THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE CAREER IN SCIENCE Zuzana Holubcová MY CAREER PATH Vsetín Cambridge Brno Brno • The SCIENCE • It’s not boring • The flexibility • The community • Travel • The international friendships • The work / life balance • Loneliness • The pressure to “be successful” • Getting grants • Lack of support • Financial insecurity CHALLENGES CAREER IN ACADEMIA CAREER SERVICE  Career advisors, CV and Cover Letters Guides, Take Away Materials, Prospects Career Planner  Career events, Courses/Workshops  Personal Development  CV/Cover letter writting  Job search tools  Career Stories  Presentation of Recruiters, Headhunter, Entrepreneurs, Investors  Proposal writting  One to one appointments, Interview Preparation, Mock Interviews  CV/cover letter review/proof reading  Database of alumni, vacancies and opportunities (incl. Fellowships, Internships and Regionaly Based R&D Companies) HOW TO APPROACH YOUR CAREER PATH Self- knowledge Opportunities MatchingApplying No idea WHAT KIND OF PHD STUDENT/POSTDOC ARE YOU? THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF-KNOWLEDGE What are your interested in? What motivates you? What are your skills & attributes? What are your priorities? SELF-ANALYSIS Work-Life Balance Leadership Team Work Independence Personal Grown Contribution to Society Income Sense of Achievement Security Risk Predictible Working Hours Challenge Work-life balance Competition Expertise Wealth Responsibility Appreciation Respect Creativity Personal Possessions Excitement Stability Networking Communication Engagement Fun Promotion Opportunity Friendship Travel Flexibility Leisure Time  Do you prefer to work alone, with little input / interference from anyone including your supervisor?  Do you work best as a member of a team?  Are you self-motivated or do you need a structure to help keep you on track?!  Do you want feedback on how you are doing on a regular basis?  Are you self-centred (even selfish ??) or do you happily contribute to the smooth running of the lab?  Do you find it impossible to ‘say no”? Do you do too much outside your own research?  How well do you know all your own strengths and weaknesses?!  How well do these match to your career aspirations?  Do you face up to your own weaknesses and address them or do bury them! SELF-ANALYSIS WORK-LIFE BALANCE YOU AND YOUR PI (SUPERVISOR) THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE OF YOUR SUPERVISOR …….!  Step 1: Get to know your supervisor as well as you can… and work out what you need from him / her  Step 2: Get to know as soon as you can how your lab works  Who has a successful relationship with the supervisor? !  One that you would like to have?!  How do they achieve that?!  Step 3: Keep channels of communication open and develop strategies to keep his/her attention..! WHAT ARE THE KINDS OF PROBLEMS THAT CAN ARISE?  Poor communication - Lack of attention, lack of time with your supervisor!  You are not performing up to his / her standards but you don’t know how to improve.  You think that he/she is not showing enough interest in your work.  Poor relationships within the lab –you think that poor behaviour goes unpunished / even rewarded, you feel excluded  You are actively discouraged from taking training courses  You are afraid to bring up problems because you think it will be “held against you”  Life – work balance: You and your supervisor don’t agree on what is reasonable! IF THINGS START TO GO WRONG….  You have to take the initiative to improve things before difficulties escalate  If you don’t speak up, then how is he/she expected to know you are unhappy? He / she is very busy, so help by making things explicit , clear, and suggest remedies yourself..!  Develop strategies to make things work better & discuss them with him / her  Show your self to be hardworking, dedicated and that you play your part  Talk things over early on! No supervisor wants to have an unhappy team. CAREER STRATEGY  Know WHY (Developing an understanding of your motivations and reasons for pursuing a particular career)  Know HOW (Acquiring the professional and academic capabilities that are necessary to do the required work)  Know WHOM (Building networks, relationships and sponsors; identifying helpful people)  Know WHAT (Monitoring opportunities, threats and risks, requirements for the role)  Know WHERE (Sourcing opportunities to enter the field, develop your capabilities and progress your career)  Know WHEN (Judging the best timing for decisions and actions) OUTSIDE ACADEMIA? Academic Career Industry Research Using Your Science Background Something Completely Different Increasing search effort and likelihood of refraining BUT increasing number of opportunities Specialised, familiar but insecure Options are little wider but still research based Using knowledge and understanding of science but not hands on research skills Using transferable skills rather than specific knowledge CAREER „T“ BREADTH DEPTH Breadth Have you applied your skills and knowledge? How many roles have you filled? Are these roles varied and diverse? What are the key achievements ? Am I focused on the right thing? Are they visible to the others? Am I balanced? Am I well positioned to support my future aspirations? Depth What skills/expertise/ knowledge do you possess? Am I future proofed? Can I step into different academic role? Do I have sufficient depth and confidence to do so? Am I not under-utilising my skills? Do others know about my skills? What new challenges must I set? BUILDING YOUR ACADEMIC PROFILE TEACHING RESEARCH ENGAGEMENT Effective teacher Knowledgeable about teaching and learning theory and principles lyblis |.r abo gt.telchin g inn gyati o Leatt -ns birava*i:y roti;, in€duee@di, '. innovation or enhancement Discipline expert who guides new educational paths • Effective teacher • Knowledgeable about teaching and learning theory and principles • Publish about teaching innovations • Lead or play a key role in educational innovation and enhancement • Discipline expert who guides new educational paths BUILDING YOUR ACADEMIC PROFILE TEACHING RESEARCH ENGAGEMENT Effective teacher Knowledgeable about teaching and learning theory and principles lyblis |.r abo gt.telchin g inn gyati o Leatt -ns birava*i:y roti;, in€duee@di, '. innovation or enhancement Discipline expert who guides new educational paths • Quality publications and sufficient quantity and regularity • Collaborations • Grant funding • Track record of quality conference presentations • Industry connections • Supervising research students • Patents, commercialised research •Gaining research impact and recognition BUILDING YOUR ACADEMIC PROFILE TEACHING RESEARCH ENGAGEMENT Effective teacher Knowledgeable about teaching and learning theory and principles lyblis |.r abo gt.telchin g inn gyati o Leatt -ns birava*i:y roti;, in€duee@di, '. innovation or enhancement Discipline expert who guides new educational paths • Participate in university committees • Provide workshops / seminars on area of expertise • Conference /Eventsupport / Coordination • Manage projects, programs, initiatives • Participate in projects of team activities • Contribute as a reviewer for academic journals • Adviser to government / industry; Board membership • Public speaker /Commentator/ Active social media presence CAREERS OUTSIDE ACADEMIA  Industry R&D – Pharma, Biotech, Physical Sciences Firms, CRO (Contract Research Organisation), Spin-offs  Supportive R&D – Clinical Trial, Sales and Technical Support, Bioinformatics, Statistics and Commputation Biology services  Healthcare Science, Public Health, Government Labs  Science Communication – Jounalism, Publishing, Public Relations, Science Outreach,, Education  Consultancy, Patent, Tech Transfer, Start-ups  Finance, Modelling, Data analysis, Software Development  Research Funding and Management – grant management, funding bodies  Scientific Admin, Science Policy, Training and Support Roles  EU and International Organisations, Local Government TIME MANAGEMENT  Use planner  Make „to do list“  Get organised  Identify effective work time of the day  Create rituals/habits  Programme/social networks blockers  Define your day priorities and tasks 4D TIME MANAGEMENT MATRIX DO DEFER DELEGATE DUMP IMPORTANCE URGENCY LOWHIGH LOWHIGH PROCRASTINATION HOW TO MANAGE PROCRASTINATION  Set a realistic goal  Be realistic (rather than wishful) about time  Break your goal down into small specific minigoals  Just get started  Reward your progress along the way  Protect your time  Use next 15 minutes  Work in focus bursts  Expect obstacles and standbacks NETWORKING NETWORKING  Collaborations  Student Conferences, Seminars, Summer Schools, Public Talks  Be ready for the unanticipated „elevator talk“  „career pathways are filled with unxpected kindness of strangers“  Social networks  Research Gate  LinkedIn  (Facebook)  Membership in Societies, Student communities, Academic boards,..  Volunteering INTERNSHIPS FELLOWSHIP APPLICATIONS AND STUDENT CONTESTS  Opportunity  for a career review  to develop/improve writting and presentation skills  to shape your ideas  to gain finantial credit/funding  to build networks and increase your visibility in the field  to improve your CV and job opportunities KNOW YOUR VALUE „DO NOT GO FOR COMFORT, GO FOR CHALLENGE“ LIFE’S TOO SHORT TO WASTE TIME DOING SOMETHING YOU DON’T LOVE DOING!