Search

A new book looks at science careers across the stages of women's lives.

"The number one thing that every postdoc needs to think about is what they want to do when they grow up." - Ida Chow, executive officer of the Society of Developmental Biology

Can young scientists publish without a mentor's support?

"Before the kids, I pondered molecular biology questions while relaxing in the shower. Now, post-kids, I ponder how to stop the bickering and how to feed and clothe them. Gone are the hours of solitude for thinking."

"Flooding the market with additional workers ... is going to make engineering even less attractive as a field than it already is. ... The smart ones will be even more likely to opt for a career in law, medicine, or management." --Tom Cross

Professional science master's degrees, like the Master of Business Administration degree on which they are modeled, are designed as terminal credentials for people seeking science-based careers outside of academe.

His life in tatters, one former UMass postdoc sues his college and his adviser as postdocs on three UMass campuses unionize.

"Key to the problematic status of most non-tenure-track scientists is universities' widespread refusal to allow them to apply for their own research funding, the
sine qua non of scientific credibility."

Jones believes that senior scientists have "lost a sense of accountability to the next generation insofar as all of our interests in them are self interests ... so that
our career can get advanced but not necessarily
their career."

Postdocs' prospects are dimmed by the new Administration's many competing priorities and a lack of understanding at the highest levels of the scientific work-force glut.

"Our main target ... is [for] the postdocs being trained to go out and get jobs of their own. There are so many different types of jobs that it's hard to provide a good training environment that's right for everybody. So we're trying to figure out what types of things people would like to have." -John Lipscomb

Far too many postdocs let unrealistic expectations lead them to become apathetic about their own career development.

Running a productive lab is the career's greatest challenge. It requires lessons not included in medical and scientific training.

The postdocs take particular pride that dire predictions of spoiled relationships with mentors have not come true. The negotiations, in Wallace's words, "were very harmonious and productive."

Although the course emphasized a few issues that are unique to academia, many of the subjects covered--general management, project planning, time management, and interpersonal principles--are crucial to all professionals, no matter what career they ultimately choose to pursue.

“The pressure [in science] is enormous. When I was running the IBM research labs, that was one of my biggest challenges [in] sustaining quality.” --Randy Isaac

“Reduced economic opportunities in some fields relative to others … may be an important factor driving native students to enter particular occupations and avoid others.” --George Borjas

The vast wealth of the oil-rich Arab states is creating opportunities for scientists who can stand the heat.

A former postdoc finds teaching high school a deeply satisfying career.

"The ivory tower is getting worn and dingy [and] the provost sold the ivory ... to build the new administration wing." --Phil Clifford