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Career Development : Articles

Micella Phoenix Dewhyse, Ph.D. -- now postdoc extraordinaire -- navigates the world of science at at U.S. national lab.

Educated Woman: The Grad School Adventures of Micella Phoenix DeWhyse - Index

Micella Phoenix DeWhyse
United States
27 August 2004

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 17: End of the Road
4 July 2008
After more than 6 years of monthly columns and postgraduate research, Micella Phoenix DeWhyse celebrates her Independence Day--and we're sad.

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 16: Still Perky After All These Years
30 May 2008
As she prepares to take that final stroll away from the bench and out into the world, Micella is at peace.

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 15: This Strange, Funny Feeling
25 April 2008
What is this new feeling? Could it be ... joy?

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 14: Interview Excursions
28 March 2008
Micella is out shopping for a new career. Will she ever find love?

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 13: Fake It Until You Make It?
29 February 2008
Micella's confidence in her abilities has taken a beating lately. How will she regain it by interview time?

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 12: Reflections
25 January 2008
As a new year dawns, the fog on Micella's steamy mirror starts to clear.

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition Chapter 11: Breaking Free (Almost)
23 November 2007
As the clock ticks, a more experienced Micella goes about things a bit differently than she did the last time she plotted her escape.

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition Chapter 10: Loyalty, Subterfuge, Manipulation, and Sabotage
26 October 2007
Micella has been in the science game for a while, but only now has she realized just how much the life of a postdoc can resemble a paperback thriller.

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 9: The Postdoc Has Two Faces
28 September 2007
Micella is feeling more Janus-like than ever as she attempts to figure out how to make it through the next 2 months without her head splitting.

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 8: What Are You Going to Do Now, Redux
31 August 2007
Micella reflects on some recent conferencing escapades and confronts the question everyone is asking as the first year of her postdoc marches to a relatively satisfactory close: What now?

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 7: Tainted Love
3 August 2007
Does Micella need to cultivate a career that delivers carrots, gold stars, and other loving rewards? Or should she just please herself, the rest of the world be damned?

Micella speaks!

Hear Micella Phoenix DeWhyse introduce and narrate the segment of the 12 October 2007 Science podcast (MP3, 36 mins.) on experiences of ethnic minorities.

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 6: Carrots and Sticks
29 June 2007
Recent events have allowed Micella to harvest some carrots and helped her to discover that she much prefers carrots to sticks.

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 5: Why Is Life So Messy?
25 May 2007
Micella has a chat with her adviser and explores some new directions. She still doesn't know what she's doing, but she's starting to enjoy it a little more.

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Chapter 4: Baby Steps
27 April 2007
Micella hasn't made any concrete decisions yet, but she has taken some baby steps that have made life a little more tolerable. Also, Micella shares some wisdom from readers.

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition, Part 3: Time to Strategize
30 March 2007
Stuck in a postdoc that doesn't quite fit, Micella considers her options.

Postdoc Edition--Chapter 2: Palpable Neurosis
23 February 2007
Micella observes that the people in her new place are even crazier than the people in her old place. The scary part is, she fits in (sort of).

Educated Woman, Postdoc Edition: New Year, New Life, New Start
26 January 2007
Now a postdoc, Micella discusses her recent transition and ponders what lies on the road ahead--and whether it's likely to get up again, brush itself off, and walk away.

Chapter 55: What a Long, Strange Trip It's Been
22 September 2006
Micella reflects on the good, the bad, and the ugly of her graduate-school experience.

Chapter 54 - Phoenix Rising
25 August 2006
It's (almost) over! Micella takes us through the excitement of defense day. Is D-day all she expected?

Chapter 53 - Mission Accomplished!
28 July 2006
How did Micella transform herself from whiny writing grinch to calm, cool, nearly ex-grad student with a completed dissertation--in just 1 month?

Chapter 52: What, Me Write?
23 June 2006
In the throes of her dissertation, Micella has contracted a severe case of writer's block. Can standard remedies cure her affliction?

Chapter 51 - Search. Scour. Capture. Job
26 May 2006
Micella has finally decided what she's going to do next.

Chapter 50 - Superstar or Falling Star?
28 April 2006
Scientific success can bring graduate students a sense of well-being, but it can also have a dark side.

Chapter 49 - The Grad-School Success-O-Meter
24 March 2006
Micella explores the continuum in grad school from success to catastrophic failure.

Chapter 48 - Road Trip Realizations
24 February 2006
At her very first invitation to give a seminar about graduate life, Micella talks to other students about the trials and tribulations of graduate school.

Chapter 47: The End is Nearer
27 January 2006
Why is Micella hanging around the house and reading trashy novels? It's amazing what a few job offers will do for your morale.

Chapter 46: Episodes in Crisis Management
23 December 2005
Micella deals with the latest crisis to hit her department--the voluntary departure of two fellow graduate students.

Chapter 45 - And Now for Something Completely Different
25 November 2005
Micella compares and contrasts European and American lab culture.

Chapter 44 - There's a Big Wide World Out There
28 October 2005
Micella has started interviewing for scientific jobs--mostly in industry--a year before she expects to really be on the job market. Still, she's leaving her options open.

Chapter 43 - Where is the Love?
23 September 2005
Micella examines where America stands in terms of science, technology, and education and what scientists and engineers need to do to improve the situation, in her humble opinion.

Chapter 42 - Fear and Loathing in Las Laboratory, Part 2
26 August 2005
Micella recounts the advice she's gotten from readers in response to chapter 41 and re-emphasizes the need for real mentoring in graduate school.

Chapter 41 - Fear and Feedback
22 July 2005
Most grad students are unsure of their abilities at times and Micella is no different. In chapter 41 Micella deals with her insecurities and wonders how to generate honest feedback about her progress from her advisor.

Chapter 40 - Directions Anyone?
24 June 2005
Micella is just trying to figure out which way is up in her job search. This week she focuses on creating a network and being willing to look out, ask questions, and explore possibilities.

Chapter 39: Who Am I?
27 May 2005
No test will tell you where to go, what to do, and whom to do it for. Only you can figure that out, and only with a great deal of research and reflection. Time to get started.

Chapter 38: What Are You Going to Do with that Ph.D.?
22 April 2005
As Micella passes the three-and-a-half year mark, she begins to wonder: what on earth am I going to do when I graduate?

Chapter 37: Cold Sweat, Anyone?
25 March 2005
As she prepares to defend her thesis proposal, Micella has some advice: keep it simple, and tell a good story.

Chapter 36: What Have You Been Doing All This Time? (The Thesis Proposal, Part 2)
25 February 2005
There may be times in our lives when we should fight to the death for our ideas. The thesis defense is not one of those times.

Chapter 35: Thesis Proposal Time
28 January 2005
Micella has four main tasks to do before presenting a proposal before her committee. Searching the literature and reading will be covered in this chapter, collecting/culling data and writing will be covered in chapter 36.

Chapter 34: Hoop Number 314,159 - Choosing Your Committee
24 December 2004

Chapter 33: The Heart of Grad School Darkness
26 November 2004

Chapter 32: Money or Science - Who Do You Love
22 October 2004

Chapter 31: Micella Gets Motivated
23 September 2004

Chapter 30: Lessons in Mismanagement (Yes, More Communication)
27 August 2004

Chapter 29: Communication, Part 3
23 July 2004

Chapter 28: Practical Approaches to Interpersonal Communication
25 June 2004

Chapter 27: Communication
28 May 2004

Chapter 26: Bringing Up Advisor
23 April 2004

Chapter 25: Another One Bites the Dust
26 March 2004

Chapter 24: Casualty of War: Micella Loses a Co-worker
27 February 2004

Chapter 23: Grad School and the Single Soul
30 January 2004