Career Articles

Writing a scientific manuscript is an important part of a student’s training (undergraduate or graduate), and almost all advisors and mentors have nuggets of advice to share with their mentees. Writing the draft of your first manuscript and showing it to your advisor can be stressful. Students imagine the writing, figures, and more will be critiqued. From the advisor’s viewpoint, however, the science, storyline, and presentation style take priority. Here are some tips and tricks that I hope would help the first-time writer in this daunting task.

So you’ve got an offer (or more) and you’re trying to figure out if the offers are acceptable and which one to accept. If you’re in this situation, here are a few things to keep in mind as you proceed...

Congratulations on landing your faculty position, but you are correct that you have to plan ahead to make sure that you qualify for tenure in six years. You may be thinking that “it’s a long way off. I have to get published and funded first.” While publishing papers and obtaining funding is a critical part of getting tenure, there are other aspects to gaining the approval of your institution.

The time has long gone since professionals used to get their first position and retire at the same place. This is particularly true in academia. Like many others, I have been fortunate to move from place to place since I was 15 years old...

I am a minority, woman junior faculty member. I often receive vibes that I do not belong, and I can’t find many role models. Most of these issues are not apparent and outright racism or sexism, but I can’t always tell why things seem so hard for me. What can I do to navigate my way to be successful in science as a member of an underrepresented minority group?

As individuals transition into their first permanent positions they are frequently unprepared to effectively negotiate their starting salaries. Many job-seekers are uncomfortable discussing money, or fail to understand that they do, in fact, have leverage. While there is no universally correct way to negotiate a salary, fortunately there are many resources available to facilitate the process.

Should I accept the other position? Or should I just keep my mouth shut and work on the alternative project in order to publish something from this lab before moving on? If I move now, how will the publication gap and lack of support from my current PI impact my career?

Over the course of your training, you will be required to request more letters of reference than you ever thought possible. Beginning with your admission to grad school, and progressing through fellowship and funding applications, postdoctoral positions, and ultimately the job market, those that are involved in your training become a frequent source of insight into the skills, personality traits, and experiences that make you special. What can you expect from this experience and how can you facilitate the drafting and acquisition of reference letters that will get you where you want to be?

One common misconception that many people make is that getting a job in industry is simply just applying for jobs through job applications online, but this isn’t the case. Most jobs come from employee referrals, networking, and headhunters. Submitting applications online won’t do much — unless you connect and cultivate relationships with those companies, chances of landing that coveted industry interview are slim.

Whether you are a student applying for a fellowship or a new investigator who has not yet received independent funding, the process of finding financial support for your research is important to the success of your scientific future. With recent downsizing of the NIH budget, it may be helpful to consider alternative granting organizations and opportunities that venture beyond the scope of government funding.