Career Paths
Wenny
Lin
Salary expectations in the federal government
I was recently contacted by a recruiter about a job opening. He caught me off-guard (mistake on my part) with the question, “What are your salary expectations?”Like any excellent scientist would do, rather than giving him an answer, I turned his question into another question, “Well, wha...
Kate
Sleeth
Mentoring
Each and every one of us has been mentored. We have probably experienced both good and bad mentoring and may have even had the opportunity to attempt it ourselves. Most academics do not receive formal training on how to teach or mentor effectively, and yet they are expected to do just th...
Ray
Wang
National Lab, Love It? Or Not?
Although I decided to go for an industrial career, I still had a chance to get a taste in a national lab before I graduated. I knew I wouldn’t be working there in the future, so I took a more objective angle to look at everything there. As the saying goes, every coin has two sides. The experience ...
Kate
Sleeth
Mentoring Continued…
In my last blog article I touched on what mentors should be teaching everyone within their laboratory. I would like to expand on this subject as I feel the mentor/mentee relationship is a wonderful thing, when it is done correctly. Some adjectives to describe a good mentor are enthusiastic, enc...
Maida
Taylor
Do You Have a Love /Hate Relationship With PowerPoint?
How much do you rely on Powerpoint? How much does your team rely on PowerPoint for training and education, promotion, etc? The more important question is do you really need PowerPoint at all. I have been pondering this question for the past 10 years (as if I have nothing better to ...
Jason
Sherwin
Big science vs. Little science
The theme of this posting is ‘big science vs. little science.’ It is somewhat of a commentary on an April 6 article by Pete Peterson entitled, “Of Space Ships and Bullet Trains” from City Journal. In this article, Mr. Peterson highlights the trials and tribulations of funding ‘big sc...
Kate
Sleeth
Being Entrepreneurial
I recently had the opportunity to attend a lecture entitled, "Putting Your Science to WORK: Entrepreneurship with a Little 'e.’” Dr. Peter S. Fiske has authored books on utilizing your science skills and is uniquely placed to give advice on entrepreneurship as he has founded two tech start-up ...
Maida
Taylor
Leaving the Bedside is Like…
• Finishing a marathon – you stop, grab a water bottle, drink some and pour the rest over your head. And only then, when you have stopped, looked back, and thought about the start of the race, do you see the incredible effort it took. • A death in the family, especially if an ...
Ping
Xiao
Manage Yourself To Achieve Your Career Goals in Industry
What have you done for yourself lately? This is not a question about getting a massage or spending a weekend relaxing in the country. It is a question to jolt you into paying attention to your own professional development. With so much thought and energy rightly focused on the global financial crisi...
Ray
Wang
On the First Day in College, What Did You Think Your Future Job Would Be?
5 pm, it’s about time to get ready to go home. What did I do today? A long but productive conference call in the morning with an oil field customer in Louisiana and two colleagues from the marketing department about the new product. Then, I participated in the big safety review session with ...