Advice for Scientists
Ron
Hunter
The Art of Asking
Repeatedly, we have heard the maxims, “ask and you shall receive”, “close mouths don’t get fed”, or “knock and the door will be opened” said in one way or another. I proffer the general point in the form of another adage - if you do not ask, the answer will always be no. On more tha...
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Caroline
Ceniza-Levine
Pros and Cons of Leaving a Job Early
One of the survey results showed that Generation Y do not think they should stay at an employer for more than a year. The hiring managers I have worked with as a recruiter see a two-year stint as a minimum, so one year on the job is definitely leaving a job early. In fact, if you have a series of ev...
Ron
Hunter
Schools, Networks, Companies: Does Size Matter?
From my viewpoint, this is completely dependent on what you need at each step in your educational and professional careers. On beginning undergrad, I had narrowed down my choices between going to the University of Miami (11,380 undergrads in 2015) vs. Mercer University (4,419 undergrads in 2015)....
Suzane
Ramos da Silva
When is the right time to get the waiver for the 212e rule (Two-Year Home Country Physical Presence Requirement)
I have decided to write about this, because when I needed my waiver, I had some problems that other people didn’t, and most of the people even didn’t know about them. Most of the people with a J1 Visa will get the 212e rule in their DS2019 and/or Visa stamp. It is based on the skills/area/fie...
Suzane
Ramos da Silva
The importance of lab meetings
Since I was an undergrad, lab meetings have been part of my scientific development. Although some people don’t like lab meetings, I think it is a great opportunity to brainstorm, keep up with your experiments and most importantly, it is a great way to organize your data.
Clement
Weinberger
Life after grad school?
Before you start to read this blog post, please take the time to note that it ends with a question mark. That’s not to imply that “life” ends after grad school. It’s meant to imply that there are lots of things that a PhD can do. After spending at least 25 years preparing for something...
Ron
Hunter
Diversity Matters: Am I a Unicorn?
As a graduate student, I completed my dissertation research in a laboratory external to the chemistry department in the Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) at Emory University. Due to this, I nurtured a relationship not only with Emory University’s main career center, but also one with caree...
Donna
Kridelbaugh
#SCICOMM TIP: NEVER CLAIM TO BE THE FIRST TO DO ANYTHING IN SCIENCE
You see it all the time—in a popular news article about a groundbreaking research study to even the primary literature—that so-and-so researcher is the “first” to make some brand new discovery.This claim makes me cringe every time I see it. Why? Well to be honest, it’s highly unlikely to b...
Caroline
Ceniza-Levine
Networking From Scratch — If My Professional Network Suddenly Disappeared, Here Is How I Would Build It Up Again
A reader of my recent networking post, Ten People You Need To Have In Your Professional Network, gave me a follow-up challenge: I’ve been to so many lectures or read articles and they all say the same thing. Rely on your network or use your network to accomplish this or that. What they all over...
Fabian
Zanella
Time Management in the Lab
When you are working at the bench and taking on other tasks, time management becomes crucial. As a postdoc or graduate student, time is an invaluable resource. For me, there are basically three aspects that make time spent in the lab more efficient. I will try to outline them below.1) Avoid the...