career basics · introduction today’s scientists have many intriguing opportunities for career...

Career BasicsAdvice and Resources for Scientistsfrom Science Careers

Career BasicsAdvice and Resources for Scientistsfrom Science Careers

ContentsIntroduction Alan I. Leshner, CEO AAAS Chapter1. CVWRITINGANDINTERVIEWSKILLS–THEESSENTIALS! 3. CVsThatOpenIndustryDoors Dave Jensen 7. InterviewTechniques:You’veWorkedHardtoGetThisFar Jim Austin 13. FromanEmployer’sWishlisttoYourCVSara Shinton

Chapter2. FUNDINGANDGRANTWRITING 16. HowNottoKillaGrantApplicationVid Mohan-Ram 20. FundingOutsidetheBoxJim Kling

Chapter3. EXPANDINGCHOICES 24. UniversityChallenge:AdministeringResearchCarol Clugston 27. PatienttoRetraininPatentLawAnne Forde 31. LifeinBiotechJim Kling 33. MakingtheLeap:When,How,andWhyaCareerinDrug DiscoveryMayBeRightforYouMatthew Bell

Chapter4. NETWORKING 37. GuerrillaMarketingYourselfDave Jensen 41. HowtoGetaGoodConnectionDavid Bomzer

Chapter5. FEMALEANDMINORITYEXPERIENCESINSCIENCE45. WomenandMinorities:NegotiatingSalariesLee Kass and Kathleen Gale 48. TopFiveChallengesforPregnantScientistsLynn Dicks 53. BridgingtheCulturalDivideinMedicineEdna Francisco

Chapter6. LEADERSHIPANDMANAGEMENTINTHELAB 56. LeadershipontheMountain:LessonsfortheLabKathy Barker 61. ProjectManagementforScientistsStanley E. Portny and Jim Austin

65. LabSafetyRequiresTrainingandCommitment John K. Borchardt

Chapter7. SCIENTIFICWRITINGANDPUBLISHING 70. PublishingattheTopoftheHeapJeremy M. Boss and Susan H. Eckert 75. ICan’tBelieveTheyDidn’tLikeIt!Jeremy M. Boss and Susan H. Eckert

Introduction

Today’sscientistshavemanyintriguingopportunitiesforcareerpaths,andthepurposeofthisbookistoofferadviceandguidancethatcanaddvitalskillstoyourformal

education,whereveryourjourneyleads.Anyjobsearchcareertrack,whetherinacademia,industry,

government,ornonprofitorganizations,alwaysbeginswiththebasics.ThearticlesinthisbookcoverCVwritingthatopensdoorsandinterviewingtechniquesthatresultinoffers;howtowritegrantproposalsandfindfundingsources;connectingthroughnetworking;specificstrategiesforunderrepresentedminoritiesandwomen;movinguptolabmanagement;navigatingthepublishingmaze;andothervaluableinformation.

Science,oneofthemostprestigiousandhighlycitedscientificjournalsintheworld,andAAAS,theworld’slargestmultidisciplinarysocietyforscience-relatedprofessionals,arededicatedtohelpingguidequalifiedscientiststomeaningfulcareersatallstages. Sciencepublishesspecialinternationalcareersfeaturesdetailingnewopportunitiesinvariouscountriesandregions.TheAAASCenterforCareersinScience&Technology(www.aaas.org/careercenter),acollaborationofourdepartmentsandaffiliatedorganizations,offersawiderangeofcareerdevelopmentoptions,includingfellowshipsandinternships,aswellaslinkstoourprogramsandpartners.

ThearticlesthroughoutthebookhavebeencarefullyselectedfromAAAS’sScienceCareers.org(incorporatingNextWave–theeditorialvoiceofScienceCareers.org),themostcomprehensiveinternationalresourceforjobpostings,careerdevelopmenttools,andlinkstotheMinorityScientistsNetwork,GrantsNetandotherScienceresources.ThefreelyaccessiblesitealsooffersinformationaboutcareeroutreachforumsandcoursesheldinlocationsacrosstheUnitedStatesandEurope.

TrainingandretainingasuperbS&TworkforceisatoppriorityforAAAS.Weworktoadvancesciencebyadvancingthecareersofscientistswhoserveglobalsociety.Wehopeyoufindthisbooktobeavaluableresource.

AlanI.Leshner CEO,AAASExecutivePublisher,Science

www.sciencecareers.org www.sciencecareers.org

1. Visit our website and register as a user. Registration is free and allows you to apply for jobs in our system and enables you to receive our monthly newsletter that high- lights jobs and career advice.

2. Once registered, sign up to receive customized job alert e-mails. These auto- mated e-mails will keep you up-to-date on the job market whether you’re actively looking or just want to stay informed.

3. Post your resume/CV in our database. Help employers fi nd you as they need to search for scientists with unique skills.

4. Join our Career Forum and get advice from career experts in industry, academia, and government. Start a dialogue with career advisers and peers to help you answer the diffi cult questions.

5. Search the Career Development content for advice you need. Whether it’s help with inter- viewing skills, negotiating salaries, or fi nding alternative career options to bench research, we cover hundreds of topics.

It’s all here for the taking. Let us help you take your next career step today.

Your Career Is Our CauseHere’s how ScienceCareers.org can help.

Phot

os ©

2007

Jupi

terIm

ages

Cor

pora

tion

www.sciencecareers.org �www.sciencecareers.org

CVsTHATOPENINDUSTRYDOORSbyDaveJensen

Asaprofessionalrecruiter,Ilookatover�00resumesaweek.AndalthoughI’mnotanxioustospendmynightsandweekendswritingaboutthemaswell—myToolingUpcolumnstendtofocusmore

oncareersearchstrategiesthanontheminutiaeofthejobhunt—itisareallygoodideatorevisitthisparticulartopicregularly.ManypeoplehavefoundthatastyleandcontentreviewofaCVisagoodthing.Itcanhelptightenandfocusthedocumentinwaysthatmaymakeitabetterfitforthechosenmarket.

ResumeandCVwritingisahugesubject,andthousandsofbookshavebeenwrittenaboutit.Mygoalinthiscolumnistogiveyouabriefrefresheronsomeofthemostcommonconcernsthatyoumayhavere-gardingthepreparationofyourownpersonal“marketingmaterials.”Andpleasedon’tbeputoffbythatdescription.Despitethelowregardyoumay

1. CVWritingandInterview Skills—TheEssentials!

1. Visit our website and register as a user. Registration is free and allows you to apply for jobs in our system and enables you to receive our monthly newsletter that high- lights jobs and career advice.

2. Once registered, sign up to receive customized job alert e-mails. These auto- mated e-mails will keep you up-to-date on the job market whether you’re actively looking or just want to stay informed.

3. Post your resume/CV in our database. Help employers fi nd you as they need to search for scientists with unique skills.

4. Join our Career Forum and get advice from career experts in industry, academia, and government. Start a dialogue with career advisers and peers to help you answer the diffi cult questions.

5. Search the Career Development content for advice you need. Whether it’s help with inter- viewing skills, negotiating salaries, or fi nding alternative career options to bench research, we cover hundreds of topics.

It’s all here for the taking. Let us help you take your next career step today.

Your Career Is Our CauseHere’s how ScienceCareers.org can help.

Phot

os ©

2007

Jupi

terIm

ages

Cor

pora

tion

� www.sciencecareers.org www.sciencecareers.org

haveforsalesandmarketing,itisexactlythisjobthataresumeorCVneedstodowhenitarrivesatitsdestination.Itscontentwillei-therappealoritwon’t.Yourjobistotaketheexcellentworkyou’vedoneandfeatureitinawaythatopensthedoorsyouwantopened.I’mnotsuggestingstyleovercontent;webothknowthatyourabili-tiesasascientistwillbeverycarefullyscreenedwhenyourletterarrivesatacompany.Butgiventhatalotof“goodscience”doesshowupatthedoorsofindustryfirmsnowadays,don’tyouthinkthatyououghttoimprovethewaythatYOUR scienceispresented?

ResumeRealEstateLittledetailslikethelengthofaCVcancausesomegradstudentsandpostdocssleeplessnights.FortheCEOandtheundergradwithnoexperience,theold“onepageatmost”rulecertainlyapplies.Buteveryoneinbetweenshouldfocusonmakingthedocumentasreadableaspossibleandnotworryaboutthelength.

AftermanyyearsofreviewingCVsandresumes,Ican

tellyouthatproblemsdon’toccurwhenthewriterwent

overorunderacertainnumberofpages.

Itiswhenthewritercan’tkeepthingsconciseandtothepoint,orwhentheyfailtoputtheimportantstuff“upfront”thattheyloseoutonreaderinterest.(TheHRexecutivesattheDirectorandVPlevelIconsultedwhenwritingthisarticlealltoldmethatanyim-portantinformationshouldbeonthefrontpagebecausetheyonlyhavetimetoreadthefirstpagebeforemovinginto“scan”mode.)

DeletetheFollowingfromYourResume.Writingsuccinctlyisanart,andnowheredoesitmakemoreofanimpactthanonacoverletterandresume.Herearesomeareasthatoftenneedtobeexor-cised:

Hobbies and Interests sections: Iwouldsuggestremovingthisareafromaresumealtogether,althoughmanypeoplewoulddisa-greewithme.Theybelievethatthereissomevaluetoshowingasideofyououtsideofwork.Perhapsitistheworkaholicinme,butIdon’treallycareifyouenjoyhikingandtravel.WhatIamlookingforwhenIscanaresumeishowwellqualifiedyouareforaspecificjob.Doesitreallymatterthatyouenjoybowling,biking,orbrewingbeer?

Academic CV relics:Youshouldalsogetridofallthoseoddi-tiesfromtheold-styleacademicCV.Imean,whoreallyneedstoknowthenamesofyourspouseandchildren,theirbirthdates,andyoursocialsecuritynumber?Thesethingshavejustgottogoifyouareapplyingforjobsinindustry.

Keyword lists: SomeCVscomeintoourofficewithaspecialsectiononthedocumentgearedtothemoderndatabasesearch.Althoughitistruethatcompaniesdoemploysoftwarethatsearch-

Despite

thelow

regardyou

mayhave

forsalesand

marketing,

itisexactly

thisjobthat

aresumeor

CVneedsto

dowhenit

arrivesatits

destination.


esthroughyourdocuments,Ithinkthatit’sbettertoincorporatethose“keywords”intothetextofthedocumentinamorenaturalfashion.Butifyouwanttouseabriefkeywordlist,trytitlingit“SkillsandTechniques”andmakeitaseparatesectionofthedocument.

So,don’tshootforacertainpagelength—butdo(please!)keepitsuccinct.Onceyou’vefinishedyourfinalrewrite,gobackandtakeanotherlooktoseeifyoucantightenitupjustalittlebitmore.Youdon’tneedtodropwholesentencesorsectionsjustforthesakeofbrevity.Butyoushouldreadeachsentenceorbulleteditemtomakecertainthatitisim-portantandthatitsupportstheentireapplication.Thebottomlineisthateverythingyouincludeinaresumeshouldreinforcetheobjectiveyou’vesetforyourselforshouldsupportyourapplicationforaparticularposition.TheStyleandFormatofYourMarketingMaterialsAnybookaboutresumepreparationcantellyouaboutthedifferentstylesandinwhatsituationtheymightbeused.Peoplewhoreadalotofresumesdon’treactinthewaythatyou’dhopewhentheycomeacrossaCVprintedonmauvepaper—orwhenthedatesandpositionsarehiddenbehindacoupleofpagesof“skillareas.”Instead,they’llloseinterest.LookcloselyattheCV’sthatothersofyourlevelandexperiencearecirculating.Makecertainthatyouhavesomethingthatstandsoutbecauseitispower-fullywritten—andnotbecauseofyourchoiceoffont.

CVvs.resume.Regardlessofyourtechnicalstrengthsandhowmanypublicationsyouhave,yourmaterialshouldalwaysreflectyourabilitytoaccomplishgoals.Certainly,hiringmanagerswillneedtoknowaboutyourtechnicalproficiencies,buttheyareevenmoreinterestedinreadingaboutyouraccomplishmentsonthejob.ThetraditionalacademicCVwon’tcutthemustardinthisregard.Butneitherwilltheone-pageresume.

Itistheintermediatedocumentthatwillbestsuityourneedsinthelongrun.AmodifiedCVthatlistsexperienceandaccomplishmentsbe-neatheachhistoricallyarrangedjobtitle.Thismaterialshouldthenbecombinedwiththeusualcredentialsandpublications—generallywiththeeducationlistedatthetopofthefirstpageandthepublicationstrailingattheendofthedocument.I’llbereferringtothistypeofdocumentfromnowonasthe“CV.”

Accomplishments.WhenyoulisteachofyouraccomplishmentsinaCV,youneedtodososuccinctly,whichmeansyou’llhavetofocusonjusttherightinformation.Trythis:usetheacronymCAR(forChallenge-Approach-Results)tohelpclarifyyourthinking.Considertheproblemsyouhavefaced(theChallenges),youruniquecontribution(theApproach),andthebenefitsthatyouhaveimparted(theResults).

Butasageneral—andperhapscounterintuitive—rule

ofthumb,itisbetternottobecreativeanduniquewith

yourpersonalmarketingmaterialswhenyouareapplying

forpositionsinindustry,whereprospectiveemployers

actuallyprefersomeuniformity.

� www.sciencecareers.org www.sciencecareers.org

ProperContactInformation.YourCVmusthavepropercontactinformationatthetopofpageone.Alabphonenumberisfine,butmanyHRdepartmentswillnotmaketelephonecontactwithacandidateataworknumber.Somakecertainthatyourhomein-formationispresent,andane-mailaddressaswell.Morethanhalfoftoday’sjob-relatedcorrespondencefromcompaniesarrivesviae-mail.

CVDistributionHowwillyoudistributeyourmarketingmaterials?Hardcopy?Fax?Ore-mail?What’sbestwillbedeterminedbythecompanyyouarewritingto,andisusuallymentionedintheirad.

HardCopies.IwishthatIcouldshowyouwhatmostrecruitingandHRofficeslooklikeasaresultoftheirneglectofhard-copyCVs.Becausewehavebecomespoiledbye-mail,traditionalresumesnowsitinlargestackswaitingforsomeonetotakethetimetoscanand/orfilethemaway.HardcopiesareOKwhentheyaresentouttoaspecifichiringmanagerwhodoesn’thavetodealwiththedel-ugeofthedailymail.Eventhen,however,hiringmanagers,whoarejustasbusyastherestofus,willtendtotreatthosehardcopyCVswithlessurgencythanelectronicversionsthatcanbeprocessedwithacoupleofmouseclicks.

IfyoumustsendahardcopyofyourCV,thenbesuretomakeitscannerfriendly:useonlywhiteorbeigepaperandplainfonts(whichscanbest),andavoidfonttreatmentslikeunderlininganditalicizing.Onceagain,letmeremindyouthatthisisthewrongplacetobecreative—uniqueresumesdon’tscanwell.

E-mailCopies.Whatgreatimpact!InstantlyyourcontacthasthatCVsittinginfrontofher,readytoread.Andalthoughtherearestillsomeproblemswithcertainfiletranslationsandcomputers,Ibelievethatthegreatmajorityofe-maileddocumentsreachtheirdestinationsinreadablecondition.About1�%ofthetimeIhavetofiddlewiththedocumenttofixaformattingirregularityorsomeweirdfontsubstitution.ButI’mwillingtodothis,becausethealternative(hardcopies)requiresmetogetupoffmychairandstartsearchingthroughfilecabinets.Whengivenachoicebetweenhavingyourresumesittinginthefilecabinetsorinthecompany’sdatabasewhereitcanbescannedforkeywords,you’lldefinitelywantthelatter.

WordorRTFdocuments,e-mailedwithoutcompression(noZIPfiles,please!),seemtobebecomingthedefactostandard.Inad-dition,manypeopleclipandpastethetextoftheCVintothebodyofthee-mailmessage“justincase.”WhileIdon’tlikeplaintext,itisbetterthanavintage198�Wordstardocumentthatnoonecanopen.AnditisbetterthanPDFdocuments.Ofalltheelectronicdocumentsthatgete-mailed,PDFslookthebest—youcanpre-servealltheformattingandfontselectionsandmakeyourmaterialprintoutbeautifully.ButtheunfortunatethingaboutPDFfilesis


thattheycannotbestoredinacorporatedatabaseandcannotbekeywordsearched.Therefore,ifyousendaPDFfile,makesureyouencloseeitherpastedASCIItextoraWordversionaswell.Atleastthekeywordscanbeenteredintothedatabase,andsearcheswillbeabletopickupyournameforaphonecall.

FaxCopies.Usethefaxmachineonlywhenspecificallyrequestedbyahiringmanageroradvertisement.Faxmachinesproducecopiesthatmostoftencannotbescanned,andtheyarelosingthevaluethattheyoncehadforurgency.Faxesatourofficeoftensitwiththeday’smailwhich,asImen-tionedabove,losesoutinprioritytoelectroniccorrespondence.

InClosingThebiggestmistakethatpeoplemakewheninthethroesofajobsearchistobelievethattheirresumeorCVisthebeginningandendoftheproc-ess.Thatisn’tthecase.Theresumeissimplyadooropener,muchlikeanenlargedbusinesscard.There’snowaythatthisdocumentwillactuallylandyouajob.Therefore,don’tfixateontheCVasthesourceofyourjob-searchdifficulties(orconsideritthemagicbulletthatwillsolvethem).Itiscertainlytruethatapoorlywrittendocumentwillholdyoubackinthejobmarket.ButIwouldfarratherproffertooneofmyclientsacandidatewithamarginalresumeandtheabilitytosellherselfthansomeonewhohascraftedaworkofartbutwhocan’tcommunicatethosestrengthsinperson.

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0490/cvs_that_open_industry_doors/

INTERVIEWTECHNIQUES:You’veWorkedHardtoGetThisFarby Jim Austin

Onlyone-thirdofthepostdocswhorespondedtorecentqueriesonPostdocNetand

elsewherehadreceivedanyinterviewcoachingfrommentorsandadvisers.“Nobodycoachedme,”wroteoneyoungscientistviae-mail.“Ithinkpeopledon’tliketotalkaboutthat.”Saidanotheryoungscientist,“Ireceivednocoachingfrommymentors,oreventipsforthatmatter.”Thereweresomeglowingexceptions,butingen-eraltheartofmentoringseemstohavefallenonhardtimes.

Thisisbadnews,right?Notnecessarily.Yesterday’sworldofsciencewaslessdiversethantoday’sscience,andmorepersonal.Althoughithelpedtobeareallygoodscientist,inthegoodolddaysitalsohelpedtobewhite,male,andbuddieswithsomeonefamous.Thepeoplewiththebestmentoringwere,veryoften,thepeoplewhoneededittheleast.

Don’tblowyourjobinterview!

8 www.sciencecareers.org www.sciencecareers.org

Incontrasttoexcellentmentoring,whichisoftenunavailabletoallbutthewell-connected,theCareerDevelopmentCenterforPostdocsandJuniorFaculty(theCDC)isavailabletoanyonewithanInternetconnection,fromAmhersttoYeshivaU.Wecan’tgetyouajobinterview,butwecanhelpyouperformwellonceyou’veearnedone.OneofthekeygoalsoftheCDCistoleveltheplayingfieldbydisseminatingaswidelyaspossibleinformationthatoncewasavailableonlytotheprivileged.Itisinthatspiritthatweintro-duce(drumroll,please)theCareerDevelopmentCenterGuidetoFacultyInterviews.

Whatshouldyouexpect?Whilethepatternofcampus-basedin-terviewsvarieswidelyfromcampustocampus,thebasicstructureconsistsofinterviewswithfaculty,postdocs,students,staff,andacademicandhumanresourceadministrators,aswellasgivingoneortwotalks.Givenallthesecomponents,most(butnotall)cam-pus-basedinterviewsnowlastthebetterpartoftwodays.

Atsomeinstitutionstheteachingtalkwillbewitharealclassduringwhichyoumaybeaskedtofillinfortheregularprofessor.Ifthisisthecase,besuretoaskforsufficientbackgroundinforma-tionaboutthecoursesothatyoucanpreparewell.Elsewheretheteachingtalkwillbeamockteachinglecture,inwhichyoumaybeaskedtopreparecertainmaterial,ormaybeallowedtomakethatchoiceyourself.

Atstillotherinstitutionsbothtalkswillberesearchtalks,thesecondoftena“chalktalk,”lessformalandmoreinteractivethantheresearchtalkwith“moreopportunitytoexploreideas,directionofwork,andsomeperspectiveofthefield,”asoneseniorfacultymemberputit.

Doyourbesttoremembereveryone’sname,butifyoucan’t,don’tworryaboutittoomuch.

Don’tExpecttoEatMuch.You’llprobablyhavelunchwithstudentsanddinnerwithfaculty.Althoughmorerelaxedthantherestoftheinterview,thesearenotsocialevents.Staysharp.

Duringmealsyou’llbetalkingtoomuchtochewyourfood,andifyou’rethenervoustypeyouwon’tbehungryanyway.Sobringalongacoupleofproteinbars,abagoftrailmix,orsomeothersnack,sothatyoucansqueezeinafewcaloriesduringthosetoo-infrequent�-minutebreaks.Finally—andthisisveryimpor-tant—makesureyouhaveaccesstoplentyoffresh,clean,coolwater.

KeepTalksGeneralandShort.Thebiggestproblemwithmostresearchtalks?Itwasunanimous:“Muchtootechnical,”saidonefacultymember/administrator.“Thisisnotatalktothe10peopleintheworldwhoactuallycareaboutmini-details.Rememberthatwewillbejudginghowyoumightteachstudentsbyhowwellyouteachus.Itisnotclevertopitchthetalkabovetheheadsofthefaculty.”

“Remember

thatwe

willbe

judging

howyou

might

teachstu-

dentsby

howwell

youteach

us.”

www.sciencecareers.org 9www.sciencecareers.org

“[Candidates]usuallydonothavethebigpicture,”wroteanotherrespondent,“andpresenttalkswhichdonotplacetheworkinthecontextofthefield.”Anotherwrote,“Themostimportantflawsarethecandidates’inabilitytopresentinformationorrespondtoquestionsrelevanttoabroadaudience.”Stillanother:“Makethetalkfocused,punchy,clear.”

Youraudienceisseekingevidencethatyoucanseethebigpicture.Whiletheyarelikelytobesmartandwelltrained,fewaudiencememberswillbespecialistsinyourfield.

Keeptalksshortbecauseyouwanttoleaveplentyoftimeforinterac-tionattheend.Anddon’tabandondetailcompletely.Youdon’twanttotalkaboutthedetails,butyoudoneedtodemonstratethatyou’reawareofthem.

ButBePreparedtoAnswerSpecificQuestions,andLetPeopleKnowYou’rePrepared.Don’tuseyourtalkstoanswercomplicatedquestionsthatnobodyhasasked;you’llonlyconfusetheaudience.Layoutyourresearchplananditssignificanceinageneralway,andleavetimefordiscussion.Endyourtalkwithabriefdiscussionofspecificpreliminaryplans,justtoletpeopleknowthatyou’vethoughtaboutit,andinvitethemtosqueezemoreinformationfromyouduringQ&A.Yourdetailedexplanationswillbefarmorecomprehensible—andfarmoreappealing—whentheycomeinresponsetoaparticularquestionfromanobviouslybrilliantprofessor.

WhatKindofQuestionsShouldYouPreparetoAnswer?Youshouldbepreparedtopresentadetailed,step-by-stepplanforattackingyourre-searchproblem,andyoushouldanticipateandbeabletoansweranytech-nicalandscientificobjectionsyourinterrogatorsmightraise.

Youshouldbepreparedtopresentanalternativeapproachincasetheprimaryoneshouldfail,tosatisfythoseaudiencememberswhoarecertainthatyourfirstplanwon’twork.Eveniftheskepticisskepticalofthesecondplan,too,you’llbeshowingthemthatyouaren’taone-trickpony.

Youshouldbereadytopresentafundingstrategy.Towhomwillyouapplyforresearchgrants,andwhen?Whatevidencecanyoupresentthatyourworkisfundable?Thatyou,personally,arefundable?Haveyouwrit-tengrantapplications?Didtheydowell?

ModestyIstheBestPolicy.Althoughhavingresearchfundingalreadyinhandisagreatadvan-tage,ifyouplayitwrongitcanworkagainstyou.“Sometimes,thecandi-dateswithbigextramuralfundingseemtothinkthatfundingaloneissufficienttocarrythem.Itisn’t.Ironically,thesesamecandidateswanttoknowhowmanymoredollarsinstart-upwillbeinvestedintheirprograms.Theycancomeoffasuninter-estedor,worse,selfishandarrogant.Itisinterestingtonotethatthesearetypicallyexperiencedscientistsinnontenure-trackresearchslots,anditiseasytounderstandwhytheyhavenotlandedmorepermanentpositions.”

Keepyourclaimsmodest,becauseunderstate-

mentcomesoverwell,andevennonspecialists

cansmellexaggeration.


ThinkHardaboutWhatYouNeedtoSucceed.Andmakesuretheyhaveit.Asktoseecriticalcorefacilities.

DoSomeThinkingaboutManagementIssues.FourteenpercentofPh.D.graduatesintendtodoworkthatinvolvesmanagement,butnearly�0%findthattheirjobsrequiremanagementskills.Manage-mentispartofthejobandwouldbeinthejobdescriptioniftherewasone.You’llspendfarmoretimethanyouanticipatefillingoutformsanddealingwithcomplianceandpersonnelissues.Sogivemanagementsomethought.Idon’tmeanthatyoushouldreadDruckeroranyofthosebusiness-managementtomes(althoughitprobablywouldn’thurt).Sticktothenutsandbolts:KathyBarker’sAt the Helmcoversthemostimportantmanagementissues.

Givesomethoughttorecruiting.Howdoyouintendtogetgoodstudents?Howwillyouattractpostdocs?Howmanyofeachdoyouintendtohaveinyourlabinthefirstyears?Wouldyoupreferalabweightedtowardolderpersonnel(postdocsandseniortechnicians)oryoungerpersonnel(graduateandundergraduatestudents)?(Here’sahint:Unlessyou’reolderorhaveaforcefulper-sonality,it’sbesttostartoutwithayounglab;youwanttobetheonetodeterminethelab’sdirection.)Anotherimportantquestion:Howmuchtimedoyouintendtospendinthelab?Most(butnotall)arelikelytoagreethatthemoretimeyouspendinthelabdur-ingyourfirstyears,thebetter.

Taketimetomapoutyouranswerstothesequestions.Yourinterrogatorswillwanttoknowthatnotonlyhaveyouthoughtthroughtheseissuesbutalsoyouhaveasoundapproachthatwillminimizetheirneedtocoveryourlackofmanagementexperience.

MakeItPersonal.Scientistsarehuman,andthebestscientistsareoftendrivenbypersonal,evenidiosyncratic,passions.Don’thideyours.Thecommitteewillnotbehiringyourpublicationsoryourresearchaccomplishments;theywill—hopefully—behiringyou.Sowhilenarcissismistobeavoided,itisentirelyappropriatetodisplayapersonalconnection,apassionforthework.Keepitonalowboil(noWhen Harry Met Sallyperformancesatthelectern)butdon’tkeepyourloveofyourworkasecret.Yourfutureemployerswanttoknowwhatdrivesyou.Showthem.

DoYourHomework.Itsoundscynical,butit’safact:Thebestwaytoimpresssomeoneduringaone-on-oneinterviewistoshowinterestintheirwork.Thisisperhapsthemostimportantfactorinsucceedingintheendlessseriesoffacultyinterviews.Asuresignofagoodinterviewisthattheinterviewerdoesmostofthetalk-ing—andobviouslyenjoysherself.Youmightbeabletogetawaywithsmiling,nodding,andexclaiming(“howfascinating!”),butitwouldbemuchbetterifyoucouldinserttheoccasionalinsightfulcomment.“Theyshouldaskforalistofeveryonetheywillmeet,”wroteoneexperiencedscholar.“ThencruisetheWebsiteofthedepartment,evenreadthelatestpapers—oratleastabstracts—of

Thebestway

toimpress

someone

duringa

one-on-one

interview

istoshow

interestin

theirwork.


peopletheywillmeet.”Yourinterrogatorsareseekinganewcolleague,apotentialcollabora-

tor.“Wevalueourcandidates’interactionswithus,”wroteoneseniorfac-ultymember,“andtheirpotentialformakingusmorethanthesumofourparts.”Anddon’tstopatthedepartment:“Theymusttellusiftheyhavecolleagueselsewhereoncampuswithwhomtheyhopetocollaborate—orwewon’tknowuntilitistoolate.”

Don’tConfess.Sonowwemoveontothemoregenericinterviewingtips.OneyoungwomanIknowfeltsooutofherdepthatajobinterviewthatshewasmovedtoconfession.Shehadappliedonawhimandexpectedherapplicationtobeculledintheearlystages.Afteraself-effacingresearchtalk,shefoundherselfspeakingtothedepartment’sonlyfemale(ayoung,personablewoman),andconfessedthatshefeltlikeafraud.

Fortherecord:Shegotthejobanyway,butthatsaysmoreaboutthepeculiarchemistryofhiringcommittees(theyoungwomanvotedagainsther,butthedepartment’sothermembers—allseniormen—wereoblivious)thanitdoesaboutthewisdomofthatparticularmove.

EveryoneMatters.Treateveryonewithrespect,includingadministrativeas-sistants,technicians,andundergraduatestudents,plumbers.First,becausetheydeserveyourrespect,andsecond,becauseoneormoreofthoselow-levelfunctionariesmightholdthekeytoyourfuture.

Whengivingyourtalk,lookallaroundtheroom.Walktothebackoftheroomfromtimetotimeandaddresssomeremarkstotheslouchingstu-dents.Theiropinionsmatter.

BeConfident.’Nuffsaid.

ButNotTooAssertive.Somepeoplecangetawaywithcockinessandoth-erscan’t.Sadly,thistendstobreakdownbygender.Especiallyifyouareawoman,youneedtostrikeacarefulbalance.Workhardtoappearconfidentandcompetent,butavoidbeingperceivedasaggressiveoroverbearing.Some(especiallyolder,accomplished)mendon’tdealwellwithcompeti-tive—evenconfident—women.It’sasadfact,butit’safact.

Still,ifyouarenaturallyassertiveandfeeltheneedtochoosebetweenbeingcautiousandbeingyou,that’saveryeasychoice:Beyourselfanddealwiththeconsequences.

BeRedundant.Tryingtodecidebetweenoverheadtransparencies,slides,andaprojectedPowerPointpresentation?Bringallthree.Thatwayiftheycan’tfigureouthowtoworkthefancyprojector,orifsomeoneputalltheslidesinbackwards,you’recovered.Noneedtotakeanychances.

Anothersortofredundancyisalsoadvantageous:Askthesameques-tionsofavarietyofpeopleatdifferentlevels.Triangulateresponsesandtestperspectives.Afterall,thisisatwo-wayaudition.

Don’tGetYourBackUpoverPersonalQuestions.Okay,somanyquestionsaboutyourpersonallifeareillegal,technically.Someinterviewersdon’tknowthat.Mostmeanwell,eveniftheirlackofsocialgraceandcultural


awarenessissometimesappalling.Anyway,whenyouthinkaboutittheprohibitionisalittle

strange.Sure,it’swellintended,andithassomepositiveeffects,butthedivisionbetweenprofessionalandpersonalisalittlear-tificial.You’reallgoingtobeworkingtogether,soit’snaturalforthemtowanttogettoknowwhatkindofpersonyouare.Youwill,ofcourse,havetomakeyourowndecisionsabouthowtodealwiththese,butIrecommendthatyougoeasy.Ifaninterviewerasksyouifyou’remarried,assumethebest,nottheworst.Answerhonestlywithasmile,andwithconviction:youdon’twanttoappeartobeapologizingforsomething—orsomeone—youcaredeeplyabout.

Therearelimitsofcourse.Anythingsexualisofflimits.Ifaninterviewertriestoseduceyouorstartstellingdemeaningsexualorracistjokes,don’tletthedoorhityouintherear.Useyourownjudgment,butqueriesaboutfuturereproductiveplansareclearlyinappropriateanddeserveasimilarresponse.Still,bepolite.

DressAppropriately,TakeaShower,andBrushYourTeeth.“Scruffy,unkempthair,dirtynails,”wroteoneprofinbiomedicalscienceatalargestateschool.“Inappropriatedress—e.g.,ahighslitskirtonawoman,oraholeyT-shirtonamale.Academicsaretolerantbutthereisalimittowhatwillbeseenasdisrespect.”

BePolite—MakeEyeContact—UseaFirmHandshake(ButDon’tBreakAnyHands)—AndSellYourself,withIntegrity.Thegoalofaninterviewistomakeagoodmatch.Forthattohappen,youhavetogiveanhonestaccountofyourself.Salespeoplehavealousyreputation.Happily(sinceyouarenowinthatlineofwork)salescanbeanhonorableprofession;thetrickistosellwell-made,use-fulproducts,topresenttheirvirtueshonestly,andtostandbehindthem.Inthiscaseyouaretheproduct,soyoucanfeelgoodaboutsellingit.

Thesalesanalogyworksanotherway,too.Thewisermembersofthehiringcommitteerealizethatthisisn’tthelastsalesjobyou’llbedoing.Justasyournewjobwillinvolvemoremanagementthanyouanticipate,itwillalsoinvolvemoresales.Evenasthecommit-teeisevaluatingtheproduct,they’realsoevaluatingyourskillinsellingit.

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/20�0/you_ve_worked_hard_to_get_this_far

www.sciencecareers.org 1�www.sciencecareers.org

FROMANEMPLOYER’SWISHLISTTOYOURCVbySaraShinton

DearCareerDoctor,IwouldlikesomeadviceonCVwriting,specificallyforpeoplewho,likeme,areplanningtogointothebiomedicalindustry.Rajeev

DearRajeev,InthiscolumnI’llgiveyoumystrategyforpreparingaCVandpointyoutowardsusefulresources,butfirstofallletmeassumethatyouareplan-ningtostartyourcareerwithintheU.K.jobmarket.CVstylesvaryacrosstheworld,andifyouareinterestedinapplyingforjobsintheU.S.,forexample,youwillfindalotofadviceontheAmericanversionofCVwritingelsewhereontheNextWavesite.

Thefirstthingyouwillneedisablankpage—don’tbetemptedtoupdateanexistingCV.However,youshouldavoidthetemptationtostartfillingthatpagewithdetailsofdegrees,previousjobs,orinterests.Suc-cessfulCVsneedtomatchtheemployers’needsascloselyaspossible,soyourfirsttaskwillbetoidentifythoseneeds.

Iamgoingtousearecentadvertfromalargepharmaceuticalcom-panytoillustratewhatImean,butbearinmindthatnotallrecruitersmakelifethiseasy,soyoumayneedtotrawlthroughtheemployers’Website,callthemup,ortalktopeopleinsimilarjobs.YoumayalsocheckoutthelistofskillsspecifictodifferentjobsintheReportfromRCIWorkingGroup1onTraining1(lookforAppendix1)ontheUniversitiesUKWebsite.2

Theadvertreads:“A position is available for a graduate immu-nologist to join our Drug Discovery team on the discovery of novel medicines for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Ideally you will have recently graduated with an upper-second class or first class honours degree in pharmacology, immunology or a related biomedical science and have an interest in learning more about the physiological processes which occur in CVS diseases and about the drug discovery process in the pharmaceutical industry. You should enjoy practical laboratory-based work and have an appreciation of the importance of both in vitro and in vivo studies in drug discov-ery. The position will involve setting up and running medium- to low-throughput in vitro assays, pharmacological profiling, and mechanism of action studies, using tissues, cells in culture, and ex-pressed recombinant human proteins. It could also include animal model efficacy and therapeutic index studies. Along with a strong background knowledge of pharmacology or immunology, you should be a good team worker with excellent communication and organisational skills and the ability to work to defined objectives and timelines.”

1� www.sciencecareers.org www.sciencecareers.org

Thesefewparagraphstellyouexactlywhatinformationyoushouldconvey,andmoreimportantly,representthechecklistagainstwhichyourapplicationwillbecompared—andeithershort-listedorrejected.

So,howdoyoutranslateanemployer’swishlistintoaCV?Onthelefthandsideofyourblankpieceofpaperwritedowntheskills,experiences,andqualitiesthejobdescriptionexplicitlyasksfor.Thenontherighthandsidewritedownevidencethatshowshowwellyoufitwiththeemployer’scriteria.Tostartwith,youmightgetsomethingthatlooksverysimilartoyouroldCV—thingssuchasanhonoursdegreeinarelevantsubjectandgeneralskillsareatthecentreofeveryCV.Butlookingmorecloselyattheem-ployer’slist,you’llrealisethatmoresubtlequalitiesalsoneedtocomeacross—knowledgeofspecifictechniques,interestinphysi-ologicalprocesses,enjoymentoflaboratory-basedwork,evidenceofsuccessfulteamwork,andstrongcommunicationskills.HerearesometipstogettheseacrossinyourCV.

Beupfrontaboutthelevelofexpertiseyouhaveinthespe-cifictechniquestheemployermentionsinthead(orelsewhere).Don’tbetemptedtooverrateyourtechnicalcapabilitiesoryouwillbeaskingfortrouble.Bydefault,listthoseskillsyouhaveactu-allydevelopedandincludeacommentaboutyourreadyabilitytoacquirenewones.Thismaybesomethingthatyourrefereescanbackupintheirstatement,somakeanotetodiscussthiswhenyouaskthemforfeedback.Alsobearinmindwhatisrealisticfortheemployertoexpectfromyouatyourlevel.Thelanguageusedinthisparticularadsuggeststomethattheydon’texpectdirectexperiencebutratheranunderstandingofthetechniques.

Toillustrateyourinterestusethechoicesyouhavemadedur-ingyourundergraduatestudiessuchasyourdegreemodulesorthetopicofyourfinal-yearproject.Somehighlytailoredcoursesdon’tofferthisflexibility—butthenifyouoptedforoneofthesecourses,thenyoumusthavebeenguidedbyaparticularinterestofyoursinthefirstplace!Ifyourchoicesdon’tmatchthespecif-icsrequiredbytheemployer,thenyoucanalwaysrefertotheminyourcoveringletterandemphasiseyourabilitytofollowyourdrive.

Enjoymentmayseemratherdifficulttoconveybutenthu-siasmforthejobshouldshinethroughonyourCV.Havingsaidthat,ifasmilingfaceisamustataninterview,untilthedaydawnswhen“txtng”isadoptedbyhumanresources,emoticonsarenotacceptableonaCV.SoyouneedtolivenupyourCVwithwell-chosenwordsthatarecompatiblewiththeprofilegivenbytheemployer.Don’temphasisethevalueofintellectualfreedomorthethrillofpushingthefrontiersofpureknowledgewhenindustrialresearchisallaboutproductdevelopment.IfyouarestuckforinspirationclickonafewcareerssitessuchasChemSoc�orPros-pects.�

Otherskills,thoserelatedtoteamwork,communication,andprojectmanagement,arealsoimportantandmustbegiventhe


sameconsideration.Atthegraduatelevelyourexamplesaremorelikelytobebasedonyourinvolvementwithsocietiesorworkexperience.Seemycolumnonvacationworkforlinkstositesthatcanhelpyouidentifytheskillsyoumayhavedevelopedthroughthistypeofactivity.Don’tfeelthatcasualworkdevelops“casualskills”—youmayhaveexperienceddifficultsituations,dealtwithmanagementissues,orshownrealinitiativewhilstworkinginabarordoingvoluntarywork.

Althoughmycommentsinthiscolumnarefocusedongraduates,ifyouareanapplicantwithaPh.D.orpostdoctoralexperience,theprocessisexactlythesame.Ofcourseyouwillhavemoretoproveforhigherprofilejobs,butyouwillalsohavefarmoreexperienceuponwhichtodraw.TheUKGRADWebsite�andSwanseaUniversity’sCareerDevelopmentPlanner�foracademicresearcherswillhelpyourecogniseyourskills.

Onceyouhavebeenthroughthisprocessyoushouldhavegatheredsufficientevidencethatyoupossessmostofthedesiredcharacteristics.Ifthereareseriousgapsthenyouneedtothinkcarefullyaboutwhethertoapplyforthisparticularpost.Alternatively,youmayfindthatyourachieve-mentsaremuchgreaterthanthosedemanded.Don’tfoolyourselfintobelievingthatitwillmakeyouamoreattractivecandidate;infactitisjustaslikelyyourapplicationwillberejected.Thefirststageofshort-listingisprettyruthlessandHRdepartmentsareunlikelytoredirectCVstobettersuitedjobs,soyouarebetteroffsimplycontactingtheemployertoaskaboutmoreseniorpositions.

Ifitlooksasthoughyourlistofskillsandthejobdescriptionareagoodmatch,thenyounowhaveenoughammunitiontostartwritingupyourCV...butthatisanotherstory,whichI’llcoverinPart2!Meanwhileyoucanspendsometimethinkingaboutadditionalqualitiesthattheaddoesnotexplicitlyrequirebutthatyouthinkwillgiveyouanedge.

Allthebestinyourcareer,The CareerDoctor

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2�10/from_an_employer_s_wish_list_to_your_cv_part_1/

1. ReportfromRCIWorkingGrouponTraining:http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/activities/RCIdownloads/RCItraining.pdf

2. UniversitiesUKWebsite:http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk�. ChemSoc:http://www.chemsoc.org/careers/careerswords.htm�. Prospects:http://www.prospects.ac.uk�. UKGRADWebsite:http://www.grad.ac.uk�. CareerDevelopmentPlanner:http://www.swan.ac.uk/crs/career.htm

NOTE:Part2ofthisarticlecanbefoundat:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2�10/from_an_employer_s_wish_list_to_your_cv_part_2

www.sciencecareers.org

HOWNOTTOKILLAGRANTAPPLICATIONbyVidMohan-Ram

Facts,Hercule,facts!Nothingmattersbutthefacts.Withoutthemthescienceofcriminalinvestigationisnothingmorethanaguessinggame.”InspectorClouseau’swordsringtrueasmuchforscientificinves-

tigationastheydoforlegalproceedings—especiallybecauseresearchgrantscanprovetobeasslipperytonaildownasthePinkPanther.

Let’sjustrecapthefactsofgrantwritingthusfar:We’veestab-lishedhowtosettheoveralltoneofyourapplication;we’vediscussedhowtodesignagoodtitle,workoutthestructureofyourabstract,andcomeupwithlogicalaimsandhypotheses;andwe’velearnedtheimportanceofcarefulediting.Butbeforewemoveontothenextstageofthegame—howbesttoputtogethermethods,results,andyourgame-winningconclusionsanddiscussions—let’sreviewthesugges-tions,advice,andfactsaboutgrantwritingthathavebeenmentionedinthisseries:

2.FundingandGrantWriting

1� www.sciencecareers.org

1�www.sciencecareers.org

PartOne:MurderMostFoul1

20/20HindsightwithoutTimeTravel.Onlyaquartertoathirdofappli-cantswhosubmitapplicationstothemainfederalfundingagencies—theNationalInstitutesofHealthandtheNationalScienceFoundation—getfunded.That’ssome1�,000to2�,000grantsandrenewalsoutofthe�0,000orsoapplicationssenttothefederalagencieseveryyear!» Knowthechancesofgrant-fundingsuccess.» Beawarethatthereisagoodpossibilitythatyouwillhavetoresubmit

yourproposals.

YoungDogs,NewTricks,OldMistakes.Beawareofmistakes,errors,andoversightsthatcontinuetocropup.» Failingtosupporthypotheses.» Failingtoexplainhowdatawillbeanalyzedorhowresultswillbeinter-

preted.» Failingtocitepertinentresearchfindings.» Includingjargon.» Beingoverlytechnical.» Makingsweepinggeneralities.

ProjectTitles:TheSweetSmellofSuccess.Theprojecttitleneedstobe:» Thetotalsummaryoftheproposal.» Clever(butnotcutesy).» Informative.

PartTwo:AbstractKillers2

What’sinanAbstract?Yourgrantapplicationabstractshouldaddressthefourfollowingpoints.» Whatdoyouintendtodo?» Whyistheworkimportant?» Whathasalreadybeendone?» Howareyougoingtodothework?

Half-BakedAbstracts.Tobecomplete,yourabstractshould.» Summarizethefullproposal.» Includesomeindicationofthecostsofyourproposal.» Behypothesis-driven.» Neverassumeyourhypothesesaretrue.

DogWalkerorCocktailTalker?Besuretosetasideenoughtimeto“walkthedog”(i.e.,writetheproposal),andrememberthat“anideawithoutaplanissimplycocktailtalk.”» Sitdownandwriteeveryday.» Writeafour-pagesummaryofyourresearch.» Boildownthesummarytocreatetheabstract.» Makesurethissummaryfitswithandreflectstheentireresearchproject.


Om1tJ@R/g0n.Everyoneinvolvedinevaluatinggrants—fromprogramofficerstoreviewerstofundingcommittees—stressesthatjargonshouldbeavoidedatallcosts.» Makethespecificaimsandultimategoalsveryclear.» Donotassumereviewersknowthatyouknowhowtoovercome

andsolveproblems.» Donotwriteforaudiencesthatareintimatelyfamiliarwithyour

fieldofresearch.

KeywordsPerhapsNotKey.Referraloffices—suchasthoseattheNIH—usemorethanjustthetitleordescriptiontomakeassign-mentsorpickreviewers.» Thereisnopointintryingtodirectassignmentsbyjudicious

wordchoices.

RateYourAbstract.Notallreviewersonapanelwillbeformallyassignedtoreadyourentireproposal:Decisions—andthere-views—canbebasedlargelyuponthissummary.Thatiswhyyourabstracthastobeperfectlyconstructedandwhyitissoimportanttocarefullyrateyourabstract.» Doesitaddressthefundingagency'scriteria?» Isitconcise?» Whatdoesitlack?

PartThree:SoWhat?3

PsychologicalTailoring.Beforedashingofftowriteafull-lengthproposal,firststepbackandaskyourselfhowyouwanttosellyourresearch.» Decidewhereandhowtopitchyourproposal.» Ensureyourapplicationmatchestheidealsoftheorganization.» Checkoutfundingagencyhomepagesforsubmissioncriteria.» Makesureyourproposalishonestandrealistic.

Uninformed,ButInfinitelyIntelligent.Theresearchplanshouldbeginwithabasicbutthoroughintroductiontothesubject.» Beexplicitandstatetheobvious.» Donotskipoverbasicinformationthatcanhelpclarifyyour

researchproject.» Beawareofhowdiverseyouraudienceis.» Educatethereviewers.» Don'tletyourreviewer'smindwanderorjump.

BitingOffMoreThanYouCanChew.Someapplicationformsaskfortheaimsofyourresearchproposalexplicitly,othersaskforitimplicitly.» Keepthenumberofaimstoaminimum:twotofouraims.Donot

beoverambitious.» Eachaimshouldconsistofonlyonesentence.

Drivehome

yourmessage

byrepeating

wordsorcon-

ceptsinthe

titlethrough-

outtheappli-

cation.


» Thespecificaimsmustbelogicalandstandalone.» Keepaimsrelatedbutindependentofthesuccessfuloutcomesofthe

previousaim.

SoWhat?!?We’veHeardItAllBefore.Afterreadingthetitle,abstract,aims,andhypotheses,thereviewershouldhaveaprettyclearideaofwhatyouhopetoachieveandhowyouplantogoaboutdoingit.Inyourintro-ductionor“significance”section,youhavetonowdescribewhyyouwanttoaccomplishtheseaims.» Donotbesubtle—deliveryourmessagefast.» Describethesignificanceofyourresearchatthetopofyourintroduction.

Goforthejugularrightaway.» Makeacompellingcaseforyourproposedresearchproject.

PartFour:LostatSea4

“SayItAgain,Sam.”Reviewersbecomefrustratedathavingtoread,re-read,anddecipheraresearchplanbeforeunderstandingaproject.Towritewell:» Readaloudwhatyouwrite.» Avoidusing"this,""that,"anddanglingparticiples.» Useboldanditalicizedtext.» Useclearheadingsandsubheadings.» Leavespacesbetweenparagraphs.» Drivehomeyourmessagebyrepeatingwordsorconceptsinthetitle

throughouttheapplication.

Funnels,Paper,andBrainstorms.Howcanyouorganizeyourthoughts?» Buyasheetofpaper,pinituponawall,andwriteheadersonit.» Brainstormandwritedowneveryideathatcomestomind.» Connecttheideasandwordsbyarrowsanddevelopavisualflow.» Convertthepathwaysandarrowsintotypedsentences.» Workinincrements:Whenyouwrite,writeinparagraphs.

ReviewThermodynamics.Giveyourreviewersanap-plicationthatiseasyandenjoyabletoread.» Themoreenergyandtimeareviewermustdevotetofiguringoutyour

application,thelessenergyareviewerhastoactuallyreviewyourappli-cation!

PositiveandNegativeFeedback.Whateverwritingassignmentyouunder-take—editingiscrucialtopolishingthefinalwork.Forgrantapplications:» Circulateyourresearchplanamongcolleagues.» Findoutaboutprofessionaleditingservices.» Approachgrantreviewersforeditorialadvice.» Realizethateditingisonlythehalfwaymarkofgrantwriting—notthe

endstage.

Treatyourreviewersfairly.


Don’tSweattheSmallStuff—JustDoIt!Applicantscanbolstertheirapplicationswithdatafromrelativelyeasybutpurposefulexperiments.» Ifpossible,writetheproposalonefullgrantcyclebeforethe

intendeddeadline.» Usetheextratimetoperformtheobviousexperimentsthatre-

viewerswillasktosee.» Amendthetextofyourearlierapplicationdraftwiththenew

results.» Writewithconfidence,anddon'tlistallmethodologicaldetails

suchasbufferconcentrations,unlessnecessary.» Areviewerwillreadyourapplicationonlyonce,soyoureally

needthatWow!factor.

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0�90/how_not_to_kill_a_grant_application_part_five_the_facts_of_the_case_thus_far

1. PartOne:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0280/murder_most_foul_how_not_to_kill_a_grant_application

2. PartTwo:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0280/abstract_killers_how_not_to_kill_a_grant_application_part_two

�. PartThree:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0��0/so_what_how_not_to_kill_a_grant_application_part_three

�. PartFour:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0��0/lost_at_sea_how_not_to_kill_a_grant_application_part_four/

FUNDINGOUTSIDETHEBOX

byJimKling

Yournewdiscoveryhasimplicationsforbreastcancertherapy.Whofundsyou,theNationalCancerInstitute(NCI)?Nope:TheU.S.Army.You’vejustdevelopedaswift-growing

treethatdrinksupmetalsinthesoilasiftheywerelemonadeinJuly,anditcouldbethenextkillerappforcleaningupSuperfundsites.WhocuttheR&Dchecks,theEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)?Uh-uh:TheU.S.AirForce.Anewairbornechemicalsensor:EPA?TheDepartmentofEnergy?HomelandSecurity?No:ItowesitsexistencetotheSmallBusinessAdministration(SBA).

Securingfundingisdifficult,time-consuming,andunpredict-able,especiallyinanelectionyear.Whoknowshownextyear’s


president’spolicieswillimpactthebudgetsoftheNationalInstitutesofHealth(NIH),theNationalScienceFoundation(NSF),andotherstalwartsofscientificfunding?Theoutlookrightnowisn’tgood.Whenawelldriesup,it’stimetodrillanewone.Itbehoovesanyonetolookformoneywhereveritcanbefound.

Byallmeans,gototheobvioussources.Ifyou’reamedicalresearcher,hitupNIH.Ifyou’reanengineer,knockonDOE’sdoororNSF’s.Butwhenyou’veexhaustedyourprimarysources,considerthis:Potsofgoldareavailablethroughoutthefederalgovernmentandtheprivatesector,of-tenwhereyou’dleastexpecttofindthem.Forexample,theU.S.Army—throughitsCongressionallyDirectedMedicalResearchPrograms—trailsonlyNCIastheleadingfunderofbreastcancerresearchintheU.S.govern-ment.Whoknew?

FindingMoneyPlentySohowdoyougoaboutfindingthesehiddensources?Startwithnetwork-ing.Seeallthoserelatedresearcharticlespilinguponyourdesk?Checktheacknowledgmentsectiontoseewhoisfundingthoseprojects,saysJanetRasey,directorofresearchfundingservicesattheUniversityofWash-ington.

Thenit’stimetogetoutoftheoffice.Yourinstitution’sOfficeofSponsoredPrograms(OSP)isanexcellentplacetostart,saysJerryBoss,professorofmicrobiologyandimmunologyattheEmoryUni-versitySchoolofMedicineinAtlanta,Georgia,andaregularcontributortoNextWave.Theymayhavealistoffundingsourcesotherresearchersatyourinstitutionhaveused;colleagueswhoseworkresemblesyoursmightclueyouintopotentialsourcesyouhadn’tthoughtof.OSPshouldalsohavealistofprivatefoundationsthatsupportscientificresearch;ifyourresearchhasevenatenuousconnectiontoafoundation’sinterests,addthefoundationtoyourlist.

OSPsexisttohelpyousecurefunding,sousethem.Makeanap-pointmentandseewhatservicesthey’reabletooffer.“Italwaysworksoutbetterifyouaren’ttryingtodothingsallonyourown,”saysSusanEckert,associatedeanforfinanceinEmoryUniversity’sNellHodgsonWoodruffSchoolofNursingandanotherNextWavecontributor.

Askaround.TalktoyourPI,youroldadviser,yourcollaborators.Pi-geonholeresearchersatconferences.Don’taskthemstraightout;chatthemupaboutwhatthey’reworkingonthesedays—and,ohbytheway,wheredoyougetyourfunding?“Ithinkit’samazinghowmanydifferentkindsofgrantsPIshavethatwedon’tknowabout,”saysMaryroseFranko,seniorprogramofficerattheHowardHughesMedicalInstitute,sponsorofGrantsNet.1

Andwhileyou’reatit,considermakingcontactevenattheobviousfundingagencies,ifyouhaven’talready.NIH,forexample,isawildlydi-verseplace,sotrytofindafriendlyguide.NIHprogramofficersaretheretohelp,saysDennisGlanzman,chiefoftheoreticalandcomputationalneuro-scienceattheNationalInstituteforMentalHealth.“Telluswhatyou’rein-terestedinorsendaone-totwo-pagewhitepaper.Wecanusuallyfindthe

PuttheOSPtoworkforyou.


rightpersonforyou[totalkto].SomanypeopleseemtobeafraidofNIHasablackbox,sotheydon’teventry”toinquire,hesays.

YourLabIsaSmallBusinessOfalltheoddplacesyou’velookedforfunding,IbetSBAisoneyouhadn’tthoughtof.SBAdoesnotdirectlyfundresearch,buta1982SBAmandatehasmadeavailablehundredsofmillionsofdollarsthroughparticipatinggovernmentagencies(in2001,totalgrantsexceeded$�8million).EverygovernmentagencywithanexternalR&Dbudgetofatleast$100millionisrequiredtopartici-pateintheSmallBusinessInnovationResearch(SBIR)andSmallBusinessTechnologyTransfer(STTR)programs.With11participat-ingagencies(notincludingtheNationalSecurityAgencyandtheCentralIntelligenceAgency,whichparticipateunderadifferentsetofrules),thisaddsuptoquiteabitofmoney.

Andbeforeyouobjectthatyou’renotinbusiness,keepinmindanicelittlecaveatintheSBIRmechanism:Youdonotneedtobeinbusinesstoapply.ThoughSBIRgrantsrequireyoutobeemployedbyasmallbusinessatthetimetheawardismade,withSTTRgrantsyoucankeepyourdayjob,aslongasyouarecollabo-ratingwithasmallbusiness.STTRrulesrequirethat�0%oftheresearchworkhastobedonebythebusiness.Ifyouhaveanideawithtruepotential,findingayoungtechnologycompanythat’swillingtotakesomegovernmentmoneyshouldn’tbethathard.

Here’showitworks.AparticipatingagencywithaspecificneedissuesanSBIRorSTTRsolicitationdescribingit.Ifyoufindsomethingyouthinkyoucandevelop,youapply.

PhaseItypicallynetsyoufewerthan$100,000forashort-termproof-of-conceptstudy.IfyougetinvitedtoapplyforphaseII,you’reeligiblefor$��0,000to$��0,000overatwo-yearperiod,atwhichpointyouareexpectedtodevelopthetechnologyforcommercialization.PhaseIII“isnirvana,”saysMorganAllyn,di-rectorofstrategicinitiativesforSpringboardEnterprisesinWash-ington,D.C.,whichhelpswomenentrepreneurssecureequityfi-nancing.That’sbecausethetrueboonofSBIRisthatonceyou’vedevelopedthetechnology,youarethegovernment’sexclusiveproviderforaslongasyouremainincontrolofit.ThatsensoryoudevelopfortheAirForcemightjustbeboughtbytheotherarmedforcesaswell.

Severalmillion-andbillion-dollarcompaniesowetheirstartstoSBIRgrants,accordingtoAllyn.“Itgavethemtheedge.ItputastampofapprovalthattheyknewhowtodoR&D,andyougeteasieraccesstootherfederalcontracts.Andthepiecethattrumpsitallis,themomentyouwinaphaseISBIRcontractyouareim-mediatelyeligibletobethesolesourceprovider.”


ThefirststepAllynrecommendsisheadingtoSBIRWorld,2

whichprovidesasearchabledatabaseofSBIRannouncements

bothpastandpresent.Plugginginavarietyofkeywordsrelat-

edtoyourworkmayproducesomesurprises.Evenifyouhave

nointentionofapplyingforanSBIRgrant,itmightbeauseful

exercise.AlloftheseagencieshaveexternalR&Dofatleast

$100million,sothereismoneytogoaftereventhroughmore

traditionalavenues.

Sogocrazy,thereandelsewhere.SurftheNSFWebsite,NIH’sCRISPdatabase,GrantsNet,theDOEOfficeofScience,andanyotherpotentialsponsorsyoucanthinkof.Finally,visitNextWave’sextensivelist�offederalresearch-fundingagencies.Surfusingkeywordsonlytangentiallyrelatedtoyourownsubject,andseewhatcomesup.Itmayormaynotyieldanunexpectedwindfall,butsuchexplorationsareaninterestingexercise.Evenbetter:Readingaboutothers’researchcanalwaysinspirenewideasforyourown.

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/�1�0/funding_outside_the_box/

1. GrantsNet:http://www.grantsnet.org2. SBIRWorld:http://sbirworld.com�. NextWave’sextensivelistoffederalresearchfundingagencies:

http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1��0/the_federal_trough


UNIVERSITYCHALLENGE:AdministeringResearchbyCarolClugston

Assomeonewhohassuccessfullymadethetransitionfromacareerinresearchtooneawayfromthebench,IamoftenaskedwhatspecificstepsItooktodevelopmychosencareerinuni-

versitymanagement.Thetruthisthatmycareerwasnotparticularlywellplanned—atleastinitially—butIhavelearnedalotofvaluablelessonsalongthewayandInowhaveacareerthatIgreatlyenjoyandthatchallengesmeeveryday.

3. Expanding Choices

2� www.sciencecareers.org

2�www.sciencecareers.org

BestandWorstMixedTogetherIdevelopedakeeninterestinscienceatanearlyage—Ihavealwaysbeencurioustoknowwhythingshappenandhowthingsworkinthenaturalworldaroundus—andIeagerlybeganmyB.Sc.Honoursundergraduatedegreewithoutgivingmuchthoughttohowmycareerwoulddevelopthereafter.Throughoutmydegreetheinfectiousenthusiasmofseveralofmylecturersfortheirsubjectareasdrewmetoacareerinresearch,andIembarkedonaPh.D.inmoleculargenetics.

ThetimespentearningmyPh.D.was,asIbelieveitisformanyre-searchstudents,oneofextremes—thebestandworsttimesofyourlifemixedtogether!Weeksofstruggleduringwhichexperimentsdidnotgoasplannedwererewardedbydaysofelationwhenpositiveresultsmadealltheeffortworthwhile;manyunforeseenproblemshadtobedealtwith(equipmentbreakdowns,vitalmaterialsnotarrivingatcrucialtimes);amyriadofrelationshipshadtobemanagedwithalltheirattendantchal-lenges,fromsupervisortroublestoseekinghelpfromcolleagues,butatthesametimedevelopingfriendshipsthathavesustainedandgrownstrongerovertheyears.Thereweretheagonyandecstasyofpresentingresearchfindingsatmeetings,ofwritingandsubmittingpapersforpublica-tion,andoffinallyhavingacompletedthesistosubmit.

Ididn’trealiseatthetimethat,throughouttherollercoasterrideofmyresearchproject,Iwasdevelopingawiderangeofvaluablelifeskills,includingoralandwrittencommunication,problemsolving,strategicandanalyticalthinking,projectmanagement,timemanagement,andteamworking.Anddespitemylackofrecognitionofthem,Icontinuedtodevel-opthemovertheyearsandIstillusethemeverydayinmycurrentrole.

FollowingmyPh.D.,Iquicklyfoundemploymentasapostdoctoralre-searcher.Ispenttwoyearsinplantmolecularbiologyfollowedbysixyearsincancerresearch.AlthoughtheseweredifferentsubjectareasfromthoseofbothmyundergraduatedegreeandmyPh.D.,Ifounditrelativelyeasytoapplymyresearchskillsandexperienceindifferentsubjectareasand,onpaperatleast,myresearchcareerwasprogressingwell.

However,Ibecameincreasinglydisillusionedwithresearchasalong-termcareer.ThereappearedtobeveryfewpermanentpostsandIexperi-encedthepracticaldifficultiesandinsecuritiesoflifeonshort-termcon-tracts,amongthemtheissueofsecuringamortgage.IfeltunderpressuretoregularlymovelocationtodevelopmycareerandIgraduallyrealisedthat,asawoman,itwouldbeverydifficulttopursueasuccessfulcareerinresearchunlessIwaspreparedtomakesacrificesinmyfamilylife.

Ididnothavechildrenatthetime,andIknewofveryfewsuccessfulfemaleresearcherswhodid.What’smore,opportunitiesforpart-timework-ingorjob-sharingwereunheardof.Inaddition,whileIstilllovedscience,Iwasbeginningtofindlifeatthebenchveryrepetitiveandmydesiretohavemorevarietyinmyday-to-dayactivitiesgrew.

ListingTransferableSkillsMydecisiontoleaveresearchwasadifficultanddauntingone.IhadknownnoothercareerandinitiallythoughtthatIhadfewskillstoofferelsewhere.IseriouslyconsideredstudyingforanM.B.A.inordertogainabusiness-relatedqualification,butthehighcostruledoutthisoption.InsteadI

262� www.sciencecareers.org www.sciencecareers.org

madelistsofthetransferableskillsIhadandofthenonresearchactivitiesthatIhadbeeninvolvedinthatwoulddemonstratecom-petenciesandcommitmentoutsidemyfunctionaldiscipline;forexample,Ihadorganisedmydepartment’sexternalseminarpro-grammeforseveralyearsandIhadactedassecretarytomylocalCommunityCouncilforasimilarperiod.

WhenIreviewedthelists,theyweremoreimpressivethanIhadthoughttheywouldbe.Thisprocesshelpedmetoidentifymyexistingskillsand,significantly,gavemetheconfidencetopursueadifferentcareerpathwithapositiveattitude,ratherthanviewingitasfalteringinmyoriginalplan.

IhadconvincedmyselfthatIhadarangeofusefulskillstooffertheworldoutsidescience,butcouldIconvinceanemployer?Itwasnotaneasytask.Iappliedforavarietyofpositionsthatin-terestedme,fromjobsinhealthpromotionandhealtheducation,tovariousadministrativepostswithinthehighereducationsector,andfoundmyselfcompetingwithpeoplewhohaddirectlyrelevantexperience.AlthoughemployerscouldseethatIhadenthusiasm,commitment,andpotential,ittooksixmonthsofperseverancetosecuremyfirstnonresearchroleasauniversityadministrator.

ThejobthatIwasofferedwasn’timmediatelythemostap-pealingtome—infactIconsideredturningitdown—butIdevel-opedaninstantrapportwiththeenthusiasticprofessorwhowouldbecomemylinemanager,andIcouldalsoseethatbyacceptingthepostIwouldhavetheopportunitytogainalotofadministra-tiveexperiencetoaddtomyCV.IbelievethatIfounditeasiertogetapositionwithinauniversity,ratherthananonuniversityrole,becausetheuniversityrecognisedthevalueofmyPh.D.asamul-tilevelachievementratherthansimplyasaspecialistinacademicpublication.

Imovedtoasubjectareathatwascompletelynewtome—nanoelectronics—onareducedremuneration,butfromdayoneIdidn’tlookback.Thejobwaschallenging,stimulating,andfullofvariety.Iwasimmediatelyresponsibleforalltheadministrativeaspectsofthedepartment,frommanagingthemultimillionpoundresearchbudgetandcoordinatingEuropeannetworks,toorganis-ingamajorinternationalconferencefor�00delegates.Iwasalsoresponsibleforpromotingtheresearchofthedepartmentandquicklyhadtolearntodealwithregularpressenquiries.

Therequirementtoquicklylearnandunderstandnewsubjectareasandtechnologiesinordertobeeffectivetestedthelimitsofmycapabilities.IrealisedthatIhadbeenworkingwithinarelative-lynarrowsubjectareaandIwasnowexposedtoareasofresearchwhoseexistenceIhadnotpreviouslybeenawareof.ButIalsorealisedthatIwasn’twastinganyofmypreviousresearchexperi-ence—everydayIwasapplyingthegenericandtransferableskillsthatIhaddevelopedovertheyearsofbeingaresearchstudentandapostdoctoralresearcher.Eachdaybroughtdifferentchalleng-es,whethertheybesolvingproblems,managingresources,analys-ingcomplexdata,orpresentingtechnicalmaterialinavarietyof

Ihadcon-

vincedmyself

thatIhad

arangeof

usefulskills

toofferthe

worldout-

sidescience,

butcouldI

convincean

employer?


formatstoarangeofaudiences.Ididn’tmisslifeatthebenchforaminute!Istayedinmyuniversityadministratorrolefortwoyears,buildingon

myexistingskillsanddevelopingarangeofnewskillsandexperience.Iwasthenabletomovetoamoreseniorpost,asadministrativeassistanttotheuniversity’svice-principalforresearch.Thiswasanevenbroaderroleasitencompassedallthesubjectareasoftheuniversity,anditenabledmeonceagaintousemybiomedicalresearchexperienceaswellasmygenericskills.Italsoenabledmetodevelopamuchgreaterunderstandingofuni-versitymanagementandtoseeresearchfromotherperspectives,e.g.,theimportanceofresearchincometotheuniversity,what“overheads”are,thehighcostsofacceptingcharityfunding(whichcoversnoindirectcosts),howresearchisbalancedwithteaching,andhowinterdisciplinaryresearchcanbefostered.

Overthepastfiveyearsmyrolehasdevelopedconsiderablyandmyresponsibilitiesnowincludemanyareasofstrategyandpolicy,fromhelp-ingtodeveloptheuniversity’sresearchstrategyandsubmissiontotheresearchassessmentexercise,todraftingpoliciesrelatingtoresearcheth-icsandmisconduct.MostrecentlyIhaveassumedresponsibilityforde-velopingtheuniversity’spostgraduateresearchstrategyandIamworkingcloselywiththeUniversityCareersServicetoensurethatallourpostgradu-ateresearchstudentsandpostdocshaveaccesstogenericskillstrainingandpersonaldevelopmentplanning.

Fortunately,mostpostgraduateresearchstudentstodayareawarethatthemajorityofthemwillnothavelong-termcareersinacademicre-searchandtheyaremuchmoreawareoftheirgenericandtransferableskillsthroughpersonaldevelopmentplansandstructuredcareerplan-ning.Fundingbodiesnowalsoofferawiderrangeofcareerdevelopmentschemesthatallowforcareerbreaksandpart-timeworking.However,ifyouareconsideringacareeroutsideresearch,myadvicewouldbefirstofalltobeconfidentofyourmotivation,andthentogoforit!YourPh.D.isapassporttomanyexcitingcareeropportunitiesoutsidetheconfinesofthelaboratory!

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/29�0/university_challenge_administering_research/

PATIENTTORETRAININPATENTLAW

byAnneForde

DescribeagameofhockeytoaMartian.”Thatwasthetaskthatneu-roscientist-turned-patent-agentSarahThompsonwasaskedtodowhenshewasinterviewingforajobasapatentagenttraineeafew

yearsago.Thompsonmusthaveprovidedadecentimpromptudescriptionsinceshegotthejob;fouryearslater,sheisalmostfullyqualifiedasapat-entagent.


Sowerethoseinterviewersbeingfacetious?Notreally.Oneofthefundamentalskillsrequiredtoworkasapatentagent,saysThompson,“isputtingdifficultconceptsintowhatalayperson—yourclients—wouldunderstand.”True,thoseclientsarenotextra-terrestrials,butthereisawidegulfbetweentheworldsoflawandscience,andThompson’snewjobistospanit.

SeekingHerNicheAfterfinishingherundergraduatedegreeinpharmacologyatBris-tolUniversity,Thompsonwantedtocontinueherstudiesandfeltthat“doingaPh.D.wasanaturalprogression.”Shewaskeentodoaneuroscienceresearchproject,soin199�shestartedherPh.D.attheUniversityofManchesterinneuroimmunology.Thompsoninvestigatedtheroleofanti-inflammatorymediatorsincontextofstrokeandtheresultingcelldeath.Shesoondecidedthatresearchwas“veryfrustrating”—andunappealingforthelonghaul.

Whilestilldoingherdoctoralwork,Thompsonfoundherinter-estsgrowingbroader.Shebecametheeditorofanewsletterinheruniversityfocusedonpublicawarenessofscience.Shealsopar-ticipatedintheBiotechnologyYES1(YoungEntrepreneursScheme)competition,anactivitythatpresagedherprofessionalfuture.InBiotechnologyYES,teamsofundergraduateorpostgraduatesciencestudentsformabusinessplanforavirtualcompanyandpresenttheplantoapanelofjudges,competingagainstotherteams.Thecompetitorsliveon-siteandthecompetitionrunsoverthreedays.Duringthistime,theteamsarevisitedbyexpertadvis-erswhohelpthemmoldtheirbusinessplans.

Oneofthecompetitionadviserswasapatentagent,andThompsonhadtheopportunitytotalktohimabouthisjob.Heagreedtolethershadowhimathisoffice—aprivatepracticeinGlasgow—foraday.Throughherpersonalnetworks,shelatergainedanotherweek’sexperienceatanotherprivatepracticeinLondon.

Afterthosebriefworkstints,Thompsondecidedtopursueacareerasapatentagent.Shefeltthatworkinginprivatepracticewouldgiveherthebestandbroadesttraining,exposinghertoawiderpatentportfolio.Asastartingpoint,shesetaboutinvestigat-ingwhatthefirmswerelookingfor.“Someplaceswerelookingforsomeonewithaspecificbackground,othersnot,”shesays.“SomedidnotevenrequireyoutohaveaPh.D.”InDecember2000,sheinterviewedatthefirmMewburnEllisL.L.P.2Beingabletocommu-nicatedifficultconceptsingeneralterms—likeexplainingagameofhockeytoaMartian—wasprobablythekeytohergettingthatposition,shefeels.ThefollowingSeptember,shestartedhernewjob.

ANewBeginningAlthoughascientificbackgroundisessentialforherjob,Thompsonhadtofullyretraintomakethetransition.Forthefirsttwoyearsorso,Thompsonworkedunderthesupervisionofvariouspart-

“Youhavealot

tolearn,but

whenyoucan

arguethecase

ofyourpatent

application

successfully

toapatent

examiner,

it’sgreat,”

saysSarah

Thompson.


ners—seniorpatentagents—rotatingeverysixmonths.“Forexample,IhadtoreadexaminationreportsfromtheEuropeanPatentOffice(E.P.O.),”saysThompson.Thekeyquestionapatentagenthastobeexpertinaskingandanswering,explainsThompson,is,“Whatistheinvention?Youneedtobeabletosumarizealotofcomplexdatatodothis.Therewaslotstograsp.”

PatentAgents,Examiners,andAttorneys:What’sintheName?

Patentagentshaveseveralemploymentoptions,Thompson

explains.Thefirstisworkinginprivatepractice—likealawor

accountingfirm—whereyouactastheinterfacebetweenyour

clientandpatentoffices.Thesecondistowork“in-house,”for

example,atapharmaceuticalcompany.Inbothscenarios,the

patentagentisdrafting,prosecuting,anddefendingthepatent.

Patentexaminers,ontheotherhand,review—andthenreject

oraccept—thepatentapplicationssubmittedbypatentagents

onbehalfoftheirclients.Theyareemployedbyagovernment

orintergovernmentalagency,suchastheU.K.PatentOffice,3

inNewport,Wales,ortheEuropeanPatentOffice�(E.P.O.),in

Munich,Germany.Patentexaminersmaymovetoworkaspat-

entagents,saysThompson,“butnotnormallytheotherway

around.”

Ayearintohertraining,ThompsonspentfourmonthsatManchesterUniversitydoingafoundationcourse—acertificatecourseinintellectualproperty—inpreparationforthefirstofthetwosetsofexaminationsthatarenecessarytoqualifyasapatentagentintheU.K.Duringthisperiod,Thompsonstud-iedU.K.andoverseaspatentlaw,trademarklaw,anddesignandcopyrightlaw.“It’sanintensivecourse,”saysThompson,“withalotofsubjectstocover.”Whileonthecourse,ThompsonwasstillonsalaryatMewburnEl-lis,andthefirmpaidhercoursefees.“Itwasgoodtodoitfull-time;notallfirmsallowthat.”Oncompletingthecourse,participantscantakeanexaminationthatisequivalenttothefirstofthepatent-lawqualifyingexams.Backattheoffice,onherreturn,“Iwasallowedtobealittlemoreindependent,”shesays.

Butherstudyingwasfarfromover.Shestillneededtodopart2.Thequalifyingexaminations—especiallythesecond—arenotoriouslyrigor-ous.CandidatesareexaminedinallaspectsofU.K.patentlaw.Passingtheexams,saysThompson,“meansstudyingmosteveningsandweekends”

IntheU.K.,registeredpatentagentscanusethetitle

“PatentAttorney”althoughthistitleisalsousedby

solicitorswhomayhavenoformalqualificationin

intellectualproperty.

30�0 www.sciencecareers.org www.sciencecareers.org

beginningmanymonthspriortotheexams.Thefailurerateishigh;manyhavetoresitindividualpapers.Lastmonth,Thompsonresatpart2papersforthesecondtimeandisawaitingtheresults.LastMarch,shealsotooktheEuropeanQualifyingexams—examsthevastmajorityofU.K.patentagentsinprivatepracticeandindustrytake—soshewillbeauthorizedtoworkwiththeE.P.O.Sheneedstoresitoneofthesenextyear.

GainingExperienceandResponsibilityNowthatsheisworkingatamoreseniorlevel,Thompsonsays,shereallyenjoysbeingabletoarguewhyaninventionisworthyofitsname—ornot.“Youarekeptup-to-date;intellectuallyyouareonthegothewholetime,”shesays.Agentsathercurrentlevelmanageaportfolioofapplications,whichmeansswiftdecisionsandmanydeadlines.Butit’sfun.

Lastyear,ThompsonmovedfromMewburnEllistothebiotechnologyfirm,CambridgeAntibodyTechnology�(CAT),inCambridge,U.K.Thompsonappreciatesthebroadtrainingshereceivedinprivatepractice,butshenowfindsspecializing“inoneparticulartechnologyareaandworkingcloselywiththecompany’sscientists”justasstimulating.

ForThoseConsideringPatentLawPassingthoseexams,saysThompson,requiredtenacityandyearsofstudy.Tenacity—andanargumentativestreak—havehelpedhermakeitasapatentagent.Whatelse?Communicationandtime-managementskillsarekey,shesays.Knowingaforeignlanguageisalsouseful.Researchtrainingisimportant,butdon’texpecttoworkonpatentsthatmatchyourresearcharea.WhenshewasworkingatMewburnEllis,Thompson’s“specialty”wasallofbio-technology.“Ihadonlyoneneuroscience-relatedpatentinthosethreeyears,”shesays.

Wasitworthit?“Itwashard,youhavealottolearn,butwhenyoucanarguethecaseofyourpatentapplicationsuccessfullytoapatentexaminer,it’sgreat.”

ThisarticlefirstapearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/200�_12_02/patient_to_retrain_in_patent_law

1. BiotechnologyYES:http://www.biotechnologyyes.co.uk2. MewburnEllisL.L.P.:http://www.mewburn.com�. U.K.PatentOffice:http://www.patent.gov.uk�. EuropeanPatentOffice:http://www.european-patent-office.

org�. CambridgeAntibodyTechnology(CAT):http://www.

cambridgeantibody.com

“Hereyou

havetomake

sureyou’re

gettingthings

doneand

meetingyour

objectives.

It’salmosta

completely

different

experience.”

www.sciencecareers.org �1www.sciencecareers.org

LIFEINBIOTECHbyJimKling

Lifeinthebiotechindustryisafarcryfromacademia.Itisn’tpuresci-ence.Ifyoumaketheleap,expecttobeindoctrinatedintotheworldofbusiness,becauseinindustrybusinessgoalsdriveresearch.And

evenifyoujoinacompanyasascientist,youmayfindyourselfmovingoutofthelabaltogether.“Therearelotsofscientistswhogettappedtodothingsinprojectmanagement,businessdevelopment,ormarketing.Asscientists,theydon’thavethebackgroundtohandlethoseduties,”saysRebeccaRone,whoisdirectoroftheM.S.programindrugdiscoveryanddevelopmentattheMassachusettsCollegeofPharmacyandHealthScienc-es.Theprogramoffersclassesinbusinessandfinancingaswellasvariousbiotechnology-relatedsciences.

Abiotechcompanyisatightlyfocusedenvironment,wherefreedomofacademicinquiryisoftencurbedintheinterestofcompletingaprojectasquicklyaspossible,whetherit’sanewdrug,adiagnostictechnique,orsomeotherscience-relatedproduct.“Inindustryyougainknowledgealongtheway,butyourfocusistodowhateveryouneedtodoto[tofinishaproject].Ifsomethingdoesn’twork,youhavetorealignyourfocus,”saysJoshuaSeno,whoisanassociateincorporatedevelopmentforthetechnol-ogyevaluationgroupatAmylinPharmaceuticalsinSanDiego,California.

Likemanygraduates,Senospentacoupleofyearsworkinginanaca-demiclabafterhegraduatedfromPurdueUniversitywithadegreeincellbiologyin1998.HespentthetimeworkingattheIndianaUniversityMedi-calCenterinIndianapolis,Indiana,studyingDNArepairproteinsandhowtheyrespondtoheat,apossibleadjuvanttoradiationincancertherapy.

“Iguesswewereworkingtowardsomesortofgoal[inacademicre-search],butitwasnota[well-defined]goal.Thereweren’tanypressingdeadlinesexcepttogetgrantsin,”herecalls.Buttheacademiclifewasn’tquitewhathewanted.Hedidn’twanttodoaPh.D.,andhewasn’tsureamaster’sdegreewouldbeanymorevaluablethanthepracticalexperiencehewasalreadygetting.ButwhenhereadanarticleinScienceaboutanewkindofhybridmaster’sprogramthatcombinedbiologicalsciencewithbusinesstraining,hewasintrigued.

Hesettledonthemaster’sofbioscienceofferedbytheKeckGraduateInstitute,aprograminClaremont,California,thatoffersclassesinbiology,bioinformatics,andbioengineeringsidebysidewithcoursesinmanage-ment,ethics,andbusinesspolicy.Aftertwoyearsthere,duringwhichhedidasummerinternshipatAmylin,Senohiredonatthecompany.Initiallyheworkedhalftimeinthelabbecausehewasn’tcompletelycomfortablemovingintothebusinesssideofthings,butafteraboutsixmonthshewenttohiscurrentpositionfulltime.Hesoonfoundoutthatthingshadchanged.“[AttheIndianaUniversityMedicalCenter],IfeltalittlemorefreetodoanythingIwanted,whereashereyouhavetomakesureyou’regettingthingsdoneandmeetingyourobjectives.It’salmostacompletelydifferentexperience,”hesays.

Seno’sprimaryfocusisresearchingtherapeuticortechnologyareas

32�2 www.sciencecareers.org www.sciencecareers.org

thatAmylinisconsideringinvestingorparticipatingin.Forexam-ple,hewasassignedtolookintoproteomics—tosurveythefield,identifythekeyplayersandpotentialcollaborators,andsurveythetechnologyproviders.Healsoperformsfinancialanalysesforspecificprojects.Onceheidentifiesanopportunity,hisroleistopursuerelationshipswithcompanies,makecontacts,andbegintosetuppotentialdeals.“Myjobas...therookieinthisgroupisre-allytohandlesomeofthesmallerscaleprojects,whereaspeoplewithmorebusinessdevelopmentexperiencewouldhandlebiggerprojects,”hesays.

Cross-disciplinaryprogramslikeKeckwerecreatedbecauseofalackofbusinesstrainingforscientiststhatjointhebiotechindustry,butRonealsoseesaneedforcross-disciplinaryeduca-tion.“Severalpeoplehavementionedtomethattheythinkthepipelineshavedriedupbecausewe’vetakenadvantageoftheeasyhits—the[targets]thatMotherNaturehasinformedusabout.Thereisarealfeelingthatwehavetototallyreinventthingsinor-dertocomeupwith[newclassesofcompounds],andthebestwaytohandlethatistohaveunderstandingbetweenthedisciplines,”shesays.Thatmeansthatmolecularbiologists,cellbiologists,chemists,pharmacologists,andbioinformaticsspecialistsmustbeabletocommunicatewithoneanotherinordertocombinetheirefforts.

Youneedthatkindofcommunicationjusttogetanythingdoneinasmallbiotechcompany,saysDouglasGjerde,CEOofSanJose,California-basedPhyNexus.“Today’ssmallcompanyhastoproduce.Ifirmlybelieveintheabilityoftheindividualtohaveanimpact,buttheindividualneedshelp.Theonlywaythat’sgoingtohappenisiftheyaskforhelpinaveryspecificway.Youhavetoknowenough[aboutanotherdiscipline]toknowhowtoaskaquestion.”

Butdon’tgettoocaughtupintryingtoknowalittlebitofeverything.Specializationisstillveryimportant.Tosucceedinin-dustry,“youhavetoknowatleastone[discipline]extremelywell,andyouhavetoknowthejargonofothers,”Gjerdesays.

Sobeanexpert,butbeageneralist,too.Nooneeversaidthelifeinthebiotechindustrywaseasy.

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWavesec-tion)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2�90/life_in_biotech/

www.sciencecareers.org ��www.sciencecareers.org

MAKINGTHELEAP:When,How,andWhyaCareerinDrugDiscoveryMayBeRightforYoubyMatthewBell

Asayoungscientistconsideringacareerindrugdiscovery,youmayhavemanyquestionsthatneedanswers.Howdoesthepharmaceuti-calindustrywork?Howwouldmycareerprogress?Whatskillsare

companieslookingfor?WouldIdohigh-qualityscience?Isitabetterop-tionthanacademia?Theanswerstosomeofthesequestionsdepend,ofcourse,ontheindividualscientist.Butthegoodnewsisthatthepharma-ceuticalindustryhasmanyopportunitiesforscientistsseekingacareerindrugdiscovery,bothinthelaboratoryandout.

FirstThingsFirst—IsThereanOpportunityforMe?Creatingnewdrugsisarisky,expensive,andtime-consumingbusiness.Atop-10pharmaceuticalcompanywillemployover1,�00scientists,andspendover$1millioneveryday,ondiscoveringnewbiologicaltargetsandcreatingnewtherapeutics(chemicals,proteins,orvaccines)tomoveforwardintoclinicaltesting.Intotalitcantakemorethan10yearstogetanewdrugtomarket,andtheeffortwillinvolvethousandsofpeoplefrommanyscientificdisciplines.

Insuchalargeandcomplexorganization,therearemanydifferentcareeroptionsforyoungscientists.Ifthereisalifesciencesdisciplinebeingpursuedinacademia,therewillbeapharmaceuticalindustryop-portunityinasimilarfield.Nolongerlimitedtobiologyandchemistry,thepharmaceuticalindustryofferslong-termcareersinvariousdisciplinesandsubdisciplines(seeTabulation1).Furthermore,cross-functionalscientistsarebecominganincreasinglyvaluablecommodity.Assystemsbiologybe-ginstotakeholdandbearfruit,therewillbeanincreasingopportunityforscientistswithmultipledegrees:informationtechnologywithbiology,sta-tisticsormathematicswithbioinformatics,pharmacologywithgenomics,andsoforth.Theopportunitiesaremany.

WhereDoIStart,andHowDoesaCareerProgressinIndustry?Youcanmaketheleapintoindustryatanypointinyoursciencecareer.Apromisingyounglifescientistcansecureanentry-leveldrugdiscoveryposi-tion,usuallytermed“associatescientist”or“scientist,”withabachelor’sdegreeinscience.Atthislevelyouareresponsibleforcompletingbasicexperimentsandwillbeamemberofoneormorecross-functionalprojectteamsthatfocusondiscoveringandprogressingnewmedicines.Theseteamswillhaverepresentativesfrommanyscientificdisciplines:chemistry,biology,andothers.WithaPh.D.orpostdoctoralexperience,youcanex-pectgreaterseniorityandcontroloveryourownactivities,andyoualsocanexpecttobeleadingtheseprojectteamssoon.Beingteamleaderofadis-coveryprojectisakintobeingtheseniorpostdocinanacademiclab,con-trollingthekeystaffandactivitiesassociatedwithagivenlineofresearch.

34�� www.sciencecareers.org www.sciencecareers.org

Themostsuccessfulteamleaderscan,intime,moveintobroadermanagementpositions,gainingprogressivelygreaterresponsibilityintermsofstaffsize,budget,andabilitytoimpactstrategyanddirection.Thesepeoplefocusonmanagingotherscientists(usuallyofthesamediscipline)andeventuallyattainthetitleofdirectorinmostcompanies;jobtitlesareremarkablyconsistentbetweenbigcompanies.Formany,thisisthepinnacleofasuccessfulcareerindrugdiscovery,butthemostsuccessfulandambitiousdirectorswillusuallygetpromotedtoheadupen-tiredepartments,oftenwithupwardsof100people.Departmentheadscanexpectatitleofvicepresident;theyareakintotheveryhigh-profile,largegroup,successfulprincipalinvestigators(PIs)inacademia.IntheorganizationIworkforthereareabout1�vicepresidents(seniorleaders),andabout�0directors(middleman-agers)inadiscoveryorganizationof1,�00staff.

Tabulation1.CommonDrugDiscoveryDisciplines

BiologyAssaydevelopmentCellularbiologyElectrophysiologyGenomicsandmolecularbiologyMedicine(Behavioral)pharmacologyPhysiologyProteinbiochemistry,expression,andsynthesisProteinengineeringandbiopharmaceuticalsProteomicsStructuralbiologyandcrystallographyVeterinarianservices

ChemistryAnalyticalchemistryMedicinalandsyntheticchemistryRationaldesignComputationalchemistryInsilicoanddenovodesignHighthroughputscreening

RelatedSciencesEngineeringMathematicsStatisticsBio-andchemi-informaticsIT,hardware,andsoftwaredesign

Manyscientistsdon’tlikethedailygrindofgrantwritingandadministrationthatcomeswithasuccessfulcareerasaPIinacademia.Similarly,manyscientistsinindustryhavenointerestinaprogressionintomanagement.Thesescientistsprefertostayclosetothescienceandawayfromthedetailsofmanagement,politics,andcompanybureaucracy.Thankfullymostpharmaceuti-calcompaniesrecognizethisandworkespeciallyhardtoretaintheirbestscientists,usuallybyofferinganattractivenonmanage-mentcareerladder.Inmanyorganizationsthesebright,dynamic,andinnovativescientistscanexpecttobecomedistinguishedre-

Thegood

newsisthat

drugdiscov-

eryisunique

inoffering

multipleca-

reeroptions

thatletyou

stayclose

toscience

withoutthe

dailygrind

oflaboratory

life.


searchfellows,onparwiththemostseniorleadersoftheorganizationbutwithoutday-to-daymanagementdutiesandwiththetimeandauthoritytofocusondevelopinginnovativenewideas,newtechnologies,andnewsci-ence.Itwouldbelikebeingavisitingprofessoreveryday.

Tabulation2.TheFiveMythsofWorkingforIndustry

1.Youdon’tgettopublishNottrue.Mostpharmaceuticalcompaniesstronglyencouragepublicationofscientificworkandoftenlinkbonuspaymentstohighpublicationlevels.

2.Youdon’tgettogotoconferencesNottrue.Pharmaceuticalcompaniesgenerallyencouragescientistsfromalllevelstoattendkeyconferencesasbothdelegatesandpresenters.

3.YoujustscreenormakecompoundsalldayNottrue.Adrugdiscoveryoperationismadeofmanydifferentdisciplinesandinvolvesmanyactivitiesincludingalotofbasicresearch.

4.YouarenotfreetofollowyourowninterestsortobeinnovativeNottrueonbothcounts.Innovationandcreativityarestronglyencouragedandscientistsspendsignificanttimeexploringnewhypothesesandapproaches.

5.ThescienceisnotasgoodasinacademiaNottrue.Pharmaceuticalcompaniesclaimmanyhigh-profilepublications,pat-ents,andgroundbreakingconceptseveryyear.

WhyDoScientistsChooseIndustry?Themajorityofdrugdiscoveryscientistsaremotivatedbythechancetodiscoveranewmedicine.ImaginebeingthefirstchemisttosynthesizeanimportantnewtreatmentforAlzheimer’sdisease.Imaginebeingthefirstbiologisttochampionanewtherapeuticapproachforthetreatmentofcancer,andseeitwork.Thedesireandopportunitytodogoodsciencemotivatesindustryscientists,justliketheiracademiccolleagues.Inaddi-tion,thepharmaceuticalindustryoffersasubstantiallyhighersalary(oftendoubletheacademiclevel),betterworkingconditions,plentifulequipment,andasuperiorworkenvironment.

Thatsaid,industryisn’tforeveryone.Somescientistsdetesttheideaofbeingaccountabletoabudget,ofhavingtobepartofacompanyculture,orfollowingcompanystrategy.Somescientistswillalwayspre-fertowritegrantsandcarveouttheirownniche,whichworksbestinacademia—notwithinalargecompany.Butwhenyouaredecidingwhetherindustryoracademeisbestforyou,don’tbaseyourdecisiononthemythsthatcirculateinacademiccircles(seeTabulation2).Mostareuntruemuchofthetime;othersarewrongallofthetime.

LoveScience,HatetheLabManyscientistswanttostayinthescienceworld,butdon’tliketheideaofalab-basedcareer.Thegoodnewsisthatdrugdiscoveryisuniqueinofferingmultiplecareeroptionsthatletyoustayclosetosciencewithout


thedailygrindoflaboratorylife.Aplatforminbasicsciencecanbethesteppingstonetocareersinpharmaceuticalpatentlaw,businessplanningandstrategy,projectmanagement,operationsmanagement,publishing,media,communicationsandpromotionalactivities,managementconsulting,competitiveresearch,regula-torysupport,andbusinessdevelopment(settingupallianceswithbiotechnologypartners).Thesefunctionsareallcriticaltodrugdiscovery,areintellectuallystimulating,andgiveagreatopportu-nitytostaywithinsciencewhileleavingthelabbehind.

WhatNext?Drugcompaniesarealwayskeentoattractandrecruitthebestscientists.Theyarelookingforasoliduniversitytrackrecord,goodpublications,andevidenceofgoodcommunication,team,andleadershipskills.Ifyoudesireacareerinthepharmaceuticalsindustry,thinkofyourselfasavaluablecommodityandnetworkrelentlessly.AnnualreportsandWebsitesaregreatplacestostartlookingforinformation.Medlineisagoodresourcetoidentifyre-searchers’namesandscientificfieldsofinterest.

Conferencesareagreatwaytointroduceyourselftocompa-nies.Don’tlimityourselftotheaccompanyingcareerfairs.Visitpostersandattendtalkspresentedbydrugcompaniesandmakeapointofexpressinginterestinwhattheydoandaskingaboutpo-tentialjobopenings.TakealongCVsandpublicationreprints.Takeadvantageofyourpersonalconnections;networkviacolleaguesandfriends.Attheveryleast,getyourresumeouttothehumanresourcesdirectorsatpharmaceuticalorbiotechnologycompaniesthatinterestyou.Seeifinternshipprogramsareavailable.Remem-ber:Themorecontactsyoumake,thegreaterthechanceofhittinguponacompanythatworksinatechnologyorresearchareathatyouareinterestedin,andthegreaterthechancethatoneofthosecompanieswillbeinterestedinyou.

Thereisnowaytotellforsurethatacareerinindustryisrightforyou,butithasonepieceofcompellingdatainitsfavor;scientistswhomovefromacademiaintoindustryrarelymovebackagain.

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/29�0/making_the_leap_when_how_and_why_a_career_in_drug_discovery_may_be_right_for_you/

Confer-

encesare

agreat

wayto

introduce

yourselfto

companies.

36��


GUERRILLAMARKETINGYOURSELFbyDaveJensen

Ihavealibraryfullofbusinessbooksonmarketing.It’soneofmyfavoritesubjects.Asabusinessowner,I’vehadtostrategizethesuccessfulmar-ketingofmycompany’sservicesformanyyears.AlthoughI’veneverhad

formaltraininginmarketing,IcantracemyloveforthissciencebacktoabookthatIfirstreadin198�:Guerrilla MarketingbyJayConradLevinson.

Fourteenmillioncopiesofthisbookanditssequelshavebeensoldintheyearssinceitspublication,andLevinson’sterm“guerrillamarketing”hasbecomepartofourpopularlanguage.Butitwasn’tuntil200�thatLevinsonappliedhismarketingconceptstojob-huntinginhislatestbook,Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters,co-writtenwithexecutiverecruiterDavidE.PerryandpublishedbyWiley.

Inthismonth’scolumn,I’lltakethebestofLevinsonandPerry’scon-ceptsfromthisexcellentbookandadaptthemtotheworldofthesciences.Someadaptationisrequiredbecause,despiteitsgreatvalue,thebooksuffersfromthesameproblemasmostgenericjob-seekingadvice:Noteverycareertipyou’drecommendtoawidgetsalespersonmakessenseforascientist.

��

�.Networking

www.sciencecareers.org�8 www.sciencecareers.org

MarketingYourselfontheCheapIreadaninterviewwithLevinsonmanyyearsagoinwhichhewasaskedwhyhisinnovativemarketingapproachwastargetedonlytosmallbusinesses.TheauthorrespondedwithatermthatIre-membertothisday.Hewritesforfirms,hesaid,that“sufferfromresourcepoverty,”sohisguerrillamarketingmethodsarecheap.That’swhatIlikeaboutthisapproach.Postdocsandgradstudentssufferfromresourcepovertyaswell.

OneofthemajorconceptsintheGuerrillaseriesisthatyouneedtoavoiddoingwhateveryoneelseisdoing.Thousandsofscientists—yourcompetitors—readthelocalnewspaperadseverySundayandscanthebacksectionsofjournals.Theirjob-searchtimeisconsumedbyfillingoutInternetformsandmailinglettersthatstartwiththatpolite,oldaddress,“DearSirorMadam.”

Makenomistake:LevinsonandPerrydon’tbelievethatyouneedtowalkawayfromalltheusualelementsofthejobsearch,suchaswritingapplicationsandsendingCVs.Butifyouwanttocatchthereallybigfish,theyargue,youneedtoplayinasmallerpond.

MovingtotheSmallerPondOneofthefirstthingsthattheseauthorsrecommendistosetupwhattheycall“thewarroom,”aplacewhereyoucanbeshelteredfromalldistraction.Thisisyourprivatespace,whereyougospe-cificallyforjob-seekingefforts.Thisdistraction-freezone—whichneedstohaveadesk,achair,acomputer,andatelephone—willhelpyoufocus,evenifitisjustthecornerofanapartment.Thinkofitasaradioannouncer’scubicle,withan“OntheAir”signonthedoor(evenifittherereallyisn’tadoor).

Itiscriticalthatyoudonottrytorunaprojectlikea

jobsearchfromthatsmalldeskacrossfromyourlab

bench.Toomanydistractions.

Onceyou’veestablishedyourwarroom,turnyoursightstowhatthecrowdisn’tdoing.I’vewrittenaboutnetworkingmanytimesinthismonthlycolumn,sowewon’tgodeeplyintothesub-jectthismonth;moreinformationonnetworkingcanbefoundinasearchofthe“ToolingUp”archive.1Butit’shardtotalkaboutguerrillamarketingwithouttouchingonnetworkingbecausemostpeopledon’tliketonetwork,sotheyneglectit.Guerrillamarket-ersrecognizethatifotherpeopleareneglectingit,thatmakesitafine,smallpondtoplayin!

Thewarroomiswhereyougotomakee-mailandphonecontactwithanever-broadeninglistofnetworkingcontacts.It’salsotheplacetoplanyourownpublicrelations(PR)campaign.

“Personal

brandingis

notabout

presentinga

falseimage.

Itisabout

understand-

ingwhatis

uniqueabout

you—your

accomplish-

ments,expe-

rience,at-

titude—and

thenusing

thattodif-

ferentiate

yourselffrom

otherjob

hunters.Your

brandisyour

edgeinthejob

market.”

—Levinsonand

Perry


PRhasgottenabadrapinthelastcoupleofdecades.Wehearabout“spindoctors”whorepresenttheoilysideofPR,puttingapositive,dishonestglossoneventhemostnegativestoriesandsituations.Butthat’sjustonesmallsideofPR;PRcanalsomeanputtingacrossapositivemessagethathappenstobetrue.Inajobsearch,PRisimportantbecausegettingyournameoutthereishalfthebattle.PRisreallyabouttryingtoputyourselfintherightplaceattherighttimebymeansofapublicitycampaignandsomecreativeprowess.I’dcallit“networkingonsteroids.”

HereAreThreeWaystoGoAboutGettingYourNameandCapabilitiesinFrontofOthers.(1)Anyonecanhaveabusinesscard,notjustthosewhohave“real”jobs.Inindustry,exchangingcardsismuchmorecommonthanhandingoveraCVorrésumé.Yourcardshouldhavethelogoofyouruni-versityorinstitutionandpossiblyevenafewcommentsaboutyourareaofexpertiseonthereverseside.HaveyoueverseenbusinesscardsfromemployeesofAppleComputer?Someofthemread“SoftwareWizard,”or“BusinessDevelopmentGuru”inplaceofastuffytitle.

Withalittlehumor,youcansometimesgetacrossashortwho-

am-Istatementwithmorepunchthanathree-minuteverbal

introduction.

(2)Participateinlocalmeetingsofassociationsandtradegroupsinyourfieldofinterest.Getontheircommitteesandvolunteerforjobsthatnooneelsewantstodo.You’llgainareputationasapersontocounton,anditwillbenefityouwithincreasedvisibility.Italwayssurprisesmehowasavvypostdoccanfindaspotonacommitteefilledwith“insiders,”thosefewpeopleeveryassociationmusthavetosucceed.Evendesirablecom-mitteessuchasthe“socialcommittee”havejobsthatnoonereadilyvolun-teersfor(cleanupafterevents,keepthee-maildatabase,etc.).Nomatterwhatyourroleis,youwillhavegottenyourfootinthedoorandachancetoworkwiththeseinsiders.

(�)Write(andpublish)anarticleonatopicthathasnothingtodowithyourproject.Getyournameouttherebywritingaboutcareerissuesforasitelikethisone,orwriteforyourlocalpaperonwhatitisliketobeasci-entistintoday’sjobmarket.Youwouldbesurprisedwhatcancomebacktoyouintheformofjobleadsfromjustgettingexposure—anyexposure.(Al-thoughformoviestarsit’ssometimessaidthatevenbadpublicityisgood,inthecaseofajobseeker,yourcreativeguerillamarketingapproacheshavetobecredibleandreflectwellontherealyou.)

ACompanyCalled“Me,Inc.”AccordingtotheauthorsofGuerrilla Marketing for Job-Hunters,manytechnicalprofessionals,scientists,andengineershavedifficultyseeingthemselvesasanythingmorethanacommodity.Ifyouthinkofyourselfas“a”Ph.D.biochemistwithabackgroundinenzymekinetics,say,youarea


commodityforsaleinacrowdedmarket.Gettingpaidtopdollarisverydifficultwhenyouaresomethingthattheemployercanfindanywhere.

Youneedtopresentyourselftotheworldasmuchmorethanalistoflabtechniques.ThisinvolveswhatmarketingpeoplesuchasLevinsoncall“branding.”Thebestwaytothinkaboutbrandingistoimagineyourselfasacompanyofferingavarietyofservices.(Seemyearlierarticle,“TheConceptofMe,Inc.”2)

Reference:JayConradLevinsonwithDavidE.Perry,Guerrilla Mar-keting for Job-Hunters(Wiley,200�).ISBN0-��1-�1�8�-�.

“Personalbrandingisnotaboutpresentingafalseimage,”LevinsonandPerrysay.“Itisaboutunderstandingwhatisuniqueaboutyou—youraccomplishments,experience,attitude—andthenusingthattodifferentiateyourselffromotherjobhunters.Yourbrandisyouredgeinthejobmarket.”

What’sthebestbrandforayoungscientistorengineer?Cer-tainly,youwanttohaveabrandthatspeaksspecificallytoyourareaoftechnicalexpertise,butitiscriticaltoaddapersonalspintowhatyoubringtothetable.Icantellyoufromexperiencethatonestrongbonustoaddtothemarketingfocusofanyhighlycom-petentscientististobecomeknownasaproblem solver.

MovingfromaCommoditytoaBrandThinkaboutyourskillsandabilitiesusingtheChallenge-Ap-proach-Resultsformat.Withpaperandpencil,sketchoutallthemajorproblemsyou’vesolvedinyourtimeinthelab,startingwiththemostcurrentandworkingbackward—thesearethechallenges—onapagethathasthreeverticalcolumns.Thecentercolumn,Approach,getsyouthinkingaboutthespecificactionthatyoutooktosolvetheproblemhighlightedonitsleft.Finally,intherightcolumn,listtheresult.Writesuccinctly,withjustacoupleofsentencesineachsection.

Nowsitbackandlookatthisdocument.Youwillbeim-pressedbyyourproblem-solvingability.Doyouthinkthataper-sonwhohasdevelopedtheircritical-thinkinganddeductive-rea-soningskillsinthiswayisonlyofvaluetopeoplewhoputthemtoworkinthelab?Noway!Asaprofessionalproblemsolver,anentirelynewworldwillopenuptoyouinthejob-seekingprocess.

AftermanyyearsofreadingtheGuerrilla Marketingseriesofbooks,Icantellyouthatmovingfromcommoditytobrandissomethingthatcanincreaseyourshort-termandlifetimeincomebyasignificantpercentage.Iknow,becauseguerillamarketingworkedforme.Withoutplacingasingleadvertisement,mysmallcompanybeguninmygaragebecameanentitywitharecognizednamethat,10yearslater,attractedtheinterestofa$�billioncompany.Thinkingbackuponthereasonsforthis,IcancometonootherconclusionthanthatJayConradLevinson’smethodsworkwell.


ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/ar-ticles/200�_0�_21/tooling_up_guerilla_marketing_yourself/

1. ToolingUpArchive:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0000/tooling_up_index

2. TheConceptofMe,Inc.:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/01�0/the_concept_of_me_inc

HOWTOGETAGOODCONNECTION

byDavidBomzer

Surveysindicatethat�0%to��%ofpeoplefoundtheirlastjobthroughnetworking.Youcannetworkseveralways,includingnet-workingbyphone,givingapresentation,ornetworkingface-to-face.

Thisarticlewillfocusonthreetypesofface-to-facenetworking:onetoone,onetomany(e.g.,inameeting),andmanytomany(e.g.,ataconference).

Therearemanyop-portunitiesforface-to-facenetworking,includ-ingprofessionalasso-ciationmeetings,socialgatherings,andjobfairs.Themechanics,tips,andtoolsinthisarticleareapplicabletoallthreetypesandtothedifferentsituations.Youmustde-cidewhichtypesandplacesworkbestforyourface-to-facenetworking.

Butfirst,hereisashortquizaboutnetworking.

WhyNetwork?A)TomeetpeopleB)TogetajobC)TomakemoneyD)NextWavetoldyouto

Whynetworkamongstrangers?A)Totellpeopleyou’relookingforajobB)TobuildrelationshipsC)TogetcallswhenjobopeningsandopportunitiesoccurD)NextWavesaiditwouldbegoodforyou

Whennetworkingyoushould...A)TalkaboutyourselfB)TalkaboutyouridealjobC)AskquestionsandbuildrapportD)TalkaboutNextWave

Effectivenetworkingrequirescreatingadialogue.


Ifyouanswered,respectively,A,B,andC,thenyouareonyourwaytosuccess.You’llalsorecognizethatit’spossibletobreakeffectiveface-to-facenetworkingdownintothreecompo-nentparts:MeetingthePerson(s),EstablishingRapport,andCom-municatingEffectively.

MeetthePersonFace-to-facenetworkingbeginswithattitudeandbodylanguage.Youmayrecalllearningthatdogssensefear;wellthey—likepeo-ple—canalsopickuponaperson’sattitude.Ausefulattitudeisanimportantaspectofnetworking.Usefulattitudesincludebeingwarm,enthusiastic,relaxed,curious,helpful,patient,andinter-ested.

Insider’sTool#1:FindingaPositiveAttitude.Trythistechniquetogetapositiveattitudebeforeaface-to-facenetworkingsituation.Findaquietspot,closeyoureyes,andpictureatimeyouhadapositivemoment.Recallthesights,sounds,andphysicalsensa-tions.Intensifythesensations.Attheheightofthesensations,squeezetogetherthethumbandforefingerofyourwritinghand,thenrelaxthem.Practicethisseveraltimes.Whenthatface-to-facenetworkingsituationarises,squeezeyourthumbandforefin-gerasatriggertorecalltheattitude.

Justasitdoeswithotheranimals,humanbodylanguagealsosendsamessage.Bodylanguagecancreateapositiveornega-tivepresence—thedegreetowhichindividualsattractattentionandhowtheyrepresentthemselves.Therearefourelementstopositivebodylanguagethatconveysapositivepresence:standingwithpalmsopen,makingeyecontact,givingawelcomingsmile,andofferingapleasantgreeting.

Insider’sTool#2:MakingPositiveEyeContact.Todetermineifyoumakepositiveeyecontact,thinkofaface-to-faceconversa-tionyouhadtodayandtrytorecalltheotherperson’seyecolor.Practicethisobservationinseveralsettingsuntilitfeelsnatural.Thissimpleexercisecanhelpyoustarttofocusonmakingmoregenuineeyecontactwheninconversations.

Awelcomingsmileoffersasimplebuteffectivemessage.AtarecenttrainingsessionIconducted,fewerthanhalfofthepartici-pantswereabletoidentifytheirownwelcomingsmile.

Insider’sTool#3:PracticeYourBestSmilesandGreetings.Askfriendstotellyouwhichofyoursmilesaremostgenuineandmakethemfeelwelcomed.Practicethosesmilesinamirror.Makethemaconsciouspartofyourbodylanguageforface-to-facenet-working.

Apositivegreetingincorporatesfriendlygestures,eyecon-tact,andasmile.Thegreetingshouldalsobeinapleasanttoneandusetheotherperson’sname.Useofaperson’snamecommu-nicatesamessageoffamiliarity.Also,repeatingaperson’sname

Tode-

termine

ifyoumake

positiveeye

contact,think

ofaface-to-

face

conversation

youhad

todayand

trytorecall

theother

person’seye

color.Practice

this

observation

inseveral

settingsuntil

itfeels

natural.This

simpleexercise

canhelpyou

starttofocus

onmaking

moregenuine

eyecontact

whenin

conversations.


afterbeingintroducedimmediatelyacknowledgesthatyouarelistening.

EstablishRapportThesebasictoolswillhelpyoubecomereadytostartmeetingpeople.Onceyou’vemetsomeone,though,youwillalsowanttocreateapositivecon-nectionwiththatperson—toestablishapersonalrapport.Onetechniquetobuildrapportisusingsynchronizingskills,adjustingyourphysicalandvocaltoolstobeintunewiththeotherperson.Synchronizingyourphysicalattributescanincludealigninggestures,bodyposture,bodymovements,facialexpressions,andevenbreathing.Youcanalsosynchronizevocalat-tributesincludingtone,volume,speed,pitch,rhythm,andverbalfluency.Verbalfluencyisusingwordsthattheotherpersonprefers.Itisanalogoustotryingtospeaktosomeoneusingtheirnativelanguage.Aswithspeak-ingaforeignlanguage,usepreferredwordsonlytothedegreethatyouarefamiliarwiththeirproperuse.

Insider’sTool#4:PracticeSynchronizedConversations.Focusonsynchro-nizingwhenhavingaconversationwithapartner.Afteroneminute,stopandreverserolesandthendiscusswhatyoueachobserved.Wasthesyn-chronizingsubtleorwasitobviousmirroring?Provideeachotherconstruc-tivefeedback.Itmayhelptohaveathirdpersonasanobservertoprovidefeedback.

Itisimportantwhensynchronizingtomakesurethewords,tones,gestures,andbodylanguageareallcongruent,i.e.,sendthesamemes-sage.

Insider’stip:Tobuildrapport,observetheperson(s)priorto

approachingherorhimtonetwork.Thisallowsyoutoidentify

physicalandvocalstyles.

EffectiveCommunicationEffectivenetworkingrequirescreatingadialogue.Youcanaccomplishthisthroughexchanginginformationandfindingwaystoassistoneanother.Thefirstruleofeffectivecommunicatingisask,don’ttell.Useopen-endedquestions—thosethatbeginwithwho,what,when,why,where,orhow.

Anothereffectivetechniqueisprovidingdetailsfromwhichthelis-tenercaneasilyextractinformationandthenrespond.Onewaytodothisisbyaddinganinformationtagtoyourgreeting,forexample,“Hi,I’mDavidandIamascientist.”Thisexpandsyourgreetingandprovidesanopportu-nityforthelistenertorespond.Oftentheywilleithermimicyourresponseortheymayrespondwithaquestion,suchas,“Whattypeofscientist?”Iftheyrespondwithanopenquestion,adialoguecanbegin.Iftheymimicyourgreeting,thenyouneedtouseanopen-endedquestiontogetthepersontalking.

Insider’sTool#5:PracticeUsingOpen-EndedQuestions.Withapartner,practiceusingopen-endedquestionsbyhavingonepersonstartbyasking

www.sciencecareers.org�� www.sciencecareers.org

anopenquestiontowhichtheotherpersonmustrespondwithanopenquestion.Gobackandforthforaminute.Thelistenershouldnotifythespeakeriftheydonotuseanopen-endedques-tion.

Insider’sTool#6:BecomeanActiveListener.Activelisteningisgivingthespeakerfeedbackthatacknowledgesyouheardandunderstoodwhattheyhavesaid.Thisisdifferentfrompara-phrasing.Inparaphrasing,youarerestatingwhatthespeakerindicated.Inactivelisteningyouareextractinginformationfromwhattheysaidandrespondingwithnewinformationthatrelatestoit.Asimpleexamplewouldbe:PersonAsays,“Thejobmarketisverycompetitive.”PersonBresponds,“Yes,jobsIhaveappliedforhavereceivedresumesfrommanyqualifiedpeople.”Peopleliketoknowthattheyarebeinglistenedto.Thisisawaytoshowyouarelisteningandparticipatinginthediscussion.

PuttingItAllTogetherBypracticingusefulattitude,openbodylanguage,synchronizing,andactivelistening,youcanmasterthethreeimportanttoolstosuccessfulface-to-facenetworking.Thisarticleprovidedyouablueprintandtoolstohelphoneyournetworkingtechniques.However,itisuptoyoutoapplythesetogaintheinsider’sedgeonface-to-facenetworking.

ThisarticleappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1��0/networking_how_to_get_a_good_connection/

��


WOMENANDMINORITIES:NEGOTIATINGSALARIES

byLeeKassandKathleenGale

Theobjectiveofthisarticleistoheightenawarenessforwomenandminoritiesabouttheeffectofstartingsalaryoncareerearn-ingsandthematerialsavailableforassessingyourpotential

employer.Thebottomlineisthatalowstartingsalarywillhauntyouthroughoutyouracademiccareer.Ingeneral,thesalariesofwomenaresignificantlylowerthantheirmalecounterpartsinacademia,asmostrecentlyreportedbytheAmericanAssociationofUniversityProfessors(AAUP)inits2002AnnualReportontheEconomicStatusoftheProfession1—althoughthediscrepancieshaveexistedforatleast�0years.Oneexplanationisthatmaleandfemalecandidateshavedifferentbehaviorsandexpectationsinthejobapplicationandinterviewprocess.Theremayalsobesystemicsexisminacademia(Rossiter1982,199�).Similarly,minoritypersonsmayalsointerviewdifferentlythanthoseinthemajority,andtheymayfacecovertinstitu-

��

�.FemaleandMinority ExperiencesinScience

�� www.sciencecareers.org www.sciencecareers.org

tionalracism.Inhopesthatitmayhelpcounteractprevailingtrendsandbehaviors,weofferourownexperiencesandadvicetopeopleinterviewingforthefirsttime.

Theinterviewsandsalarynegotiationsthatwedescribetookplaceatasmallliberalartscollegeintheearly1980s.Oneofusalreadyhadajobandfeltsecureinnegotiatinganewcontract,whereastheotherwasdelightedsimplytobeinterviewedanddidnotconsidernegotiating.Thisjobwouldprovideasecondaryin-come,sosalarywaslesscritical.Neitherofusconsideredthatthefuturemightrequireourfinancialindependence,whichitultimatelydid.Bothofourstartingsalarieswerelow,butaminimalnegotia-tionsignificantlyraisedtheinitialsalaryforoneofus.

Tenyearslater,byexaminingthepatternofsalariesbygenderatourinstitutionandbylookingatthedatapublishedinAcademe,2

thejournaloftheAAUP,werealizedtheconsequencesofourfail-uretoadequatelybargainfairandcomparablestartingsalaries.Notonlywereoursalariesunfairlylow,butsowerethoseofotherwomeninourinstitution.Byexaminingnationalaveragesatalllev-elsofcollegesanduniversities,welearnedthatthiswasanationalpattern.Ifaclassofpeoplestartswithalowbase-ratesalary,evenhighpercentageraiseswillnotallowthemtocatchupwithpeersinothergroups.

Inviewofourexperience,weofferthefollowingadvicetoyoungwomenandminoritieswhoareapplyingandinterviewingforacademicjobs:» ConsultAcademefortheaveragesalariesoftheinstitutionin

question.» Knowyourworthinyourfield.» Askyourintervieweraboutthesalaryrangefortheposition

thatyouhopetobeoffered.» Discoverotheraspectsoftheinstitution.» Beforegoingtothecampus,talktootherfaculty,graduatestu-

dents,andundergraduatesaboutthetreatmentandfeelingsofminoritiesoncampus.

» Includethesalaryyouexpectinyourcoverletter.» Beawarethatyoumaygetastockreactionfromadiscrimina-

toryinstitution,inthattheywillnotmeetyourfairsalaryre-quest.

WefoundAAUP’spublicationsmostvaluableforascertainingaveragesalariesinuniversitiesandcolleges.Thissourceisespe-ciallyvaluablefordataonprivateinstitutionsbecausedetailsoftheirsalariesarenotgenerallyavailable.Toourknowledge,sincetheearly19�0s,theMarch/Aprilissues�ofAAUPpublicationshavereportedontheeconomicstatusoftheprofessions.Forexample,inTable�ofthe2002report,�youwillfindevidenceofapparentsalarydiscriminationbasedonsexintheaggregatedataforallcollegesanduniversitieslisted.

Tofindanapproximationofyourworth,examinethesalaryrangespublishedinthejobadvertisementsinyourfieldinthe

Ifnoout-

standing

minority

orfemale

studentsare

identifiedat

theinstitu-

tion,this

couldbean

indicationof

thedepart-

mentaland

institutional

climatere-

gardingun-

derrepresent-

edminority

populations.


Chronicle of Higher Education5andinyourprofessionaljournals.Thiswillgiveyouanideaofwhatisbeingofferedinthemarket.Youmayalsotalkwithgraduatestudentorpostdoctoralcolleaguesabouttheirinterviewingexperiencestolearnwhetherthesalaryyouhavebeenofferediscommen-suratewithwhattheyhavereceived.

Wesuggestyouavoidapplyingtoorinterviewingatinstitutionsthathavebeensanctionedorthathaveadministrationsthathavebeencen-suredbytheAAUP.SuchorganizationsarelistedonAAUP’sWebsites.TheAAUPcommitteeongovernanceinvestigatesseriousinfringementofgovernancestandardsrecognizedbytheassociation.Ifaninstitutionfailstomeetthesestandards,AAUPmaysanctionthatinstitutiontoforcecompliancewithitsguidelinesassetforthinitsStatementonGovernmentofCollegeandUniversitiesandderivativegovernancedocuments.ThreeinstitutionsarecurrentlyontheAAUPsanctionedlist,onefirstcitedalmost10yearsago.�TheAAUPCommitteeonAcademicFreedomandTenurecensuresadministrationsthatarenotobservingthegenerallyrecognizedprinciplesofacademicfreedomandtenureendorsedbytheassociationinits19�0StatementofPrinciplesonAcademicFreedomandTenure.�Asur-prisinglylargenumberofadministrations—��atthiswriting—arecurrentlyundercensurebecauseofinfringementorviolationoffacultyfreedomtoteach,conductresearch,orpublish.Youmaywanttorefrainfromacceptinganappointmentwithacensuredadministration.

Locatethedepartmenttowhichyouareapplying,reviewthenamesoffacultylistedinthatdepartment,andnotethediversityofitsfacultymembers.Contactafewofthembye-mailorbyphoneanddiscusstheirattitudestowardwomenandminorities.Askforthenamesoftheirbestgraduate,undergraduate,andminoritystudentsandcontactthosestu-dents.Iftheyfailtomentionoutstandingminorityorfemalestudents,thiscouldbeanindicationofthedepartmentalandinstitutionalclimateregard-ingunderrepresentedpopulations.

Ourexperienceonsearchcommitteeshastaughtusthatitisusuallyeffectivetoaskforthesalaryyouexpect.Weobservedthatwhitemalesaremoreassertiveinthisregardthanarewomenorminorities.However,ifyouarequalifiedforthejobandhaveaskedforasalarythatisreasonableintermsofthedatayoucollected,butyoudon’tgetanintervieworreceiveajoboffer,youmaybeexperiencinginstitutionaldiscrimination.Weknowofaninterviewatwhichawell-qualifiedwomanaskedforasalaryatthetopoftherange.Herrequestwasunequivocallydeniedandherinterviewwasimmediatelyterminated.However,themanwhowaseventuallyhiredforthatpositionwaslessqualifiedbutwasgiventheuppermostsalary.YoumaywishtonotifyAAUPinwritingifyoubelieveyouhavebeenunfairlytreatedduringyourinterviewprocess.Suchdocumentationisvaluableif

Todeterminetheenvironmentforwomenandminoritiesonthe

campusinquestion,firstfindtheuniversity’sorcollege’sWeb

siteorgetacopyofitsbulletin.

�8 www.sciencecareers.org www.sciencecareers.org

theAAUPinvestigatesthatinstitution.Weinviteyoutouseourchecklistwhenyouapplyandinter-

viewforjobs.Weurgeyoutodocumentanddiscussyourexperi-enceswithyourcolleagues.Youcaninfluencetheoutcomeofyourinterviewbybeingwellprepared,assertive,confident,andknowl-edgeable.However,onlyexcellentdocumentationandcollectiveactioncanidentifyinstitutionalracismandsexism.Wewishyousuccessfulnegotiating.ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/19�0/women_and_minorities_negotiating_salaries/

1. 2002AnnualReportontheEconomicStatusoftheProfession:http://www.aaup.org

2. Academe:http://www.aaup.org/publications/Academe/index.htm

�. March/AprilissuesAcademe:http://aaup.org/publications/academe/2006/06ma/06matoc.htm

�. 2002 AnnualReport:http://www.aaup.org/surveys�. Chronicle of Higher Education:http://www.chronicle.com�. 10yearsago:http://www.aaup.org/governance�. StatementofPrinciplesonAcademicFreedomandTenure:

http://www.aaup.org/Com-a/Censure.htm

THETOPFIVECHALLENGESFORPREGNANTSCIENTISTSbyLynnDicks

Pregnancychangesyourlife.Whenyoubecomepregnant,youbecomeadifferententityinemploymentlawandintheeyesofthoseyouworkwith.Yourresearchcanbeaffected

inmanyways,manyofthemunforeseeable.Here’saguidetohandlingthenewchallenges.

Challenge1:KnowYourRightsThemostimportantthingforscientistsstartingafamilyistounderstandtherightsofEuropeanmothersintheworkplace.The1992EuropeanDirectiveonpregnantworkersandnewmothers,1whichhassincebecomelawineverymemberstate,giveswomenemployeesanumberofimportantrights.

Youremployerisobligedtocarryoutariskassessment2onyourworkonceyouhavegivennoticeofyourpregnancy.Inmostcountries,youhavetodothisinwriting.Itisagoodideatonotifyyouremployerassoonaspossible,becausesomerisksarehigher

“Inpractice,

onlyalimited

numberof

chemicals

havebeen

properly

testedfor

reproductive

toxicity,so

manyhazards

arenotknown

about,”says

toxicologist

andU.K.

government

adviserPaul

Illing.


earlyinpregnancy.Anyrisksidentifiedbytheriskassessmentshouldbeavoided.Ifitisnotpossibletoavoidthem,youareentitledtopaidleavefortheperiodofthepregnancy.

Thedirectivedemandsaminimumof1�weekspaidmaternityleave.Itprotectsyoufrombeingdismissedbecauseofpregnancyandentitlesyoutotimeoffforantenatalchecks.Italsocoverswomenwhoarestillbreastfeedingwhentheyreturntowork.Breastfeedingmothersareprotectedfromchemicalandbiologicalhazardsinthesamewayaspregnantmothers,andemployersarerequiredtoprovideaprivate,comfortablespacesuitableforbreastfeedingorbreast-milkextraction(notatoilet).

Ifyou’reastudent,Ph.D.orotherwise,thislawdoesnotprotectyou.Still,mostfundingbodieswillpayaperiodofmaternityleaveforpostgraduatestudents,andinstitutionsandcompanieswhosepremisestheyworkonwilltreatthemasmembersofstaffintermsofhealthandsafety.Butwhetherstudentsareentitledtopaidextendedleaveduetoapregnancy-relatedriskisstillagreyareainmostinstitutions.It’sworthfindingoutfromyoursupervisororinstitutewhereyoustandbeforethesituationarises.

Challenge2:YourAbilitytoDoYourJobSomepartsofyourjobmaybecomeuncomfortableorimpossiblewhenyouarepregnant.Manualliftingisdangerous,becauseyourligamentsaresoftened.Lonefieldworkisnotadvisable,andactivitiesthatputyourbodyunderstress,suchasdivingorclimbing,areout.Longhoursandworkinginhotconditionsshouldbeavoided.Sittingonuncomfortablelabstoolsorstandingforlongperiodsarenotonlydifficultbutincreasetheriskoflowbirthweightorpretermdelivery.Inearlypregnancy,thesmellofchemicalsyouareworkingwithmaymakeyouvomit.Theseareallrecognisedrisks.Makesurethepersondoingyourriskassessmentknowswhatdifficultiesyouarefacing.

Itisn’talwayspracticaltosetasideyourwork-relatedresponsibilities,butthehealthofyourfuturechildmaydependonit.“Oftenthesolutionissimplytorotateyourjobwithsomeoneelseorvaryyourduties,soyouarenotinoneplaceforsolong,”saysJanePaul,ahealthandsafetyexpertwhoadvisestheInternationalLabourOrganisation�(ILO).

Sometimesitistheemployerortheauthorities,ratherthanthescientistherself,thatimposestherestrictions,andthiscanleadtofrustratingconflicts.AsapregnantecologystudentintheUnitedKingdom,Iwasforcedbymyfundingbodytobeaccompaniedduringfieldwork.Thiswasaseriousinconvenience.Iwasleftresponsibleforfindingsomeonetojoinmeandwithnoresourcestopaythem.

TheEuropeanDirectiveonpregnantworkersstatesthatyoucannotberequiredtodonightworkwhilepregnant.Insomecountries,includingGermany,nightworkisactuallyillegalforpregnantworkers,whichcouldbeaseriousproblemforyoungscientistseagertogetaccesstobigequipmentatoff-peaktimes.

Ingeneral,thesolutionistoanticipatetheproblemandplanyourworkcarefully.ScientistsattheBritishAntarcticSurvey(BAS)cannolonger“gosouth”whentheygetpregnant.SeveralwomenatBAShave


hadchildrenrecentlyorareaboutto,buttherehasbeenlittleinconvenience.EricWolff,aprincipalinvestigatoratBAS,says:“Wehavenotyethadateammemberwhowasunabletogoatthelastminutebecauseofpregnancy.Isuspectpeopleplantheirbabiesortheirtripssouthquitecarefully.”

Ifyouhaverecentlybecomepregnantorareplanningto,itcanbehelpfultoworkinateamsosomeoneelsecancovertheworkyoucan’tdo.NadineJohnston,amarineecologistatBASworkingonfeedwebsinthesouthernocean,issevenmonthspregnant.“Mydataaresamplesofkrillandfish,whichotherscancollectformetoanalyse,”shesays.

Challenge3:KeepingYourBabySafeThegreatestriskstoyourfoetusatworkarechemicalsknowntobeembryotoxinsandinfectiousdiseasesthatcancausebirthdefectsorspontaneousabortion.Ionisingradiationisalsoaproblem,especiallyifitcomesfromradionuclidesofbone-buildingelementssuchascalciumandphosphorus,whicharepreferentiallytakenupbythefoetus.Safetylevelsforradionuclidesarelowerforpregnantwomen.Inthecaseoflead,levelsarelowerforallwomenofchildbearingage.

That’sbecausethefoetusismostvulnerableintheearlyweeksofpregnancy,whenyoumaynotknowyouarepregnant.IreneFiga-Talamanca,atoxicologistattheUniversityofRome“LaSapienza,”wouldprefertoseeallworkersexplicitlyprotectedfromreproductivehazards.“Manyoccupationalriskshaveeffectsveryearlyinpregnancyanddeterminesubfecundityinmenandwomen,”shesays.“Specificmeasuresforpregnantwomenmayhavenegativeconsequencesforwomen’semploymentopportunities.”

ToxicologistPaulIlling,anadvisertotheU.K.governmentonthesafetyofchemicalsatwork,assertsthatthehealthandsafetyregulationsassumeallwomenareintheearlystagesofpregnancy.“Intheory,everyoneisprotected,”hesays.“Inpractice,onlyalimitednumberofchemicalshavebeenproperlytestedforreproductivetoxicity,somanyhazardsarenotknownabout.”FiguresfromILOindicatethatofthehundredsofthousandsofchemicalsinregularuseinlabs,about2,�00ofthemhavebeentestedforreproductiveeffects,saysILO’sPaul.

Evengroupsofchemicalsthathavebeentestedcanbesteepedincontroversy.Theethyleneglycolethersusedinthesemiconductorindustryareknowntobeembryotoxins,forexample,butthereisdisagreementbetweenAmericanandBritishstudiesaboutwhetherthereisarealeffectonhumanpregnancies.

Ifyouworkwithchemicalsyouthinkmayposeariskbutarenotonanylistofrecognisedhazards,theonlysolutionistofamiliariseyourselfwithwhatisknownaboutthemandletyouremployerknowyouareuncomfortableaboutthesafetyofyourbaby.Withoutlegislation,anemployerisnotobligedtotakeanyaction,butyoumayreachanagreement.

Ifyouwork

withchemi-

calsyou

thinkmay

posearisk

butarenot

onanylistof

recognised

hazards,the

onlysolution

istofamiliar-

iseyourself

withwhatis

knownabout

themandlet

youremployer

knowyouare

uncomfort-

ableaboutthe

safetyofyour

baby.


Whenitcomestoinfectiousdiseasesfromanimals,DavidBuxton,headofpathologyattheMoredunResearchInstituteinEdinburgh,UnitedKingdom,isusedtohandlingtherisks.Heworksonthecausesofinfectiousabortioninsheep.TheintracellularbacteriumChlamydophila abortusandtheprotozoanparasiteToxoplasma gondiiaretwoofhismainsubjects.Theyarealsothereasonwhyallpregnantwomenaretold,antenatally,toavoidcontactwithfarmanimals,particularlysheepandlambs.

Buxton’steammanageshundredsofsheepandoftenworkswithanimalsthathavebeendeliberatelyinfected.“Oursafetyregulationsareferocious,”hesays.“Ifawomanispregnant,sheisnotjustexcludedfromthesheeppens.She’sexcludedfromthelabsaswell”—andconfinedtoherdesk.Womenaretoldthatifthereisanychancethattheymightbepregnant,theymustsaysoimmediately.Buxtonadmitsthattherestoftheteamhavetoworkhardertosupportwomenwhocannotbeinvolvedwiththepracticalwork.

Challenge4:TakingMaternityLeaveTakingtimeofftohaveyourbabyhasitsownproblems,especiallyifyouworkinafast-movingfield.Ayearlater,yourworkmaybesupersededandyourcommandoftheliteratureweak.Getthepaperpublishedbeforeyougo.

“Takingtimeofftohavechildrenreducesyourvisibilityintheinternationalcommunity,”saysWolff.“Regularattendanceatconferencesisimportant.Ifyouareoffthehorizon,peopleforgettoinviteyouasaspeakerorinvolveyouincollaboration.”BASgoestoconsiderablelengthstoensurethatmothersandmothers-to-beareabletoattendatleastoneconferenceayear.

“ThenumberofinvitedtalksisoneofthefactorsincludedintheResearchAssessmentExercise,bywhichuniversitydepartmentsareratednationally,”saysPennyGowland,professorofphysicsatNottinghamUniversityintheUnitedKingdom.Gowlandencourageswomentocomebackfrommaternityleavewithconfidence.“Donotallowyourselftobesidelinedbecauseyouhavebeenawayforawhileandyoucannolongerengageinthelong-hoursculture,”shesays.

OtherusefulWebsites» EuropeanAgencyforSafetyandHealthatWork�

» UnitedKingdomHealthandSafetyExecutive�

» RoyalSocietyofChemistryguidanceonpregnancy andchemicalsatwork�(soontobesupersededbyanewedition).


Challenge5:CopingwithDiscriminationTheSpanishwordforpregnantisembarazada.Arescientistswhofindthemselves“embarrassedwithchild”treateddifferentlybytheircolleaguesbecauseoftheircondition?Thereislittlesignofthisinthepublicsciencesector,universities,andresearchinstitutes.Femalescientistsreportfullsupportfromthosearoundthem.Butthereisplentyofevidenceofdiscriminationinothersectors.“Thereiswidespreadprejudiceagainstpregnantwomen,particularlyinsmallcompanies,”saysPaul.“Thereisanassumptionthatmaternityabsenceisexpensive.Womendon’twanttotelltheiremployertheyarepregnant,incasethereareredundanciescomingup.”

Intheworldofsmallbiotechandpharmabusinesses,thissituationisalltoofamiliar.RecentresearchbytheEqualOpportunitiesCommission�intheUnitedKingdomfoundthat�%ofpregnantwomen—�0,000peopleayear—losetheirjobsbecausetheyarepregnant.Paulwarnsthatscientificcompaniesmustguardagainstthisdiscrimination;notonlyisitillegal,itriskslosingthehugepotentialofwomenintheworkforce.

AcrossEurope,only1�%ofscientistsintheprivatesectorarewomen,halftheproportionyoufindinthepublicsector.RagnhildSohlbergrepresentstheenergycompanyNorsk-Hydroandwasco-chairoftheEuropeanCommission’sCommitteeonWomeninIndustrialResearch.8ComingfromNorway,wherewomenactuallydominateinareassuchasbiomedicalscience,shehasadifferentperspective.Shebelievesscience,particularlyengineeringandphysicalsciences,isagoodcareerforwomenbecausesomuchofitiscomputer-basedandcanbedoneatanytime.

SohlbergwasshockedonedaytohearaGermancolleaguesuggestthatfemalescientistsshouldnothavechildrenbecauseitwillruintheircareers.WhatistheScandinaviansecret?“It’stodowithattitude,”shesays—theattitudeofthegovernment,thescientificcommunity,andoffamiliesthemselves.InNorway,womenscientistsareverywellsupported.Maternitypayisoneyear;childcareislargelytakeninchargebythestate.“Weneedsometremendouschangesofattitudeonthecontinent,”saysSohlberg.Individualscientistsworkingwhilepregnantcanhelpbringaboutthischange,aslongastheystayeffectivebyexercisingtheirrightsandkeepingtheirworkcomfortableandsafe.

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)athttp://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/200�_0�_0�/the_top_five_challenges_for_pregnant_scientists/

1. Pregnantworkersandnewmothers:http://osha.europa.eu/data/legislation/10

2. Riskassessment:http://www.europa-eu.int

Alvord

believesin

asystemof

healthcare,

especially

butnot

exclusively

forNative

Americans,

basedon

bothmodern

medicine

and

traditional

wisdom.


�. InternationalLabourOrganisation(ILO)http://www.ilo.org�. EuropeanAgencyforSafetyandHealthatWork:http://osha.europa.

eu/OSHA�. UnitedKingdomHealth&SafetyExecutive:http://www.hse.gov.uk�. Guidanceonpregnancyandchemicalsatwork:http://www.rsc.org/

pdf/ehsc/pregnancy.pdf�. EqualOpportunitiesCommission:http://www.eoc.org.uk8. CommitteeonWomeninIndustrialResearch:http://ec.europa.eu/

research/science-society/women/wir/index_en.html

BRIDGINGTHECULTURALDIVIDEINMEDICINEbyEdnaFrancisco

YoumightsaythatLoriArvisoAlvordwaspredestinedtobecomeadoctor.AccordingtoaNavajotradition,parentsburytheirnewborn’splacentaandumbilicalcordataspecialsitethatrepresentstheir

dreamsforthechild.BecauseAlvord’sfatherwasstationedatamilitarybaseinTacoma,Washington,Alvordwasbornatoneofthelocalhospitals,andthereherplacentaremained.Yearslater,Alvordbecamearegularpres-enceinhospitalsastheveryfirstNavajowomansurgeon.

AsanassociatedeanofstudentandmulticulturalaffairsatDartmouthMedicalSchoolinHanover,NewHampshire,Alvordisattemptingtobridgetwoworldsofhealing:NavajoandWesternmedicine.Alvordbelievesinasystemofhealthcare,especiallybutnotexclusivelyforNativeAmericans,basedonbothmodernmedicineandtraditionalwisdom.“Mywholeobjec-tiveistotrytoachieveabetterwaytodeliverhealthcarenotjustfornativepeople,butforeveryone,”sheexplains.Alvordhopes,too,thatsuchanapproachwillinspireyoungNativeAmericanstobecomephysiciansandaddressmanyoftheconflictsbetweenWesternmedicineandNativeAmeri-cantraditions.

Duringhermedicaltraining,AlvordstruggledbecausebeingNavajoandafemalesurgeonwasrare.(Itstillis.)Makingitthroughtrainingmeantgoingagainstsomenativetraditionsandadaptingtosomenonnativeways.Buttheseexperiencesgaveherapioneeringpointofviewonhowhealingcanbeimproved.

SeparatedfortheFirstTimeHalfCaucasianandhalfNavajo,AlvordgrewuponareservationinCrown-point,NewMexico.Asachild,herbiggestdreamwastogetacollegedegree.BecauseDartmouthCollegehadasmallandsupportivegroupofNativeAmericanstudents,Alvordappliedthereandnowhereelse.AfterbeingacceptedatDartmouth,Alvordstartedlearninghowtosurviveinahigh-pressureacademicworld.

LeavinghomeforcollegewasnoteasyforAlvordbecauseitviolatedhozho,or“walkinginbeauty,”aNavajolifestylethatencouragesbalance


andharmony.TheNavajobelievethefoursacredmountainsthatsurroundtheirtraditionallandprovideprotectionandthatmovingawaywouldcausedisorderinthelivesofthepeople.

Alvord,amongthefirstwomenandNativeAmericanstoat-tendDartmouthCollege,hadadifficulttimeadjustingasaresultofthesexismandracismoncampus.Malestudentsgenerallydis-likedthepresenceoffemalestudents.TheunofficialDartmouthmascotresembledaHollywoodIndian,withwarpaintandfakefeathers.Shealsohaddifficultyrelatingtonon-Indianstudentsbecauseofculturaldifferences.Yetdespitetheseproblems,Al-vordwasgratefulfortheopportunitytobeapartofDartmouth’seffortstoprovideNativeAmericanswithanIvyLeagueeducation.Shegraduatedin19�9withadoublemajorinpsychologyandsociologyandhopedtoworkonherreservation.

NewCareer,BiggerChallengesMajoringinpsychologyfueledherinterestinthehumanbrain,andshelandedajobasaresearchassistantinabrainphysiologylabattheUniversityofNewMexico(UNM).Shehadoncegivenuponscienceafterreceivinga“D”incollegecalculus,aresultofpoorhighschoolpreparation.Dartmouth,however,quicklyremediedhereducationalshortcomings.

Alvord’sresearchexperiencepromptedhertotakepremedcoursesatUNM.SoonshefoundresonancesbetweenscienceandtraditionalNavajoteachings.Inherautobiography,The Scalpel and the Silver Bear(BantamBooks,NewYork,NY,1999),Alvorddescribedhernewpassion:“Thewaythewhitebloodcellsattackanintrudingvirus,thewaytoomuchortoolittleofanythingdis-turbsthebodyfunctions...itwasallhozho,thebeautifulbalanceoftheuniverse,rephrasedinscientificterms.”

AlvordeventuallyattendedmedicalschoolatStanfordUni-versity,butshecontinuedtostrugglewithculturaldifferences.Al-vorddislikedattractingattentiontoherselfandbeingcompetitive.Shewasn’tcomfortablebombardingherpatientswithquestions,touchingthem,orlookingthemdirectlyintheeye.TheseactionsviolatedNavajonotionsofrespect.ShealsofeareddissectingcadaversbecauseNavajosbelievetheyharborevilspirits.IntimeshedealtwiththesechallengesandlearnedtoplacetheminthecontextofWesternmedicine.

NewIdeastoImproveHealthCareAlvordreturnedtoserveherpeoplewhenevershecouldduringhermedicaltrainingandearlypractice.BeingaroundotherNavajopeoplebenefitedherbymakingherfeelcomfortableandraisingherconfidenceasasurgeon.RonLujan,anotherNativeAmericansurgeon,showedherwaystodoherjobwhilehonoringnativetraditions—apracticethatputherandherpatientsatease:touch-ingpatientsrespectfullyandonlywhenshehadto,notrushing

Unlike

non-

Indiandoc-

torswho

focussolely

onthedis-

easedpart

ofthebody,

Alvordsays,

thehealers

examinethe

patient’sen-

tirelife,look-

ingforthings

thatareun-

balanced.In

Navajotradi-

tions,illness

isseenasthe

resultof

beingoutof

harmonyor

balancein

someareaof

life.


herpatientsforanswers,treatingthemlikefamily,andgenerallyworkingtogaintheirtrust.Alvordnoticedthatwhenpatientsfeltcaredforandrespectedbytheircaretakers,theyseemedtodobetterduringandafteroperations.

AlvordalsolearnedthatNavajohealers’waysofcuringpeoplewerebeneficial,sosheworkedtointegratethemintohercaregivingmethodolo-gies.“ScienceisbeginningtocatchupwithNativephilosophies,”shesays.“Wenowknowthatreducingstressandanxietycanhavepositiveeffectsonhowourbodiesfunctionandthatthemindisabletohelpthebodyheal.[Navajoandother]healingceremoniesaredesignedtohelpthemindhealthebody,throughavarietyofmechanisms.”

Unlikenon-Indiandoctorswhofocussolelyonthediseased

partofthebody,Alvordsays,thehealersexaminethepatient’s

entirelife,lookingforthingsthatareunbalanced.InNavajo

traditions,illnessisseenastheresultofbeingoutofharmony

orbalanceinsomeareaoflife.

Inthelongrun,AlvordbelievesNavajophilosophiesshouldbeusedtotreatpatientsofanyculturalbackground.Shearguesthatmanypeoplefeelthattheirdoctorsdon’tunderstandthemanddon’tcareenoughaboutthem.ShealsopointsoutthatWesternmedicinehasbeenbusinesslikeandbaseduponahistorythathasbeendominatedbywhitemen.Convert-ingoldhospitalsinto“beautifulhealingenvironments,”ratherthanjusthavingsquare,coldroomswithbarewalls,willalsohelprelievepatients’stressandacceleratehealing.

Theyoungwomanwhofacedbarriersfromtwocultures—herownandthedominantone—hasevolvedintoaninfluentialforceinmedicineandonewho“lovesbreakingstereotypes.”TodayAlvordcontinuesto“walkinbeauty”withherhusbandandtwochildren.

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/��0/bridging_the_cultural_divide_in_medicine/


LEADERSHIPONTHEMOUNTAIN:LessonsfortheLabbyKathyBarker

“Challenge is the core and mainspring of all human activity. If there’s an ocean, we cross it; if there’s a disease, we cure it; if there’s a wrong, we right it; if there’s a record, we break it; and, finally, if there’s a mountain, we climb it.”—ClimbinghistorianJamesRamseyUllman

Scientistsarecomingtotermswiththefactthatrunningalabreallyisrunningabusiness.Yet,inlookingforinspiration,mostscientistsfindmanagementandbusinessleadershipbooks—

withtheirbottomlineofsell,sell,sell—lessthanpalatable.Scientificresearchisaproduct,butformostofusitisn’tallaboutthemoney.It’saboutthescienceandthechallenge.Whenitcomestomanage-mentandleadershiptomes,wewanttoreadaboutleadershipmoti-

�.Leadershipand ManagementintheLab

�� www.sciencecareers.org

��www.sciencecareers.org

�.Leadershipand ManagementintheLab

vatedbyneedsotherthangettingrichandpleasingstockholders.Looktothemountains!Or,morepractically,looktothelargegenreof

mountain-climbingbooksforinspirationonleadershipandforguidanceonhowtobuildandmotivateateam.

Decisionsinthelabdonothaveasimpleendpointlikegettingtothesummit,nordolaboratoryerrorshaveimmediatelife-or-deathconsequenc-es.Usually.Buttheconcentratedstoriesofconflictandtriumph,causeandeffectfoundinmountaineeringbooks—thesestoriesmeasuredoverweeksandmonthsinsteadofyears,astheymightbeinthelaboratory—makeforaccessible,easilytransferablelessons.

ChoosingandCultivatingYourTeamLeadersonthemountainsandinthelaboftenfeel,atfirst,similarlyun-equippedforthejob.Onechoosestobecomeaprincipalinvestigator(PI)oranexpeditionheadbecauseoftechnicalskills,butsuccessdependsonemotionalresilienceandcommunicationskills.Mountainsarenotclimbedalone,andresearchisnotdoneinavacuum;iftheexpeditionleaderorPIdoesn’tknowhowtochooseandgetthemostoutofteammembers,aprojecthaslittlechanceofsuccess.

“Most of all, our expedition needed a leader, someone with a strong personality who could gather the right people around him and fuse them into a close-knit unit that could work smoothly under the most miserable circumstances.”—ArtDavidson,Minus 1�8°: First Winter Ascent of Mt. McKinley ,p.21

Asinalab,onamountainbadpeopleareworsethannopeople,andtheleaderneedstobecarefultochoosepersonnelwellandtointerveneifmembersofthegrouparehavingproblemsworkingtogether.Convincedthatoneofthereasonsforthefailureofthe19��expeditiontosummitK2hadbeentherelativeinexperienceofmostoftheteammembers,leadersofthe19�8expeditiondecidedthattheywouldchooseonlyhighlymoti-vatedclimberswithexperienceover20,000feet(�,100meters).Choosingteammemberswithcompatiblepersonalitieswasnotamajorconsidera-tion,andseveralteammembersknowntobecontentiouswereincluded.

Althoughthe19�8expeditionwouldgetfourmemberstothesummitofK2,therancorwithinthegroupiswhatmanyrememberandwhatisthesubjectofgreatdiscussionsinA Life on the EdgeandAddicted to Danger.Therewerestormsandissueswiththeroute,butproblemsamongtheclimberscreatedanatmospherethatpoisonedeveryone.

“Constantly frustrated by the weather, people’s nerves were fraying. De-spite my attempts to run a democratic operation that gave everyone an even chance, different levels of skills and motivation were sorting us into two groups. Mediating between the two was difficult, not to mention thankless.” —JimWhittaker,A Life on the Edge: Memoirs of Everest and Beyond,p.192


Onememberoftheclimbthoughtthatthepresenceofprimadonnas,whobelievedthattheclimbwouldbeeasy,contributedtotheunease.Somemembersobjectedtothepresenceofwomen,andsomeobjectedtofavoritisminthechoiceofasummitteam.Severalteammemberswouldnotcompromisepersonalambitionintheslightest,makingitimpossibletoforgeasmoothlyfunction-ingteam.

JimWhittaker,theleaderofthe19�8expedition,suggeststhatconflictisinevitablewhendiverse,highlymotivatedpeopleundertakedangerousadventures.Conflictisprobablyinevitablewhenverydifferentandhighlymotivatedpeopledoanything.Onmountainorinlab,conflictisinevitable,buttheleadermustintervenetopreventthatconflictfromsimmeringoreruptingintofull-scalerebellion.Dealwitheveryissueassoonaspossible;problemswon’tgoawaybythemselves.

“I wanted our group spirit to outweigh our individual-achievement ethic—a lot to ask. To get here had required extraordinary perse-verance, even aggressiveness. Now that the final payoff was close, how could we be expected to let go of the very qualities that had got us here in the first place?”—ArleneBlum,Annapurna: A Woman’s Place,p.1�1

Thewaytheleaderhandlesthoseproblemswilldependonhisorherstyle,andontheindividualdynamicoftheteam.The19�8AmericanWomen’sHimalayanExpeditionputthefirstAmeri-cansonAnnapurnaIatatimewhenfewwomenwereinvitedonclimbingexpeditions.TeamleaderandbiochemistArleneBlumconsideredpersonalitiescarefullywhenassemblingtheteam,knowingthat“findingclimberswiththerightmentalandphysicalqualificationswasextremelyimportant....Formanyclimberstheinitialglamourofexpeditionaryclimbingsoonfades,andtheac-tualexperience—altitude,grindinghardwork,damp,cold,tedium,bureaucratichassles,thepossibilityofillnessorinjury—canbewearisome,disappointing,evendevastating....Thedeterminationneededtokeepmeltingsnowforwaterandcookingcanultimatelybemorevaluablethantheskillneededtoclimbsteepice.”(Blum,p.1�)Anaside:There’sanotherlablessonhere—hireforcharac-ter,notjustfortechnicalexpertise.

Thewomenweredeterminedtoclimbthemountaininaspiritoftogetherness,andtheyconsideredthattobeasmuchofagoalasreachingthesummitofAnnapurna.Indeed,theyclimbedwithrelativelylittleconflict,albeitwithconstant,evenexcessivediscussion.Thisstyleofintensiveintrospectionandinteractionwasparticulartothedynamicofthisgroup,butitwas,apparently,effective.Thereareasmanywaystobealeaderandtobeateam,theirexperienceandtheexperiencesofotherexpeditionsprove,astherearepeople.Dowhatworksforyou.

Gettingthe

firstAmericans

onEverestin

19��viathe

SouthCol

routewould

bedangerous

andexciting

enoughand

wouldjustify

totheworld

thethree

years’worth

offund-raising

andorgan-

izing.Butsome

teammembers

wantedtoswap

a“safe”South

Colascentfor

theadditional

twistand

dangerofthe

WestRidge.


ChoosingaProject:RiskVersusSuretyTheAmericanMountEverestexpeditionof19��putfourAmericansonthesummitofEverestviathealreadyclimbedSouthColroute,andtwoothersviaanunexploredroute,theWestRidge.Theexpedition,ledbyorganizerNormanDyhrenfurthandclimbingleaderWilliUnsoeld,wasoneofthemoststunningaccomplishmentsinthehistoryofclimbing,notjustforthemeetingnearthesummitoftwosuccessfulteamsfromoppositesidesofthemountain,butfortheteamworkthatmadethewholeteammuchgreat-erthanthesumoftheparticipants.

Settingthegoalsandchoosingtherightpeopletoaccomplisheachpartoftheroutewasintrinsictotheteams’success.GettingthefirstAmericansonEverestin19��viatheSouthColroutewouldbedangerousandexcitingenoughandwouldjustifytotheworldthethreeyears’worthoffund-raisingandorganizing.Butsometeammemberswantedtoswapa“safe”SouthColascentfortheadditionaltwistanddangeroftheWestRidge.Adecisiontoputresourcesandpeopleinthewrongplacecouldriskthesuccessoftheentireexpedition.

“The question, as Dave put it one night, was, who would be willing to put his energy into the West Ridge, with failure as a not unlikely outcome, when reaching the summit by the South Col seemed so much more assured?” —TomHornbein,Everest: The West Ridge,p.�8

Theroutestrategiesevolvedwithtime,asthedynamicandstrengthsoftheteamwereunveiledthroughweeksofslowlymovingupthemoun-tain.Teamleaderswereawareofdifferencesinpersonalitiesandskills—theclimbers’abilitytohandlealtitude,resilienceindealingwiththecoldandotherhazards,motivationtoclimbinthefaceofalmostcertainfrost-biteandthepossibilityofdeath—andthisknowledgehelpedsorttheteamintoverycompatibleandsuccessfulsubteams.Onlywhenthecapabilitiesoftheteamwereknowncouldtheobjectiverisksbeassessedandroutedecisionsbemade.

Eachscientistfacesthequestionofthesafe,fundableprojectversustheexcitingforayintoanewarea.You,theleader,mightbeabletoabsorbthefailure—butcanyourpostdoc?Therearenoguarantees.The19��Everestexpeditionwassuccessful,butasuddenstorm,arecalcitrantteammember,abadchoiceofroute...anyofthesefactorsmighthavemeantfailure,orworse.Youcanstayonthepredictableresearchpathifyouchooseto,buteventhatmightnotwork,especiallyifthefieldmovesonwithoutyou,propelledalongbysomeoneelse’ssuccessfulgamble.PIswarnthatitisunwisetoputofftryingsomethingnewtoolong.Constantlyreassessyourgoalsandcapabilities,aswellasyourteam’sgoalsandca-pabilities,andknowhowmuchriskeachpersoncanbear.

IndependenceOrNurturing?GuideOrClimber?ColleagueOrAcolyte?Untiladecadeorsoago,themountains20,000feetorhigherwereclimbedbyexpeditionspeopledwithtrainedmountaineerswhofunctionedasateam.Asmoreandmoreroutesupthedifficultmountainshavebeenes-tablished,amateurclimbershavestartedlookingforsomeonetoguide


themupanestablishedroute—andprovedtopaywellforthisex-pertise.Clientsoftenoutnumberrealclimbers,andthishasahugeimpactonthewayteamsaremadeandmountainsareclimbed.

Themainimpactofthisdevelopmenthasbeenonthenewroleoftheteamleader.Onrealexpeditionsteammatesdependoneachother,whereasoncommercialexpeditions,clientsdependontheguides.Thishasledtoadeepculturegap,withsomeguidesbeingwillingtonurtureandpamper,andothersexpectingclientstobeindependentandresponsible.

Thisuncertaintyaboutresponsibilitiesishighlightedintheseriesofbooksaboutthe10May199�MountEverestdisaster,inwhichfivepeoplediedaloneinasuddenstormontheSouthColroute.Experiencedmountaineer,journalist,andclientJonKrakauer(Into Thin Air),andprofessionalclimberandguideAnatoliBoukreev(The Climb)disagreeonmanydetailsofthatdeadlyday.Buttheyagreethatthemultitudeofpeoplehighonthemountainanddependentforsurvivalnotonthemselves,butonaguide,wasarecipefordisaster.

“Neil said, ‘Anatoli, many of our members are at high altitude for the first time, and they don’t understand many of the simple things. They want us to hold their hands through everything.’ I re-plied simply, saying that was an absurd position. I repeated again my concerns that we had to encourage self-reliance.” —Boukreev,The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest,p.8�

Unlessaclientiscapableoftroubleshootingathighaltitude,orisone-on-onewitharesponsibleguide,thepersonwillalwaysbeespeciallyvulnerable.

Anotherfactorinthedisastrous10MayonEverestwasthatwhatevertheexpectationswere,theywerenotmadeclear.Manycommercialexpeditionshaveadefinedturnaroundtime,atimewherethosewhohaven’tsummitedmustturnaroundandheadbackdownagain,lestnightfallfindexhaustedmembersstillonthemountain.Theleadersofthe10Maycommercialexpeditionswerevagueandcontradictoryaboutaturnaroundtime,andmanyclientsandguideswerestillstrugglingtoreachtheEverestsummitlateintheafternoon,evenascloudsbegantoenvelopthemoun-tain.

MostPIscanrecognizethedifficultyofthisdecision:Howmuchdoyouhelplabmemberswhoarenotasindependent,orasgifted,asothers?Doyoucarefullynurtureeachpersontohisorherowncapacity?Doyouwriteapaperforthestudentwhocan’tseemtogetitdone?OrdoyourefuseontheprinciplethatsinceyouaretrainingpotentialPIs,youaredoingnofavorsbyexpectinglessthancompleteself-sufficiency?

Yourchoiceswilldependnotonlyonyourownpersonality,butonyoursituation:Yourdegreeofmentorshipmaybedifferentwithasmalllabthanabiglab,oratasmallcollegeversusater-rifyinglycompetitiveuniversity.Thekeyistobeclearaboutyour


expectations,aboutyourphilosophies.Thiswillhelpyouchooseateam,anditwillhelpprospectiveteammemberschooseaguide.Asyougo,yourideascan—andshould—change.Justbesuretoleteveryoneknowwhentheydo;don’tmakeyourteammembersguessaboutwhatisexpectedofthem.

“It is strange how when a dream is fulfilled there is little left but doubt.” —TomHornbein,Everest: The West Ridge,p.18�

Tenuremayseemahighsummit,butneithermountainpeaksnortenureassurefulfillment.Manyscientistsaredisappointedthatthemile-stonestheyreachfor—tenure,ormembershipintheacademy,orwhat-ever—donotprovideultimatesatisfaction.Thelastlessonfromthemoun-tainsmightbethatitistheeffortitself,nottheachievementofthesummit,thatbringssatisfaction.Thereisalwaysanothermountaintoclimb.

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2��0/leadership_on_the_mountain_lessons_for_the_lab/

PROJECTMANAGEMENTFORSCIENTISTS

byStanleyE.PortnyandJimAustin

Allscienceinvolvessomeboring,routinelabor—repetitiveworkinthelaboratory,grantwriting,keepingthebooks,andsoon—butsci-entificresearchisfundamentallycreative,andoftenunpredictable.

Asoftenasnot,thecoursetheresearchtakesisunexpected.Aprincipalinvestigator’s(PI’s)centralchallengeistokeepthelabafloatwhilestimu-latingandsupportingthehighestlevelsofcreativeinsightandtechnicalinnovation.Fewscientistsaretrainedtodothis;withmost,itcomesonlyfromexperience.Someneverlearntomanagetheirlaboratorieseffectively,andthisputsthemataconsiderabledisadvantagecomparedtotheircol-leagues.

Smallresearchlaboratorieshavetheirpredictableaspects;indeed,theymustbeviablebusinessentitiestosurviveandthrive.Thismeansassuringasufficientflowoffundstoattractandkeeptop-notchstaff,aswellastoobtainandmaintaintherequiredfacilitiesandequipment.Fur-thermore,likeshareholdersofacorporation,thestakeholdersinalabora-tory—fundingorganizations,hostinstitutions,taxpayers,andsoon—de-mandademonstrationofthevaluetheygetforthemoneytheyspend.ThisisespeciallyimportantforthePIwhenthetimecomestoseekagrantrenewal—ortenure.

Hereinliestherealchallengeforthesmalllaboratorymanager:Howcanyoucreateandmaintainanenvironmentthatallowsfreeandunbound-edcreativeexploration,yetassuressolvencyandmaintainsaccountabilitytothosewhohaveastakeinthelab’soperation?

Theansweriseffectivemanagement.Youneedtomanageyourlabo-


ratorythesamewayyoudoyourscience:boldlybutmethodically,withtherightbalanceofpurposefulnessandopportunism.Projectmanagementprovidesthetoolsyouneedtosystematizetheman-agementofyourlaboratory,tomakesuretherisksyoutakearecalculated.Bestofall,you’relikelytofindthattakingastructuredapproachtomanagingthelaboratorynurtures,ratherthaninhibits,creativity.

WhatIsProjectManagement?Projectmanagementwascreatedmorethan�0yearsagotoman-agetechnicaldevelopmentandmanufacturingprojectsofgreatcomplexity.Initsearlydaysitwasahighlytechnicalfieldknownbest,perhaps,forgeneratingreamsofpaperwork.Eventoday,manypeoplethinkofprojectmanagementasaseriesofgraphs,charts,andprocedures,oftenimplementedthroughasoftwarepackage,designedtoplanandguidetocompletionrepetitiveandhighlypredictablework...or—worse—tofilltheemptyhoursofsoullessbureaucrats.

Projectmanagementhasevolvedovertheyears.Today’sprojectmanagementislessanarcanetechnicaldisciplinethanasetofprinciplesintendedtoprovideastructuredapproachtomak-ingtheeverydaydecisionsthatkeepabusinessrunning,evenasmallbusiness.Oralaboratory.

Projectmanagementbegins,asitshould,bydefiningitssub-ject:Aproject,accordingtoprojectmanagementtheory,isanactiv-itywiththreecharacteristics:» Specificoutcomesorresults» Definitestartandenddates» Establishedresourcebudgets

Projectscanbelargeorsmall,plannedandtrackedformallyorinformally,anddefinedbyalegalcontractoraninformalagree-ment.Theycaninvolveactivitiesthathavebeenperformedmanytimesbeforeorentirelynewapproachesandtechnologies.

ScienceProjectsAtfirstblushtheabovedefinitionofprojectsmaynotseemaper-fectfitfortheworkthatgoesoninasciencelab.Theoutcomesofaresearcheffortoftenlackaprecisedefinition.Whileaprojectmighthaveadefinitestartdate,anenddateisrarelyspecified.Evenwhenthefundingendsonaspecificdate,it’susuallyassumedthatarenewalwillbesought.Evenbudgets—whichare,regrettably,fixed—oftenseemfluid.

Sohowcanwebridgethisgapbetweenaproject’stechnicaldefinitionandaPI’sdailyexperience?First,byrealizingthatthesedifficultiesarenotlimitedtoscience.Indeed,somedegreeofam-biguityexistsineveryproject.Yet,inscienceasinotherkindsofprojects,thereisvalueintryingtoeliminateasmuchambiguityaspossible.

Second—andthismaybethemostimportantpointinrelating

Youneedto

manageyour

laboratorythe

samewayyou

doyoursci-

ence:boldly

butmethodi-

cally,withthe

rightbalance

ofpurposeful-

nessandop-

portunism.


projectmanagementtoscience—thespecifiedoutcomes,enddates,andbudgetsarealwaysprovisional.Projectmanage-mentallows—indeed,insists—thatthecomponentsofaprojectbeconstantlyrevisedasnewinformationarises.Defining,forexample,thedesiredprojectoutcomemeansdecidingwhatyouhopetoaccomplishas of now, withtheunderstandingthatthosedefinitionswillprobablychangewithtime.

TheKeyComponentsofProjectManagementProjectmanagementissimplyguidingaprojectfrominceptiontosuccessfulcompletion,makingcoordinateduseofprocessesandsystemstoguideandencouragepeopletosuccessfullyperformaproject’swork.

Thethreekeystepsofprojectmanagementare:

One:Planning—clarifying:» Desiredprojectoutcomes» Stakeholders:whowillbeaffectedby,areneededtosupport,

orwillbeinterestedintheprojectoutcome?» Activitiesthathavetobeperformedtocompletetheproject» Datesonwhicheachprojectactivitywillstartandend» Budgetsforallrequiredprojectresources(including,butnot

limitedto,money)» Significantprojectrisksandhowtheywillbemanaged

Two:Organizing—specifyingrolesandresponsibilitiesforprojectpersonnel

Three:Controllingtheperformanceofprojectwork—including:» Organizing,focusing,andcontinuallymotivatingprojectper-

sonnel» Trackingandcomparingprojectworkandresultsagainstthe

plan» Consideringandmakingchangestoplanswhentrackingsug-

gestsachangeiscalledfor» Keepingeveryoneinformedofprojectaccomplishments,is-

sues,andchanges» Continuouslytrackinganddealingwithevolvingprojectrisk

Organizationinformationsystemscanbeusedtosupportprojectplanningandcontrol,includingthemaintenanceofrecordsof:» Thedatesonwhichactivitiesarestartedandcompletedand

milestonesarereached» Theamountofworkeffortexpendedbypeopleonproject

activities» Thefundsexpendedonprojectactivities

Putanotherway:Projectmanagementexpandstheconceptof“budgeting”tocovernotjustmonetaryresources,butother


resourcessuchastimeandpersonnel.

Encouragingpeopletoperformuptotheirmaximumpotentialmeans:

» Helpingeachpersontoappreciate:–Thevaluetohimorherselfandtotheorganizationofthe

projectingeneralandofhisorherassignment,inparticular–Thefeasibilityofsuccessfullyaccomplishingtheprojectobjec-

tives» Regularlyprovidingprojectpersonnelinformationabouthow

theiractualperformanceandaccomplishmentscomparetowhatisplanned

» Acknowledgingpeople’scontributionstooverallprojectsuccess

Projectplans,expenditurereports,andteammeetingswillnot,inandofthemselves,guaranteeprojectsuccess.Thegreat-estchancesforsuccessareachievedwhenprojectinformationisusedtoalign,guide,andmotivateteammembers,andwhentheseteammembers,inturn,usethisinformationtoguidetheirwork.Aprojectrarelystickstoapredeterminedcourse.Projectsflowandevolve;projectmanagementisawayofmakingsurethatthekeyplayersremainmotivated,andthattheirobjectivesremainaligned.

KeyPremisesThatLeadtoProjectSuccessThegreatestchancesforprojectsuccessarerealizedwhenPIs,act-ingasmanagers,embracethefollowingpremises.

Project management is a way of thinking and behaving, rather than just a way of analyzing and presenting data.Managingaprojectef-fectivelymeansthinkingbeforeacting,identifyinganddealingwithpotentialproblemsbeforetheyoccur,andconstantlymonitoringtodeterminewhetheryouractionsareachievingtheirdesiredresults.Thegoalistointernalizeprojectmanagement,tomakeitsecondnature,awayofthinkingaboutthedecisionsyoumakeinmanag-ingyourlaboratory.

Attempting to control all aspects of a project assures the greatest chance of success, but you will never succeed at controlling every-thing. That's okay.Projectplansrepresentyourcurrentthought,atanygiventime,abouthowthegoalsoftheprojectwillbeachieved.Evenifanticipatedapproacheshaveneverbeentriedbefore,itisimportanttodescribewhatyouproposetodo,howyouexpecttheprojecttounfold,andtheresultsyouhopetoachieve.Thelesscertainyouarethattheplanwillwork,themorecloselyyoushouldmonitorongoingperformancetoidentifydeviationsfromtheplanasquicklyaspossible.Ifaplannedapproachseemsnottobeworking,clearchoicesshouldbemadeabouthowtomodifyexist-ingplansandguidetheworkinnewdirections.


People, not numbers and graphs, create successful projects.Themajorpurposeofprojectmanagementistoalignandmotivatepeopleandtosup-porttheirdecisionmaking.Itispeople’screativeinsightsandperformancethatwillultimatelyleadtoprojectsuccess,notanumberoragraph.Sokeepyourpeopleonthesamepage,butmakesurethey’rehappyandhaveroomtobreathe.

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1��0/project_management_for_scientists

LABSAFETYREQUIRESTRAININGANDCOMMITMENTbyJohnK.Borchardt

Whatcangowrong?WhatcanIdotominimizerisksofanexperi-ment?WhatdoIdoifsomethingdoesgowrong?Researchersneedtoaskthemselvesthesequestionswhenevertheybegina

newexperiment,advisesJamesKaufman,presidentandCEOoftheLabo-ratorySafetyInstitute,aproviderofsafetytrainingandotherservicestoacademiaandindustry.“Thefrequencyofacademicresearchlabaccidentsis10to�0timesgreaterthaninindustriallabs.Sothereisalotofroomforimprovingsafety.”Whereastheuniversitycanandshouldtakeveryseri-ouslythesafetyoftheirstudents,postdocs,andotherworkers,itwouldbefoolishforthoseinthelabtodependonotherstotakecareofthings,Kaufmansuggests.Keepingresearcherssafeisultimatelytheresponsibil-ityofresearchersthemselves.

BeforeYouStartResearchers,ofcourse,oftenhaveotherthingsontheirminds—likere-search.Furthermore,theyusuallylackspecifictraininginthedifficulttaskofkeepingthemselvesandtheirlaboratoriessafe—especiallyearlyintheircareers.It’snaturalforyoungscientistsandsciencestudentstoassumethattheinstitutionswherethey’retrainingwilltakecareofthem,butthat’sapotentiallydangerousassumption.Sohowshouldpeopleinthelabora-torygoaboutrisingtothechallengeofkeepingthemselvesandtheircol-leaguessafe?

Thefirststepshouldbetolearntheirinstitution’spoliciesandprac-tices,saysMicheleJohnsonoftheUniversityofUtahEnvironmentalHealthandSafetyDepartment.Johnsonproposesthreequestionsofherownthatresearchersneedtoanswerbeforetheworkinthelabgetsstarted:» WhatsafetytrainingdoIneed?» HowdoIgetit?» WhodoIgotoifIhavesafetyconcerns?


Thislastquestionisimportantbecauseitisthekeytofindinganswerstothefirsttwo.Onsomecampuses,principalinvestiga-tors(whorarelyhaverigoroussafetytraining)havetheresponsi-bilityforensuringasafeworkingenvironment.Onothercampusesitisthefacilitiesmanager.Whydoesitmattertoresearcherswho’sincharge?RalphAllen,DirectoroftheUniversityofVirginia’sOfficeofEnvironmentalHealthandSafety,putsitthisway:“Theyneedtoprotectthemselvessincethelabisaplacewherethingsareinher-entlydangerous.Soit’simportanttoknowwheretogoforsafetyinformationandknowwhomtoconsult.”

IntheLab“Ninetimesoutof10,labaccidentsarecausedbyoperatorer-ror,”observesJohnson—andoperatorerror,inturn,isoftenduetooperatorfatigue,inattention,orhaste.Othercommoncausesoflaboratoryaccidentsareimproperuseofequipment,theuseofthewrongtoolforthejob,andpoorequipmentmaintenance.

AttheUniversityofVirginia,organicchemistrystudentswerestoringsamplestheypreparedinanunlabeledrefrigeratorthatwasnotexplosionproof.Whentherefrigeratorexploded,thedoorstothemainlabwereblowntotheothersideoftheroomwheretheyhitanapparatususedtopurifysolvents.

There’sahappyending.Thesolvent-purificationsetupwasmadeofmetal;similarsetups,inlaboratoriesacrossAmerica,aremadeofglass.Themetalpurificationsystemwasdamaged,butifithadbeenglassafireprobablywouldhaveresulted,causingfarmoreextensivedamage.

Nooneknowswhochosethatoldrefrigerator,butmanypeopleovertheyears—PI’s,administrators,countlessstudents,postdocs,andotherlabstaffers—couldhaverecognizedthethreatitposedandswitcheditout.Butuntilthisaccident,noonedid.

Aftertheaccident,theuniversitytradedoutalltheiroldre-frigeratorsforexplosion-proofmodelsandreplacedglasssolvent-purificationsystemswithmetalones.Iffacultymemberslackedfundstoreplacetheirunsafeequipment,theuniversitypaidthetab.Ittookanearcatastrophetoidentifytheproblem,buttheUVAisnowasaferplacefortheworkersinitslaboratories.

Recognizingsuchrisksisn’teasy,butitisessentialiflabsaretobesafeplacestowork.“Researchersthemselvesmustmaintainlabsfromasafetyperspective,”advisesJimKapin,200�chairoftheAmericanChemicalSocietyDivisionofChemicalHealthandSafetyandseniorstaffscientistwithAdvancedChemicalSafety,afirmthatconductsacademicresearchlabsafetyinspectionsandtrainingprograms.

InalaboratoryatOhioStateUniversity,solventbottlesfellfromthetopshelfofafour-shelfflammable-solventstoragecabi-netbecausetheclipsusedtosecuretheshelffailed.Theclipshadbeenmodifiedimproperly,probablyinthedistantpastbyare-searcherwhomnooneremembers.Anaccidenthadbeenstalkingthelabeversince.

“Researchers

themselves

mustmain-

tainlabs

fromasafety

perspec-

tive.”—Jim

Kapin,200�

chairofthe

American

ChemicalSo-

cietyDivision

ofChemical

Healthand

Safety


Whenitfinallypouncedaspillresulted,andthesupplyofspill-controlagentprovedinadequatetoabsorbthespill.Solventvaporsforcedthestudentstoretreatandthebuildingwasevacuated.Anexplosionandafirefollowed,destroyingthelaboratory.Fortunately,researcherssufferedonlyminorinjuries,butthedamagewasextensive.

Thisincidentdemonstrateshowthechoicesscientistsmakeaffectnotjusttheirownsafetybutalsothesafetyoftheircolleagues,foryearstocome.Italsoshowshowimportant—andhowhard—itcanbeforresearch-erstoidentifyunsafeconditionsintheirlaboratory.Improperlymodifiedshelfsupportswouldbehardforanyonetospotinaroutineinspection,butanattentivestaffermighthavenoticed,whenplacingabottleontheshelf,thatthesupportsseemedweakorunsteady.Ifshehad,theproblemmighthavebeensolvedbeforetheaccidentoccurred.Laboratoryworkersandmanagers—andsafetyinspectors—madeanotherseriousmistake,thisonefarmoreroutineandeasiertospot:Theyfailedtomakesurethelaboratory’sspill-kitwasadequateforthevolumeofspillsthatwerelikelytooccur.

InterdisciplinaryRiskInterdisciplinaryresearchlabsmaypresentmorerisksthanlabsdoingworkinestablisheddisciplines,saysKapin,becausetherangeofrisksiswider.“Chemistsknowhownottoblowthingsup,”henotes,“butoftendon’tknowthebiologicalhazardsofworkingwithlaboratoryanimals.”Mixedenvironmentsalsomeanmoreopportunitiesforreagents,supplies,equipment,andresearcherstomixinunpredictableways,creatingnewrisks.Theonlyrealsolutioninsuchenvironmentsisextravigilance.“Con-stantvigilanceandregularinspectionsoffertheonlyhopeforspottingtheseproblems,”saysKaufman.

SafetyGlassesFortunatelynotallsafety-relatedjudgmentsarehard.Onethingthat’sveryeasytodo—andthatstudents,postdocs,andotherlabworkscantakere-sponsibilityfor—isalwayswearsafetyglassesinthelab.Riskstoresearch-ers’eyes,notesKaufman,include“impactfromobjectssuchasbrokenglass,heat,dust,chemicals,andopticalradiation.”So“researchersshouldusetheappropriatesafetyglassesfortheparticularhazardsassociatedwiththeirexperiment.”Formoreseverechemicalsplashhazards,Kaufmanrecommendswearinggogglesandafaceshield.

It’simportanttolookbeyondyourfewfeetofbench;chemicalscansplash,andglassshardscanfly,alongway.“Youmayneedsafetyglasses,notforyourownwork,butforsomeoneelse’snearyou,”saysAllen.“Sopayattentiontowhat’sgoingonaroundyou,notjustyourownexperi-ments.”Andalwaysrememberthatsafetyglassescanprotectyoufromrisksyoumaynothaveeventhoughtof—sowearthemevenwhenthereisn’tanobviousreason.

In198�,theU.S.CentersforDiseaseControlandPreventionissuedabulletinrecommendingthatresearchersworkingwithmonkeyswearsafetyglasses.Tenyearslater,22-year-oldresearcherElizabethGriffinwasworkingatEmoryUniversity’sYerkesPrimateCenter.Shewasnotwearingeyeprotec-tionandamacaquemonkey’surinecontactedhereye.Ms.Griffinwipedher


eyewithawetpapertowelandflushedit��minuteslater.Itwastoolittle,toolate:ShecontractedtheherpesBvirusanddiedwithintwomonths.

Threeyearslater,theCoulstonFoundation,whichalsousedmonkeysfordiseaseresearch,wascitedforlackofsafetyeye-glassesandotherpersonalprotectiveequipment.Andeventoday,Kaufmanobserves,theuseofeyeprotection“isnotashighasonemightreasonablyexpect.”Theproperuseofeyeprotectionseemstodepend,morethananythingelse,ontheexamplesetbythePIandseniorlabpersonnel(seetherelatedstory1).

InspectionsFrequentandregularlabsafetyinspectionsare“theonlyhopeforspottingproblems”accordingtoKaufman.Johnsonagreesthat“externalinspectionseverysixmonthsorsoareessential”—but,shesays,theyarenotsufficient.Johnsonrecommendsthatresearchgroupsdotheirowninternalinspectionsonceamonth,andthatresponsibilityforthoseinspectionsbeplacedonapostdocorsen-iorgraduatestudentratherthanaPI;manyprincipalinvestigators,Johnsonobserves,maynothaveenoughrecentexperienceinthelabtorecognizethehazards.Andjustasairplanesundergoasafetycheckbeforeeveryflight,Kaufmannotes,mostlaboratoryequip-mentshouldbesafety-checkedbeforeeveryuse.

TrainingAren’tmostresearchersalreadyawareoftheriskstheyfaceinthelaboratory?That,saysAllen,“isadangerousassumption.”Specifictrainingisessential;inlaboratorysafety,commonsensecanonlytakeyousofar.Itisimportantthatallincomingstudentsandpost-docsundergosafetytrainingthatgoesbeyondwhichformtofilloutandwhotoreportanaccidentto.“Newresearchersneedtoconsultwiththeirprincipalinvestigatortodeterminewhatspecifictrainingtheyneedtodotheirresearchandhowtogetthistraining,”advisesJohnson.Theyneedtobecomewellversedinthespecificriskstheresearchthey’llbedoingpresents,andinindustry-standardmeth-odsofmitigatingtheserisks.Also,theyneedtoknowwhattodowheneverthemostlikelyandpredictableaccidentsoccur.

Buteventhiskindoftrainingisinsufficient.Researchersneedtolearntoimprovise,andtoevaluatetheirsurroundingsforpoten-tialhazards—likehazardouselectricalwiringandweakshelfsup-ports—beyondthoselistedinusermanuals,trainingcourses,andmaterialssafetydatasheets.Suchhazardsarebestevaluatedusingcommonsenseandanattentiveeye.

“Researchers’bestbettoworksafelyistoeducatethemselvesaboutthehazardsoftheirlaboratoriesandknowwhotogotoforinformationthattheycan’tfindthemselves,”advisesKapin.“Takethetimetofindoutwhatcangowrong,”saysAllen.Determine“whatyoucandotobepreparedanddon’tassumeanyoneelsewillbelookingoutforyou.”

Pay

attention

towhat’s

goingon

around

you,not

justyour

ownexperi-

ments.And

always

remember

thatsafety

glassescan

protectyou

fromrisks

youmaynot

haveeven

thought

of—sowear

themeven

whenthere

isn’tanobvious

reason.


ReliableSourcesofLabSafetyInformationBesidesyourownuniversity’ssafetyWebsiteandthereferencesyourprincipalinvestigatororlabsafetyofficerrecommends,thefollowingareusefulsourcesofreliableinformation:

Websites• AdvancedChemicalSafety2

• LabSafetyInstitute�

• U.S.DepartmentofLabor–HealthandSafetyTopics:Laboratories�

• AmericanIndustrialHygienistsAssociation–HealthandSafetyCommittee�

• WheretofindMaterialSafetyDataSheetsontheInternet�

BooksHandbook of Laboratory Health and SafetyR.ScottStricoff,DouglasB.WaltersWiley-Interscience;2ndedition(March20,199�)

Improving Safety in the Chemical Laboratory: A Practical Guide JayA.Young(Editor)Wiley-Interscience;2ndedition(June1,1991)

Handbook of Chemical Health and SafetyRobertJ.Alaimo(Editor)ACSHandbooks(Hardcover)AmericanChemicalSocietyPublication(April19,2001)

OSHA Medical Radiation Safety Guidebook BruceGordon,DanielFarbUniversityOfHealthCare(July200�)

Safety Sense: A Laboratory Guide ColdSpringHarborLaboratoryColdSpringHarborLaboratoryPress(September1,2001)

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/200�_08_0�/lab_safety_requires_training_and_commitment/

1. Relatedstory:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/200�_08_0�/wear_your_safety_goggles/(parent)/�8

2. AdvancedChemicalSafety:http://www.chemical-safety.com�. LabSafetyInstitute:http://www.labsafety.org/�. U.S.DepartmentofLabor–HealthandSafetyTopics:Laboratories:

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/laboratories/index.html�. AmericanIndustrialHygienistsAssociation–HealthandSafety

Committee:http://www2.umdnj.edu/eohssweb/aiha/accidents/�. WheretofindMaterialSafetyDataSheetsontheInternet:http://

www.ilpi.com/msds/index.html


PUBLISHINGATTHETOPOFTHEHEAPbyJeremyM.BossandSusanH.Eckert

Wow,anarticleinBig-Time Science Magazine!Congratulations!You’resuretogettenurenow!”Soyousaytoyourbuddywiththecurlyredhairasyouwalkdownthehall.Duringthiswalk/

conversation,thetwoofyoumayquestionwhyyoumadethisstate-ment,whattherealdifferencesarebetweenjournals,andwhysomeareconsideredtobemoreprestigiousthanothers.Thisarticlewilldiscusstheseissuesandshedsomelightontheprocessofthepeer-reviewpublicationprocess.

Tobegintolookatthereasonsbehindthatstatement,itisimpor-tanttoconsiderthefunctionsofdifferentjournals.Althoughalljour-nalsstrivetopublishthebestscience,theareasthattheycoverdiffer.Somearebroadintheircoverageofscientificdisciplines,whereas

�.ScientificWriting andPublishing

�0 www.sciencecareers.org

�1www.sciencecareers.org

othersdealwithadiscreteareaofscience.Stillotherjournalspublishworkfromthemembersoftheirscientificsociety,suchastheAmericanSocietyforMicrobiology’sJournal of BacteriologyortheAmericanAssociationofImmunologists’Journal of Immunology.Additionally,bypublishingarticlesdiscussingthepoliticalandsociologicalaspectsofscience,somejournals,suchasScienceandNature,serveasinformationresourcesonthepulseofallscience.

TypesofJournalsJournalscanbedividedintofourgeneralclasses:broadtop-of-the-heap,near-the-top,society-level,andspecialtyorsubspecialtyjournals.Thebroadtop-of-the-heapjournalshaveverylowacceptanceratesandattempttopublisharticlesthatmakeconclusionsthatshiftthecurrentparadigminafield.Articlesinthesejournalstendtobehighlyfocusedandmaynotprovidein-depthcoverageofthearea.Liketheauthorscontributingthearticles,thesejournalsarealsoconcernedwithbeingthe firsttopublishinformationthatmaybeofinteresttotheirbroadaudiences.Thus,thereissomecompetitionbetweenthesejournals.Itisalsotruethatmanuscriptsmaygetrejectedfrombroadtop-of-the-heapjournalsnotbecausethesci-enceisn’tspectacularbutbecausetheareaisnolonger“hot.”

Thenear-the-topjournalstypicallyrepresentspecificfieldsorgeneralareasofscience(e.g.,immunology,neurobiology,developmentalbiol-ogy,structuralbiology,cellbiology,ormolecularbiology).Overthelastfewyears,someofthetop-of-the-heapjournalshavecreatedhigh-profilespinoffjournalsthatspecializeinaparticulararea.Theseare,typically,near-the-topjournals.Thesejournalsattempttopublishcutting-edgemanuscriptsthattellcompleteandin-depthstories.They,too,havelowacceptancerates.

Society-leveljournalspublishthebulkoftheworkcomingoutofmost

laboratoriesandaretheworkhorsesofthescientificpublishingindustry.

Thesejournalshavemoderateacceptanceratesand—surprisingly—mayhavemorecitationsperyearthandothetopandnear-topjournalsdiscussedabove.Thislastfactindicatesthattheseareimportantjournalsandthattheworkpublishedinthemisofhighquality.

Specialtyandsubspecialtyjournalspublishworkinarestrictedarea.Althoughthisworkmaybeofhighquality,too,thereadershipmaybelim-itedtoonlythoseinthefield.

TheReviewProcessItisimportanttoappreciatehowmanuscriptsareprocessed,andhowandwhenpeerreviewplaysarole.Severaldifferentsystemsareused,andeachjournalhasitsownsysteminplace.Onethingthat’simportantforyou,theauthor,isthequalityofthereviewandthelengthoftimeittakesforyourworktogetreviewedand,onceaccepted,intoprint.

Themostbasicdistinctionbetweenjournalreviewprocessesiswheth-ermanuscriptsaretriaged.Triagingprocessesareusedbyeditorswho


attempttoprescreenmanuscriptssothattheysendoutforreviewonlythosethathaveachanceofbeingselectedforpublication.Manyofthebroadtop-of-the-heapandnear-the-topjournalsem-ploytriagesystems.Anadvantagetoyouasamanuscriptsubmit-teristhatthetriagereviewmaytakeonlyafewdays,soyoureallydon’twastealotoftimewaitingtofindoutifthemanuscripthasachanceofbeingpublished.Ofcourse,thedisadvantageisthattheeditormaynotappreciatethesignificanceofyourtitleandabstract,andyourpaperwillbereturnedwithouttheinputofanexpertinyourfield.

Journalsthatrevieweverypaperbeforeapublicationdeci-sionismaderuntheireditorialprocessesindifferentwaysaswell.Inasingle-step,hierarchicalorganization,aneditor-in-chiefisresponsibleforeachdecisionandreliesonaneditorialboardandahostofreviewerstohelpmakeaccept/modify/rejectrecommen-dations.Theeditor-in-chief’sofficefindsthereviewersandsolicitsreviewsbeforemakingadecision.

Otherjournalsuseamultiple-leveleditorialboardtospreadouttheworkofhandlingthelargenumberofmanuscriptsreceivedeachyear.Inatwo-stepsystem,thejournalofficereceivesthemanuscriptandassignsittoamemberoftheeditorialboard,who,inturn,eithersolicitsreviewsorreviewsthemanuscriptpersonal-ly.Theseeditorialboardmembersmakerecommendationsdirectlytotheeditor-in-chief.

Ifthejournalreceivesthousandsofmanuscriptsayear,asys-temsuchasthisonewillrequireahugeeditorialboard.Forthisreason,manylargejournalsuseamultistepsystem,withthree(ormore)levelsofeditors.Oneoftheseeditorswillsolicitreviewsandmakearecommendationtotheeditoratthenextlevelupinthechain.Thissystemworksbestforjournalsthatreceivealotofmanuscriptsandmaintaintheirefficiencyandqualitybyhavingasmallnumberofpeoplemakingthefinaldecisionsonthemanu-scripts.

Althoughtheeditorialdecision-makingprocessesarediffer-entfordifferentjournals,perhapsthemostcriticalquestionfromtheauthor’spointofviewis:Doreviewersrateapaperdifferentlyifitissenttothetop-of-the-heapasopposedtolower-rankedjournals?Ingeneral,theanswerisyes!Thebiggestdifference,though,isnotoneofabsolutequality,asyoumightexpect.Agoodexperimentisagoodexperiment,regardlessofwhereitispublished.Alljournalsexpectthis.Thedifferenceliesinthereviewer’sperceptionofthenoveltyandimportanceoftheworkforthebroadfieldtowhichitrelates.Thus,similarcommentsaboutexperimentaldesignandinterpretationareoftenseeninmanuscriptreviewsfromdifferentjournals,andthesamereviewermayaccepttheworkforthesociety-leveljournalbutnotforthetop-of-the-heapjournalifheorshefeelsthattheworkisnotnovelenough.


JournalRankingsGoingbacktothehallwaydiscussion,thatcommentyoumadeaboutyourbuddybeingassuredofgettingtenurewasbasedonyourperceptionthatthejournalBig-Time Scienceisbetterthanotherjournals.Yourperceptionmaybeduetothejournal’slowacceptancerateand/orthelargenumberofpeoplewhowouldreadthearticle.Together,thesereasonsmightbegintodescribeyourviewofthelikelyscientificimpactofyourbuddy’smanu-script.Yourview,though,mightnotbecorrect.

Theimpactofanarticleorjournalcanbemeasureddirectlybythenumberoftimestheaveragearticleiscitedinotherarticles.Thisnumber—theImpactFactor—isarealmeasurementoftenusedbychairpersons(ortenuredossierreviewers)tomeasuretheprowessofafacultymembercomingupforpromotion.Theassumptionhereisthatarticlespublishedinjournalswithhighimpactfactorscountmorethandoarticlespublishedinjournalswithlowerimpactfactors.

WhatexactlyisanImpactFactor?TheInstituteforScientificInforma-tion’sWebofKnowledge(www.isinet.com)providessuchcomparisonsbetweenjournals,anditcantellyouhowmanytimesaparticulararticlehasbeencited.Forajournal,theImpactFactorisdefinedasthenumberofcitationsajournalreceivesinagivenyearforarticlesitpublishedovertheprevioustwo-yearperiod,dividedbythenumberofarticlesitpublishedinthatperiod.Althoughthismathmayseemfuzzy,thebottomlineisthatthehigherthenumber,thehigherthejournal’sranking.Seethetablebelowforacomparisonofjournalsinthefieldofimmunology.

JournalCitationsandImpactFactorsfor2005*

2005 Total ImpactJournal** Citations Factor Articles

ReviewsAnnual Reviews of Immunology 1�,�� 47.4 29Trends in Immunology �,��8 10.174 108Current Opinion in Immunology �,�1� 9.103 92Advances in Immunology 2,�10 5 2�

Articles Science ��,991 30.927 82�Cell 1�2,��1 29.431 �19Nature ��2,�8� 29.273 1,0��Nature Immunology 1�,989 27.011 1�0 Genes & Development ��,8�� 15.61 2��Immunity (Cell Press) 21,��0 15.156 11�J. Experimental Medicine ��,1�0 13.965 ��Proceedings National Academy Sciences ��,2�9 10.231 �,200J. Allergy & Clinical Immunology 21,8�2 7.667 1�9Molecular and Cellular Biology �8,�1� 7.093 9�0J. Immunology 112,�8� 6.387 1,91�AIDS 18,9�8 5.835 ��1European J. Immunology 21,��2 4.876 ��9Infection & Immunity ��,�82 3.933 1,02�Immunology 8,008 3.507 1�9Cellular Immunology �,92� 1.558 9�

*DataderivedfromISIWebofKnowledge**RankedbyImpactFactor


Forthesakeofcomparison,sometop-of-the-heapandnear-the-topjournalsareincluded.Noticeinthisexamplethatthesociety-levelJournal of Immunologyhasanimpactfactorof�,whereasthenear-the-topimmunologyjournalImmunityhasanimpactfactorof1�.�.However,theJournal of Immunologypublishes11.2timesmorepapersandhasnearly�.�timesthenumberoftotalcitationsasImmunity.Thus,itislikelythatsomepapersintheJournal of ImmunologyhavemorecitationsthanthoseinImmunitydo.AlsonotethatScience,Nature,andCellhavethehighestimpactfactorsinthislist,suggestingthatthesejournalsare,asyouwouldexpect,thetopoftheheap.

IfyoucontinueyoursearchontheWebofKnowledgesite,youwillfindthatreviewjournalsandreview-and-methodsarticleshavethehighestimpactfactor.Surprised?Considerthatwhenyou’rewritingapaper,it’seasiertoreferenceawholefieldofworkwithasinglecitationthanitistocitealltherelevantprimarypapers.Reviewarticles,therefore,areusuallycitedmorethanprimaryworkis.Althoughthiskindofobjectivequantificationissomethingthatwe,asscientists,like,thehighratingsofreviewarticlesshowthatthesemeasurescanbebiased.Importantly,suchquantitativemeasurementsdonotevaluate thescienceitself,which,ofcourse,oughttobethemostimportantmeasure-ment.

PublishinginHigh-QualityJournalsDothejournalsIpublishinreallymatterwhenitcomestomytenuredecision?Yourtenuredecisionwillbebasedonanevalua-tionofyourscholarship,teaching,andservicetoyourinstitution.Dependingonwhereyouwork,scholarshipmaybethepredomi-nant(oreventheonly)areaconsidered.Ifthisisthecase,youwillbejudgedontheimpactyourpublicationshaveonyourfieldandthepromisethatyoushowforfutureproductivity.Thus,youwillneedtopublishyourworkinstrong,highlyvisiblejournalsthatarereadbymembersofyourbroadfieldofinterest.Rememberthatinmakingyourpromotion/tenuredecision,yourdepartmentwillseektheadviceofleadersinyourfieldandthebroaderareaofyourresearch.Theseoutsidereviewerswill—let’shope—haveseenyourpapersastheycameout,andtheywillhavefollowedyourcareerthroughtheliterature.Yourpublicationsaremorelikelytobenoticediftheyarepublishedinqualityjournals,sopublishinginsociety-level,near-the-top,andbroadtop-of-the-heapjournalswillhelpyourcause.

Thisdoesn’tmeanthatpublishingyourworkinspecialtyorsubspecialtyjournalsisbad.It’saveryrarelabthatproducesonlyscienceofhighpotentialimpactandbroadrelevance;evenifyou’refocusedonimportantproblems,you’reboundtoproducesomesciencethat’sjustasgoodbutofsignificancetoanarroweraudience.Althoughpublishinginspecialtyorsubspecialtyjour-nalsmaynotaidyourcaseasmuchaspapersthatarepublished


inhigherimpactjournalswill,itdoeshelpintermsofpromotion,aslongasthesumtotalofyourpublishedworkinfluencesyourfield.

TheBottomLineAlmost20yearsago,anadvisercommentedtoagroupofusdiscussingwheretosendourpapersthatitdoesn’treallymatterwhatjournalyourworkispublishedin,becauseifthescienceisgoodenoughpeoplewillfindit,readit,andciteit.Thisstatementiseventruertoday,thankstotheeasewithwhichtheliteraturecanbesearchedandarticlescanbedownloaded,whichsavesscientiststheeffortoftrudgingovertothelibrarystacks.

SomemaybelievethatpublicationinBig-Time Scienceisequivalenttotwoorthreesociety-levelarticles,butthemostimportantthingistogetyourworkouttherewherepeoplecanseeitbypublishingregularlyinjournalsthatarewidelyrespected,read,andcitedbyyourpeers.Makesureyourmostimportantworkispublishedatleastatthelevelofyourscientificsocietyjournals.Ifyourworkhasmoreheatandisclosertothecuttingedge,youshoulddefinitelysendittothejournalsclosertothetopoftheheap;afterall,youcan’tpublishthereifyouneversendyourpaperstotheminthefirstplace.Goodluck!

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2��0/academic_scientists_at_work_publishing_at_the_top_of_the_heap/

ICAN’TBELIEVETHEYDIDN’TLIKEIT!byJeremyM.BossandSusanH.Eckert

Whatdotheymean,it’s‘tooambitious’?HowdotheythinkIamgoingsolvetheBigProblemifI’mnotambitious?Whoaretheseidiots?Theyaren’tqualifiedtoreviewmywork!Noneoftheex-

perimentstheysayweneedtodowilltellusanything!Theyarejustgivingusbusywork!”

Whew!Wasn’titarelieftogetthatoutofyoursystem?Ifyouhavemadestatementslikethese,youknowthatwithinafewminutes,ordays,youwillcollectyourthoughtsanddecideonareasonableresponsetothatnegativegrantrevieworrejectedmanuscript.

Almosteveryoneinsciencehasreceivedanonfundablegrantscoreorhadapaperrejected,usuallyboth.Ifthisisyourfirstexperiencewithsucharejection,congratulationsandwelcometotheclub!Thekeynowistoknowhowtomoveforward,tounderstandtheappropriaterolesofthere-viewerandthereviewed,andtodeterminehowtorespondtocritiquessothatyougetthatgrantfunded,eventually,orthatpaperaccepted.InPart1ofthisserieswewilldiscusstheinsandoutsofdealingwithmanuscriptpeerreview.Part2willfocusonrespondingtograntcritiques.


TheJoboftheReviewerThereviewerisjustfulfillingarole.It’snotpersonal.Andal-thoughyoumaythinkthatyouknowthenameofthepersonwhoreviewedyourwork—youmayevenbesureofit—you’reprobablywrong.JournaleditorstellusthatwhenauthorsblameDr.Stukit-tumeforanegativereview,Dr.Stukittumeusuallywasn’tevenonthelistofpotentialreviewers.Besides,evenifDr.Stukittumedidinfactreviewyourpaper,itdoesn’tmatter.Theneedisthesame,whoeverthereviewermightbe:tomovetheworkforwardandfigureouthowtosatisfythereviewer.

Thejoboftherevieweristodetermineiftheworkissuitableforpublicationinthejournaltowhichitissubmitted.Asdis-cussedin“PublishingattheTopoftheHeap”(above),differentjournalshavedifferentcriteriathattheworkhastomeet.Review-ersmustjustifytheiropinionsonacceptance,revision,orrejec-tionofeachmanuscript.Reviewersjustifytheirrecommendationstoyouthroughtheircritiqueofthework.

However,whatyouseeandwhattheeditorseesaretwodifferentthings.Asyoumostlikelyareaware,asarevieweryougettoprovideanumericalscoreorqualifyingstatementrank-ingthesignificanceandnoveltyofthework,thequalityofthedata,andsoon.Reviewersalsorecommendtoeditorswhethertheworkshouldbeaccepted,returnedforrevisions,orrejected.Butalmostalljournalshaveasectionwherereviewerscanmake“top-secret”commentstotheeditoraboutwhattheyreallythinkaboutthework.Becauseyoudon’tgettoseethesecomments,youmustinferwhatyoumustdofromtheeditor’sletterandtheanonymousreviews.Sometimesit’seasy.Sometimesit’snot.

TheJoboftheReviewedThat’syou.Yourjobissimple:togettheworkpublished.Thereviewerofyourmanuscriptexpectsthatyouwillattheveryleastaddresshisorhercomments.Thisisveryimportant,sincemostrevisionsarere-reviewedbythesamepeople,sotheywillbelookingforyoutoacknowledgeandconsidertheircomments.Reviewers’commentsaddressarangeofcategories,includingnovelty,significance,andrelevance;thequalityandnoveltyoftheexperimentaldesign;datainterpretation;andstyleandpresenta-tionofthedata.Theapproacheswerecommendforrespondingtoeachofthesecategoriesarediscussedbelow.

AssessingCommentsonaRejectedManuscriptIfyourmanuscriptwasrejected,thefirstquestiontoaskis“Why?”Considerthecategorieslistedabove.Rejectionsbasedonnoveltyorsignificanceandrelevancetoafieldindicatethatthepaperwassubmittedtothewrongjournal.Tocorrectthis,reassessyourworkandchooseamoreappropriatejournal.Ifthepaperoriginallywenttoatop-of-the-heapjournalthatpub-lishesonlyworkofbroadsignificance,thenconsidersendingthemanuscripttoajournalclosertoyourfield,suchasthejournalof

Thekeynow

istoknow

howtomove

forward,to

understand

theappropri-

aterolesof

thereviewer

andthe

reviewed,

andtode-

terminehow

torespond

tocritiques

sothatyou

getthat

grantfunded

eventually,

orthatpaper

accepted.


yourscientificsociety.Butiftheworkwasrejectedforthesereasonsfromajournalthatrepresentsyourfield,youwillneedtopointoutthework’ssignificanceandhowyourworkaddstowhathasalreadybeenpublishedbeforeyousenditoutagain.However,ifyoucannotpointouthowyourworkaddstoyourfield,thenperhapsyouwillneedtowaitonpublicationuntilyourresultsdoinfactaddtoyourfield.

Sometop-of-the-heapornear-the-topjournalsrejectallmanuscriptstheydonotimmediatelyaccept—thatis,therearen’tanyconditionalac-ceptances—andtheletterstheysendoutdonotexplainthisfact.Ifyouneedclarificationonwhatarejectionletterreallymeans,calltheeditorialofficeandask.Ifyoustillcan’tfigureoutwhattodo,seektheadviceofaseniorcolleagueinyourdepartment.Yourcolleaguemaybeabletosug-gestsomeoptionsthatdidnotoccurtoyou.

Beforeyoupressthereformatbuttonandhittheprintkeystoproduceanotherversionofthemanuscriptforadifferentjournal,youmaywanttoconsidertherestofthecomments.YoumaythinkitunlikelythatDr.Stukit-tume—theonewhoreallystuckittoyou,nottheoneyouthoughtitwas—willgetyourmanuscriptagainifyousendittoadifferentjournal.Buttheworldofscienceissmall,andevenifyou’rechangingjournals,youaren’tchangingdisciplines,sothere’sagoodchanceyoumightgetthesamereviewer.Someofthosecommentsmayimproveyourworkandincreasethelikelihoodthatitisaccepted.Allinall,respondingtothosecommentswouldbeprudent,evenifyousendthepaperelsewhere.

Reviewersalmostalwayscommentontheexperimentaldesignandthequalityofthedata.Whileeveryonehasadifferentwayofdoinganex-periment,intheendthedataandmethodofdatacollectionmustsupporttheconclusionsthatyoudraw.Whenreadingthecommentsandlookingthroughyourpaper,askyourselfthesequestions:» Isthetitleofthemanuscriptsupportedbythedata?» Dothedatasupportyourinterpretation?» Isyourinterpretationtheonlyinterpretationthedatasupport?» Whatcontrolsarenecessarytonailthepointyou'remaking?» Isthereabetterwaytocollectthedata?» Aretheresultsstatisticallysignificant?» Canyougetabetterautoradreading,etc.,thantheonethatyou

submitted?

Ifthereviewercommentsonanyoftheseissues,youwillneedtoaddressthemeitherbydoingadditionalexperimentsorbyprovidingmoreinforma-tion,discussion,orjustificationbeforeresubmittingyourmanuscript.

AssessingCommentsforaMajorRevisionManyjournalsprovideauthorswithasecondor,sometimes,athirdchancetogettheirworkaccepted.Thisismostlikelywhentheworkissoundandinterestingtothereviewerbutisincompleteineitherexperimentationorinterpretation.Theletteryoureceivewilllikelystatethattheworkisnotacceptableinitscurrentform.Thelettermayalsostatethatifyouwishtosubmitarevisedmanuscriptaftermoreworkhasbeendone,youwillneedtoindicatehowyourespondedtothereviewer’sconcerns.Ajournaleditor’sassumptionisthatyouwillfollowthereviewer’sadvicewhenever


possible,evenifyouaren’thappyaboutit.Respondingtoexperimental/dataissuesrequireswork—

sometimeslotsofit—andworktakestime.Tominimizetheamountoftimeandeffort,youmustprioritize:Whatarethemostimportantpointsthatthereviewerwantsaddressedexperimen-tally?Startdoingthoseexperimentsrightaway.Butsometimestheexperimentbeingrecommendedsimplycan’tbedoneinyoursystem.Thisisnottheendforthispaper;youmaybeabletoperformadifferentexperimentthatwouldsupporttheconclusionjustaswell.Oftenreviewersandeditorsarehappywiththis“baitandswitch”tactic.Ifarequestedexperimentiseasytodo,justdoit,evenifitdoesn’ttellyouanythingyoudidnotalreadyknow.Thissendsamessagetothereviewerandeditorthatyouaredo-ingyourbesttofollowtheiradvice.

AssessingCommentsinaMinorRevisionSometimesyouwillreceivealetterthattellsyouthattheworkis“accepteduponsatisfactoryresponsestothereviewer’scon-cerns.”Congratulations!Youarealmostthere.Don’tmessitupnow!Theconcernshereusuallycanbeaddressedbydoingsimpleexperimentation,acknowledgingthereviewer’sinterpretationinthemanuscript,oradjustingafewwordshereandthere.Thesearealleasytofix,sodoit.Youcanactuallysay:“Thepossibilityexiststhatthesystemmayalsoincludethebrilliantinterpretationofreviewer��;however,muchofthedatapresentedhereandalsobySuperstaret al.arguesthatthesystemwillbehaveaspre-dicted.”Itmightbebesttoleaveoutthe“brilliant”part,though;thereviewermaythinkyou’rebeingsarcastic.Ifareviewersug-geststhatyouchangesomeofthewordingtomakeitmorepalat-able,doit.Intheend,thecopyeditormaychangethewordingtosomethingcompletelydifferentanyway.

RespondingtoCritiquesYourlettertotheeditorshouldstartpolitely.Responselettersshouldstatethattheauthorthanksthereviewersfortheirtimeandeffortandtheircontributionstothework.Moreover,almostallsaythataddressingthecommentsofthereviewersand/ordoingtherecommendedexperimentsstrengthenedthework.Thisisbasicallytrue,andittellstheeditorthatyoupaidattention.Ofcourse,ifyoudecidedtodonothing,donotsaythatyoufollowedtheadviceofthereviewers.Instead,youshouldprovideapoint-by-pointresponsetoeachreviewer’sconcerns.Ifyourresponseissupportedbytheliterature,quotingpapersandsupplyingreferenceswillstrengthenyourpoint.Inplaceswhereyouandtherevieweragree,youshouldnoteinthemanuscriptwhereyouhavemaderevisionsreflectingthereviewer’sconcerns.Thiswillhelptheeditorandthereviewer(ifthemanuscriptissentoutforre-review)locateyourchangesanddetermineifyouhavereallyaddressedtheissues.Thesepoint-by-pointlettersareoftenverylong,sometimeslongerthanthearticleitself.Beassuccinctas

Yes,youcan

rebutarejec-

tiondecision:

Youwritethe

editoraletter

explaining

whyyou

believethe

reviewers

cametothe

wrongdeci-

sion.


youcanbewhilealsobeingclear,andavoidderogatoryremarksaboutthereview.

RebuttingaDecisionYes,youcanrebutarejectiondecision:Youwritetheeditoraletterexplain-ingwhyyoubelievethereviewerscametothewrongdecision.Notehowtheabovesentenceisphrased.Itdoesn’tblamethereviewersfornotdoingtheirjob.Iftherejectionwasbasedonamisinterpretationoftheresultsbythereviewer,orthelackofanexperimentforwhichyouhavetheresultsbutdidnotinclude,thenyoumayhaveashotatgettingthemanuscriptre-reviewed.ThereisthechancethatDr.Stukittumemayseeyourworkagain,sosayingthatthereviewerisanidiotandmissedthepointwon’thelpyourcause.Youmay,however,say,“Reviewer2didnotrealizethattheresultssaidblah,blah,blah,andthereforewehavenowrewordedthesectiontomakeitmoreclear.”

Beforeyourushtorebutyourrejection,realizethatthereisagoodchancethatrebuttalwillberebutted.Yourbestbetmaybetomakethechangesandsubmityourmanuscripttoanotherjournal.

DataPresentationandPoorWritingSometimesreviewershavetroublewiththewayafigureortableisassem-bledorpresented.Certainly,ifareviewercommentsthatdataarenotpre-sentedclearly,youshouldfixit.However,toavoidsuchstatements,showthefigurestocolleaguesandaskfortheirsuggestionsbeforeyousubmityourpaper.

ReceivingacommentthattheworkneedstobeeditedbysomeonewhospeaksandwritesEnglishashisorherprimarylanguageisonethatshouldbetakenseriously.Thereareprofessionalsciencewriterswhocanhelp.Usethem.

BottomLineAshardasitistoreceivearejectionletter,thekeytosuccessinscienceistoreceivecriticismasopenlyaspossibleandwithoutbitterness,andtorespondbyincorporatingordebatingthecritiqueinyourrevisedmanu-script.Itisn’tpersonal.Andremember:Youcanalwaysrevisetheworkandresubmitittoanotherjournal.Goodluck,andhappypublishing.

ThisarticlefirstappearedonScienceCareers.org(NextWave)at:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2�90/academic_scientists_at_work_i_can_t_believe_they_didn_t_like_it/

NOTE:Part2ofthisarticlecanbefoundat:http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/2��0/academic_scientists_at_work_i_can_t_believe_they_didn_t_like_it/part_ii_grant_proposals/

Overaspanoftime,eachofthearticlesinthisbookletwasfirstpublishedonScienceCareersunderNextWave-theeditorialvoiceofScienceCareers,intheCareerDevelopmentsection.Titlesandaffiliationsforauthorsandforsourcesquotedwerecorrectatthetimeoforiginalpublication.

©200�AmericanAssociationfortheAdvancementofScience.AllRightsReserved.

Photocredits:

Chapter1:CVWRITINGANDINTERVIEWSKILLS–THEESSENTIALS JupiterImages

WANT TO PLUG THE POWER OF SCIENCE INTO PUBLIC POLICY?

Become a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow.

Enhancing Public Policy, Advancing Science Careers

www.fellowships.aaas.org

BW_SETAC.qxd 9/1/05 11:14 AM Page 1

MembersoutsidetheU.S.willreceiveScience Digitaleditionatthisspecialrate.

Mailto:AAASMembershipDepartment1200NewYorkAve.,NWWashington,DC2000�USAFaxto:202-8�2-10��

country/postalcode

Orderonlineatpromo.aaas.org/student/PD

foraone-yearmembershipinAAAS**

*US

*Approximately£2�/e�0atcurrentexchangerates

Payment Methodname

address

city state zip

country/postal code

phone fax

e-mail

Special Introductory Offer to Students and Postdocs

Card No. Exp. Date

Signature Date

Only

50*$US

Introductory AAAS Membership for Students and Postdocs

for a one-year membership in AAAS*

*including a subscription to ScienceMembers outside the US will receive Science Digital edition at this special rate.

Order online at promo.aaas.org/student/PD

❒ Check enclosed in the amount of _______________ (Payable to AAAS)

Bill my credit card in the amount of ________________

❒ VISA ❒ MasterCard ❒ American Express

M7XTY

• 10% discount at the AAAS Store (use code MBK6)

• Discounts from AAAS/ Barnes & Noble.com Bookstore

• Buy a car for less through the Subaru VIP Auto Purchase Program*

• Discount on lab and offi ce moves from VIP Transport**

• Get rental car discounts through Hertz* and Dollar Rent A Car

• Obtain auto insurance discounts through GEICO*

• Get a no-annual-fee AAAS—Bank of America VISA Card*

• Sign up for low-cost term life insurance through Seabury & Smith*

• Register for Annual Meeting & other scientifi c meetings for less

• Discounted subscription to Science’s Signal Transduction Knowledge Environment (STKE)

• Shop for less at the Discovery Channel online store*

• Get discounts on offi ce products from Offi ce Depot*

• Real estate transaction rebates with Paragon Real Estate Resources, Inc.

• Discounts on selected titles from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press

* U.S. members only** U.S. and Canada members only

For more information visit

AAASMember.org

AAAS MEMBER BENEFITS

www.aaas.org

StudPdocBindin.indd 1 6/7/07 9:49:33 AM

**

career basics · introduction today’s scientists have many intriguing opportunities for career...

Documents