give you an overview of how to prepare for negotiations. For more in-depth information on negotiating for non-academic job offers, view our video here. Salary: Salary is probably the first thing on everyone’s mind when they think about negotiations. The biggest question you have is “are they paying me fairly?” For the most part, organizations are not trying to low-ball you. It doesn’t make sense to pay you so far under market value, that you leave…
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Preparing to Negotiate an Academic Job Offer
If you have been following our Calendar for Career Success, October is the month to prepare yourself to negotiate a job offer. Because the preparation for negotiating an academic position versus a non-academic position is so divergent, we are going to cover them in separate blog posts. This week, we will give a brief overview of how to prepare for negotiating academic job offerings. For more in-depth information, watch the videocast or view the slides from the latest OITE workshop on negotiating an academic job offer. As you prepare to interview for academic jobs, it is important that you are preparing to negotiate an offer for those positions as well. …
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Serving on a Committee: Make the Most of the Opportunity
The OITE starts preparing for the large events (like the NIH Career Symposium) about 9-12 months in advance. When we can, we like to form committees of NIH fellows eager to help plan, organize and execute these events. It helps us to get fresh ideas from the fellows’ perspective, and it gives fellows the chance to build valuable skills to highlight on their resumes. Here are three ways to take full advantage of committee membership. Leadership – Being on a committee gives you a chance to be a leader. However, you have to take the initiative make that happen. Vocalize your ideas by making suggestions for speakers, session topics, themes,…
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NIH Alumni: Where are they now? Profile 21 – Health Science Policy Analyst
This is the twenty first in a series of profiles about recent NIH postdocs who have found an array of jobs, from academia to industry to communications and beyond, in the U.S. and abroad. What do they do now, and how did they get there? What challenges did they face, and what advice do they have? Read on to find out. Name: Dr Brenda Diane Kostelecky Job title and company: Health Science Policy Analyst, NCI Location: Bethesda, MD How long you’ve been in your current job: 10 months Postdoc subject, advisor and IC: NICHD, Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, morphology changes in mitochondria and their effects on proliferation, authophagy What are you doing…