"This will be the greatest learning experience of your life," my mother told me on my second day at a predominantly white public school. The previous day at the new school represented my first transition from a minority-rich environment to a minority-deficient one. In terms of academics, I was well prepared. My performance on the barrage of entrance and placement exams demonstrated that I was per...
BACK TO THE FEATURE INDEX Since I understand the challenges students may encounter while choosing careers, I hope that in some small way, my career path will help guide and mentor readers of Science's Next Wave. I received a B.S. from the College of William and Mary in environmental sciences in 1980 and immediately went to work for a consulting firm near Washington, D.C. I was hired on a 2-year U...
BACK TO THE FEATURE INDEX Question: How does an ex-postdoc, based in the north of England and unable (or unwilling!) to relocate to the south, embark on a new career, with prospects and job satisfaction? Answer: Stay in the north and get into clinical research. Interested? Then read on. I joined a small, Berkshire-based clinical research organisation (CRO) in 1994 as a field-based clinical resear...
