By: Fatu Badiane Markey Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Erika Shor of the Research and Grant Development office of the Public Health Research Institute (PHRI) at Rutgers Newark. Dr. Shor has a very unique position at PHRI where she combines a career in research with scientific writing.
By: Zakiya Qualls Whether you plan to branch into one of the alternative career paths iJOBS prepares you for or stay in the traditional academic environment, one thing is certain: the ability to communicate your science and skillset with others is the first step to success. Graduating Ph.D. students, while experts at the bench and possessing a vast amount scientific knowledge, are not necessarily trained to communicate this knowledge effectively with other academics, industry professionals, and laymen.
By: Myka Ababon I first stumbled upon Oystir last year while I was browsing the internet for iJOBS blog post ideas. I first encountered a mention of Oystir in Reddit and, after visiting their website, realized what a great resource it was for graduate students and postdocs looking to go into non-academic careers. In short, it was perfect for the iJOBS community.
Scientific writing and communication is always a popular iJOBS event topic. In choosing this path, our love of science and extensive schooling is used in a meaningful and fulfilling way with a broader focus and increased flexibility compared to “traditional” science careers. This career path is often not discovered until late in a graduate career when some of us realize bench science just isn’t for 
us. For others like Dr.
Last semester, Rutgers Career Services invited Dan Beaudry, author of Power Ties, to speak to both undergraduate and graduate international students on effective job searching in the US. He began his talk by stating his goals: learn 1) how to invest your (limited) time and avoid common mistakes during your job search, and 2) how to be different (this is important because in 2014, there were an estimated 870,000 international students in the US, majority of which will presumably be looking for a job).
We all started out in the PhD program for similar reasons – we thought it would be best for our careers, we enjoyed doing scientific research, and probably believed that science was our vocation. But what about those of us that end up in labs that don’t suit our needs, or research just doesn’t make us happy anymore? While everyone hits a rough patch in the PhD journey, it is inevitable that some of us will find ourselves downright miserable for months or years in a row.
By Chris Lowe Some of our iJOBS participants have been able to complete an industrial internship during their PhD studies.
Research in the governmental setting is often an overlooked avenue to job seekers. So many times we see that old (but fading) ‘industry vs.
Mr. Larry Petcovic, MS2 and Mr. Randall Ribaudo, PhD are co-founders of the SciPhD program, tailored to help young scientists transition into careers outside academia. With a combined background of graduate school, academic and industry research, entrepreneurship, and communications, the two co-founders offer a wide range of experiences and perspectives with which to guide fledgling scientists attempting to dodge unemployment in today’s job market.
