Research Career Development- Intro to Careers and the Doctorate

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Research Career Development-Intro to Careers and
the Doctorate

• Gail P. Taylor
• Fall 2010

09/19/2013
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Dr. Gail P. Taylor

• Asst. Program Director MBRS-RISE
• Research Training Program Specialist
• Professional Development Coordinator

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• Acknowledgements

• Beyond the Beakers SMART Advice for Entering
  Graduate Programs in the Sciences and
  Engineering. Gayle R. Slaughter, Ph.D. Baylor
  College of Medicine/National Science Foundation.
  2005
• Survival Skills and Ethics Program
• Beth Fischer
• Michael Zigmond
• www.pitt.edu/survival
• The Leadership Alliance
• Graduate School Guidehttp//www.theleadershipall
  iance.org/pdf/grad_guide.pdf
• Tips on Preparing for and Applying to Graduate
  School
• http//www.theleadershipalliance.org/pdf/tips.pdf
  
• Careers in Science and Engineering A Student
  Planning Guide to Grad School and Beyond (1996).
  Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public
  Policy (COSEPUP) http//books.nap.edu/books/03090
  53935/html/11.html

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What do I want to do to earn a living???
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Assumption of this CourseYou are all interested
in going all the way to a Doctorate!What is
it?How do I get there?Then What?
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Focus of This Lecture

• What is a career?
• Focusing on the Ph.D.
• Highest Degree that can be earned
• Examines match between careers and
  personality/values
• Introduction to Biology/Chem/Engineering options
• Personality type can select path within a
  particular field
• Examines match between career direction and
  personality/values
• Examines Scientist Attributes

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What is the Difference between a Career and a Job?
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What is a Job?

• A set of tasks or performances to earn the money
  necessary to survive.
• The individuality of the person in the Job is
  often irrelevant.
• Emotional buy-in is not necessary

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What is a Career?

• Your lifework or walk of life
• A chosen pursuit a profession or occupation.
• A calling/vocation, that is tailored to, and
  requires, an individuals talents and strengths
• Often requires additional schooling

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Many Questions will Influence Career
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Getting Good Answers

• Arise from Good Questions you ask
• Must be based on CORRECT information
• Must arise from adequate self-knowledge
• Time should be loosely considered, compared to
  dreams
• Should NOT be based on fear

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How to Find out about a Career

• Family history
• Personal History
• Teacher impacted you
• Doctor helped you
• Mentor, friends acquaintances
• Television
• Internet
• Counselors/Career Center

• Take courses/classes
• Summer programs internships
• Shadowing someone
• Advertisements
• Or

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Training Programs, Like RISE and MARC
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Which do You Want?

• Job or Career?
• You have decided Career.

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Attributes of a Successful Scientist

• Depends on whom you ask.

http//www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/careers/appb.
html
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What do you think are the primary attributes of
successful scientists?

• Get together into groups and discuss for 5
  minutes

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How does the Media Portray Scientists?
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Characteristics of Scientists

• Scientists are people of very dissimilar
  temperaments doing different things in very
  different ways. Among scientists are collectors,
  classifiers and compulsive tidiers-up many are
  detectives by temperament and many are explorers
  some are artists and others artisans. There are
  poet-scientists and philosopher-scientists and
  even a few mystics.PETER MEDAWAR, Pluto's
  Republic, Oxford University Press, New York,
  1982, p. 116.

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Characteristics of Scientists

• "When most people think of science, they think of
  white coats, laboratories, and high-powered
  computers. But science is science even without
  such superficial trimmings. At its heart is a
  very simple idea "check it out." People who
  approach the world as scientists do are
  skeptical. They are not content to take someone
  else's word that anything is so, no matter how
  eminent an authority that someone may be.
  Scientific knowledge is based not on hearsay, but
  on reality. Scientists take nothing on faith."
• Thomas Easton, Careers in Science, 2004

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Attributes of a Scientist I

• One does not have to be terrifically brainy to
  be a good scientist
• Yes, if hooked
• Exhilaration of discovery
• Satisfaction of solved problems

• Virtues
• Common sense
• Application
• Diligence
• Sense of purpose
• Concentration
• Perseverance in adversity

Peter Medawar, Advice to a Young Scientist
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Scientist Characteristics II

• 1. imagination
• 2. concentration
• 3. integrity
• Peter Faletra Ph.D. Office of Science Department
  of Energy

Newton Website, DOE http//www.newton.dep.anl.gov/
askasci/gen99/gen99983.htm
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Scientist Characteristics IV

• 1. A keen sense of curiosity
• 2. Natural skeptic-
• strong reliance on "the data
• show me your numbers".
• 3. Tenacity
• 4. Analytical skills
• 5. Critical thinking

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Training for a Doctoral Degree
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What is Graduate School?

• Additional education beyond undergraduate years
• To obtain a degree higher than a bachelor's
  degree.
• Degrees range from
• Master's degrees (M.A., M.S./M.Sc., M.Ed., etc.),
• Doctorate (Ph.D., Ed.D., D.A., D.Sc., D.M.A.,
  Th.D., etc.)
• Other postgraduate qualification (MBA), such as a
  graduate certificate, as well as some
  professional degrees.
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduate_school

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Training

• All of the careers requiring a Doctorate come out
  of basic training as a research scientist,
  chemist or engineer, in an academic institution

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Standard Ph.D. Training Path
1-2 Yrs
Post Bacc Research
3 - 6 Yrs
Academics
Academic Postdoc
4 - 7 Yrs
Government Postdoc
UG BiologicalChemistry
Government
Doctoral Studies
Industry Postdoc
UG Engineering
Industry
Continue Education
M.S. Degree
Other Career
Other
Engineering
Work
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Training

• Undergraduate
• Postbacc/MS/Work
• Interim-
• Greater training
• Maturity/confidence
• Experience needed
• Doctorate or Combined Degree
• Initial training- research and otherwise
• Postdoctoral Work
• advanced apprenticeship/training
• Greater independence
• Can Change Fields

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What is a Doctoral Degree and Why Would you want
to Earn One?
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What is a Doctorate (Ph.D.)?

• Latin Philosophiae Doctor
• A doctorate or doctoral degree is
• An academic degree of the highest level.
• Recognition of the candidate as an equal by the
  university faculty under which he studied.
• Usually research doctorates are awarded in
  recognition of academic research
• Is of a publishable standard (even if not
  actually published)
• Represents at least a modest contribution to
  human knowledge
• Is usually assessed by submission and defense of
  a doctoral thesis or dissertation, though in some
  cases a coherent body of published literature can
  be accepted instead.
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graduate_school

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History of the Doctoral Degree

• Originally from the Greek ??d??t?? F???s?f?a?,
  meaning "Teacher of Philosophy"
• Latin Doctor philosophiæ
• Definition Philosophy
• "love of wisdom" or "friend of wisdom".

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History of Ph.D.

• Originally
• a degree granted by a university
• For learned individuals
• Had achieved the approval of their peers
• had demonstrated a long and productive career
• It indicated a life dedicated to learning, to
  knowledge, and to the spread of knowledge

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Ph.D. History II

• Popularized in the 19th century
• Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin
• Granted to someone who had undertaken original
  research in the sciences or humanities.
• Spread to the United States, arriving at Yale
  University in 1861.

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Nomenclature Getting a Doctorate

• Doctoral training
• Training towards doctorate
• Pre-doctoral training / Predoctoral training
• Graduate Training
• Combined Degrees
• MD/Ph.D.
• MSTP (Medical Scientist Training Program)
• DDS/Ph.D.
• DVM/Ph.D., etc

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Why Earn a Doctorate

• Career fits your values/strengths/priorities
• Kids who ask why - Thrive on intellectual
  stimulation
• Explorers, Inventors, Builders
• Benefit world/humanity Disease, Hunger,
  Pollution, Green Chemistry
• Prestige/authority
• Highest degree, allows you to be in charge
• Learn to perform research
• Further field
• Love doing it
• Skills sets
• Specific
• Laboratory techniques
• Non-specific
• Critical thinking
• Administration
• Planning, etc.

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Why Earn a Doctorate II

• Financial
• Companies
• Not hugely rich, but comfortable
• Educators
• Only way to be 4 yr college fac.
• Want to educate others
• Want to mentor others
• Want to have influence
• Public Policy
• Want to impact nation

• Long Term Opportunities
• Autonomy
• You carry your career
• Develop own ideas
• As Ph.D., can possibly
• Set your own hours
• Choose your own topic
• Opportunity
• Can be in charge
• Teach at College/Univ.
• Required for running research programs
• Required for advancement

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Personal and Financial Costs of Doctoral Education

• Delay Career entry
• Standard of Living
• Live on 21 27K salary
• Some add in loans
• Health Insurance?
• Family hardship
• Location issues
• Financial Losses
• Engineering likely not make up missed income
• Biology Likely will make up missed income

• Relationships
• Can be hard- long hours
• Can delay childbearing
• Location
• During training
• After training
• Stress
• Are several difficult times
• Qualifying exams (2nd year)
• Experiments not working
• Midway- Did I make a mistake?

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Why NOT to enter Doctoral Program

• Boost weak ego
• Impress others
• Job guarantee (not)
• For your parents
• Personal intelligence test

• Delay entry to work force
• Wealth

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Time to Degree

• All 2003 doctorates in Science
• With MS data included
• 8.3 yrs since BS
• 6.9 yrs enrolled to degree
• 31.2 Years old for Life Sciences
• People who did not earn MS
• 7.1 yrs since BS
• 6.1 in degree
• 29.9 Years old

http//www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf06312/
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Age of Those Getting Doctorates

• Average age of Science and Engineering Doctorates
  (1995 1999) 31.8 years.
• My duration 5 years 9 months
• 837,000 Ph.D.s in SE
• (1995 1999) U.S. Minorities 14

http//www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf06319/chap3.cfm
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Which Direction Should I Go WITH a Doctorate?
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General Directions in the Sciences and
Engineering

• Proportions vary by Field
• Academia
• Colleges, Universities, Med Schools Education
  taking place
• Industry
• Private Corporations
• Government
• Federal NIH, National Laboratories, Army Corp of
  Engineers
• State Texas Parks and Wildlife, TxDOT
• Local Paid by city
• Non-Traditional
• Self-employed/Contractor
• HS Teacher, etc.

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Careers in Biology

• Research
• All levels
• Healthcare
• Big Pre-health degree
• Education
• Secondary
• College Lecturer
• Professor
• Environmental Work
• Sales
• Biotechnology
• Forensic science

• Politics and policy
• Business and industry
• Economics
• Insurance
• Patent Work/Law
• Mathematics/Comp. Sci
• Bioinformatics, etc
• Science writing and communication
• Art/Museums
• Etc

http//www.aibs.org/careers/index.html
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Careers in Chemistry

• Basic and Applied Research
• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Chemistry
• Organic
• Polymer
• Medicinal/Pharmaceutical
• NMR
• Education
• HS
• College Lecturer
• Professor
• Marketing
• Product Development
• Government Projects

• Management
• Forensics
• Insurance
• Chemical Information Services
• Patent/Law School
• Health and Safety
• Teaching
• Consulting
• Museum
• Archaeology
• Art history
• Business

http//www.chem.duke.edu/bonk/Careers/ChemCareers
.html
http//www.chem.duke.edu/bonk/Careers/ACSartcl.ht
ml
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Careers in Engineering

• Great diversity- Depends on Field
• Electrical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Civil Engineering
• Biomedical Engineering
• Structural Engineering
• Production Engineering
• Aviation Engineering
• Plastics Engineering

• To advance, usually get an M.S.
• Ph.D. for universities

http//www.answers.com/topic/fields-of-engineering

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Selecting a Career - Caveats

• May be like entering the unknown
• Must take some risk
• Dont freak out!
• May be accidental or intentional
• Path often not straight or predictable
• My have serial careers
• May be intentional or accidental
• Planning helps!
• L. Pasteur Chance favors the prepared mind
• May learn more about self and values over time

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Personal Attributes and Career Path Personal
Attributes and Direction
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Careers within a Career

• All Ph.D.s trained as researchers
• Multiple Fields to Focus on in Graduate School
• What will you do with your degree?
• Science paths have different characteristics
• Must consider of Strengths, Passions, Motivators,
  Values
• Field
• Basic vs applied Translational Human Impact
• Activities
• Autonomy
• Hours
• Responsibility
• Pay
• Location
• Etc

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Career Selection and Satisfaction Influenced by
two aspectsYOU and the Career!

• Personal Attributes
• Inborn characteristics
• Innate Passions
• Strengths
• Temperament
• Experience
• Background
• Education
• Mentoring
• Opportunities
• Values/Priorities
• Life responsibilities

• Work Environment
• Job Impact
• Challenge/growth
• Recognition
• Hours/stress
• Human interaction
• Buy-in on direction
• Overall job stability
• Annual income
• Percent growth/job availability

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Graduate School Fields/Programs

• Neurobiology/Neuroscience
• Physiology
• Microbiology/Immunology/Endocrinology
• Cell/Molec./Dev. Biology
• Biochemistry/Biological chemistry
• Biomedical Engineering
• Chemistry
• Green
• Organic
• Manufacturing
• Pathology/Molecular Toxicology
• Pharmacology
• Radiological Sciences
• Biostatistics
• Electrical Engineering
• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Environmental Health Sciences

• Epidemiology
• Oral Biology
• Biological and Medical Informatics
• Biophysics
• Civil Engineering
• Genetics
• Computational Biology/Bioinformatics
• Pharmacogenomics
• Forestry
• Integrative Biology
• Molecular and Biochemical Nutrition
• Plant Biology
• Vision Science
• And Many MORE!!

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What is a Good Field?

• What inspires you?
• Matches your passion?
• Matches your skills?
• Matches your values?
• Matches your favored place to work?

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Current Hot Fields

• Biodefense?
• Microbiology
• Cell Biology
• Health?
• Age-related illnesses (in neuro, diabetes,
  cancer, etc)
• Obesity
• Memory
• Cardiovascular disease
• Pharmacology/toxicology
• Cancer
• Biomedical applications of Genetics
• Pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics
• Proteomics kinase activities, etc
• Theranostic drugs remedies targeted at
  specific populations of patients
• Immunology good for future biotech industry
• Computational Biology Any biology w physical
  sciences/mathematics
• Translational Medicine Basic research into
  medical problems
• Signal pathways and chemistry are important

http//sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_develo
pment/previous_issues/articles/ 2005_11_11/job_mar
ket_outlook_hot_careers_for_2006/
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Basic vs Applied Research

• Basic ? Applied ? Industry - Some believed
  but see people doing all now.
• Basic Curiosity driven. No known application
• Applied Designed to solve practical problems of
  world. Improve world
• The distinction between basic and applied
  research isn't always clear.
• "How long will it be before some practical
  application results from the research ?"
• Applied - If a practical use is only a few years
  away
• Basic - Practical use cannot be envisioned in the
  foreseeable future, then the work can be
  described as purely basic research.
• NOW Translational Research- Translational
  research transforms scientific discoveries
  arising from laboratory, clinical, or population
  studies into clinical applications.
• Nowthese definitions are less clearand have
  translational research

http//www.lbl.gov/Education/ELSI/research-main.ht
ml
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Good Directions for Training

• Need more interdisciplinary training (often at
  Postdoc Level)
• Between fields
• Computational abilities
• Biology with..
• Physics
• engineering, computer science, math
• For business
• understanding of the product development cycle
• the ability to work in a multifunctional arena
• Knowledge of business language
• For drug development
• growth of jobs involved with getting drugs into
  clinical trials
• drug safety,
• Qualifications in regulatory affairs, validation,
  and quality control
• Teamwork will predominate
• Leadership/team management/motivational skills
• Negotiation
• Delegation
• Hire people

http//sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_develo
pment/previous_issues/ articles/2005_11_11/job_mar
ket_outlook_hot_careers_for_2006/
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Matching Person and Path

• Love Biology/appreciation for nature
• Enjoys Politics
• Hugely social
• Get Ph.D.
• Authority, Position
• Work in Science Policy!

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Matching Person and Path

• Love Biology
• Love computers
• Dont like bench work terribly much
• Analytical, Achiever, deliberative
• Get Ph.D.
• Authority, Position
• Work in Computational Biology!

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We will look at yourValues, and Personal
Strengthsat the End of the Class!
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Assessing Personal Values and Strengths
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Matching Passions, Values and Strengths with a
Career can keep you Motivated, day after day.
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What is Your Passion?

• What have you loved since Childhood?
• What stirs or motivates you?
• Keep this in mind for Personal Statement, in
  subsequent class
• May roughly know, but may home in with
  experience

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Brainstorm Passions

• In Class Discussions What drives your desire for
  research?