final careers Flashcards
What are the two best questions to ask someone who is established in a career that you are interested in?
What do you do on a day-to-day basis?
How did you get where you are today?
What are some careers that you could go into with each of the following degrees? Bachelors, masters, PhD
Bachelors: “Any degree as long as you have a degree” careers, Lab tech
Masters: Bachelors careers + , Teaching, Communication, Policy
PhD: Masters careers + , University faculty, Teaching faculty, Technology/data science
What are the main differences between industry lab and research lab jobs?
Industry labs: For example pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, medical technician. Generally, pay better but are not as helpful if you want to get into graduate programs. Has potential for advancement. Could be a sustainable career
Research labs: Mostly associated with universities. Do not pay as well as industry labs. Not much potential for advancement. Probably not a sustainable career. Very helpful if planning to seek an advanced degree. Could help you get into a better graduate program than you would with your undergraduate experience alone
What are the main differences (cost, availability, qualification, timeline) between getting a Masters and getting a PhD?
Cost: Generally you have to pay to do a masters program, while you get paid a stipend while pursuing your PhD.
Availability: Unlike in engineering, computer science, data science etc., for neuroscience (or life sciences in general) there are very few masters programs.
Generally, you get your masters along the way to getting your PhD. You don’t actually receive your masters unless you stop before getting your PhD
Qualification: Defending your thesis gets you a master’s. Defending your dissertation gets you a PhD
What types of skills to most graduate studies involve? What are some skills that you may also learn?
Most graduate studies involve: Reading scientific literature, Writing to scientific audiences, Presenting to scientific audiences, Statistical analysis
Depending on the lab you join/the research you do, you may also learn: Computer programming, Wet-lab work (chemistry, molecular biology, etc), Animal care and handling, Patient interaction, Collaboration with engineers
Describe that careers you could go into with a Masters degree? For each of these, what are important steps that you should take along the way?
With a masters degree you can find jobs at Middle schools, High schools, Some community colleges. You cannot teach at state universities, private colleges, technical institutes, etc. Those generally require a PhD
To prepare yourself to teach, get experience teaching while in graduate school: Teaching assistant (TA), Guest lectures, …or even be the only instructor for a course
May be able to find a job with just masters in neuro, but will be more competitive with a teaching certification
What does a tenure track research faculty position entail? What are the steps to this career? What is the most important thing you need to do to get this job?
The most important thing you can do to get a tenure-track position is publish your research and win your own funding.
Tenured professors generally have very secure jobs. As long as you don’t do anything illegal, you are very hard to fire.
Post-doctoral researcher. Generally you will need to be a post-doc before you can get a tenure-track position. This is a stage between getting your PhD and becoming a professor. You will generally need to post doc for about 5 years before landing a decent assistant professor position. Could be less (rarely skipped entirely), could be more (some up to 10 years!)
Assistant professor. First step in the tenure process. You have about 5-years to land your first major grant.
Associate professor. After your 5 year assistant professorship you are up for review. If you pass, you get tenure and become an associate professor. If you don’t, you generally are let go.
What does a non-tenure track research faculty position entail?
These positions are generally full-time but have less security. If the school has some budget cuts you may be let go
Adjunct professor. May be “soft money” (see below). Not tenure track. Probably a stepping-stone to you finding a tenure-track position (or instructor position; see next slide)
Explain the difference between hard and soft money.
“Hard money” means that you are guaranteed a paycheck regardless of how well funded you are (i.e., how many grants you’ve won). Most tenure-track positions are “hard money.”
“Soft money” means that your paycheck is contingent on you bringing in money. If you don’t have any grants, well, they won’t fire you, but you won’t get paid. This is more typical for adjunct professors or faculty associated with medical schools.
What is a teaching faculty career? What is the most important thing to do to get this job?
This could mean teaching at a community college or being a full-time instructor at a liberal arts college or university
These teaching-only positions generally pay less than research positions but can have the same job security. LPSOE: Lecturer with potential for security of employment is the teaching equivalent of a tenure-track position. Different universities may call it different things
To get these positions you often have to adjunct for a while
Adjunct professors may teach part-time at several liberal arts colleges and universities, taking what classes they can and building a portfolio of classes they have taught
Often do not have any “full time” positions (so no benefits like health insurance)
May not know whether they have a course to teach until enrollment is done and classes are filled. Right before the semester starts you could have a course fold due to lack of enrollment, in which case you don’t teach and you don’t get paid
Can adjunct while still a graduate student (as long as you have the equivalent of a masters degree) to gain experience
Expect to teach 5-10 full courses as an adjunct before being considered as full-time teaching faculty
Explain what a career in Technology/data science is? What are the most important skills you need for this career?
These careers involve working with data to either design something or help a company make decisions. You could start your own company, work at a startup, or join a massive multi-national corporation.
Hard to get in. You will be competing against computer science/data science/physics/math PhDs who may specialize in your field. As such, it may be difficult to find a position initially. You may have to take a lower-tier/lower-paying position at first to get your foot in the door.
But then lots of job options. Once you have a job, and prove that you can work in a non-academic setting, it becomes much easier to find continued employment. Lots of potential for advancement. Can make lots of money. To prepare for a career in technology, focus on programming and data analysis.
What is meant by the phrase “learning the language” of the job?
Different areas often talk about the same thing using different words. Learn how people in the area you are interested in talk. That will help you understand what the job actually entails, not just what jargon describes it.
What is an elevator pitch? What are its key components?
In 1 minute, describe these 2 things in a way that a non-specialist will understand: What you are working on (in 1-3 sentences). Why it is very very important. What you do to make that very very important thing happen
What are 3 examples of ways you can be proactive when it comes to job searching?
- Talking to lots of people (and marketing yourself)
- Finding opportunities to get experience/gain skills in particular areas
- Educating yourself about different career paths
