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Lauren
Celano

Building your “soft skills”

I often advise PhD students on career planning and the many options available to them in and out of academia.  When I ask about specific skills, a lot of them focus only on their research/technical skills, i.e. “hard skills” such as genetics, cell biology, computer science, chemistry or pha...


Christiana
Davis

Finding the Door to Get your Foot In

We are often told to get our foot in the door. Yet, for most of us, finding the door is our greatest challenge. In fact, most foreign nationals find this to be true. Case in point, I am originally from Sierra Leone, West Africa. I completed medical training in Russia, and matriculated to the United ...


Shraddha
Desai

Applying graduate school as an International student!

Today, I will like to share my experience about applying to United States for Higher studies, MS and PhD. I hope this might me be helpful to a lot of readers.I started the arduous process of applying to the graduate schools in the US back in 2004. The following are the steps I took (some of whi...


Donna
Kridelbaugh

What’s your career exit strategy?

With the uncertainty of government funding and shrinking research budgets, scientists need to develop a career plan that includes an exit strategy — an alternate career route that will pay the bills during transition periods while you refocus your career goals. I am not advocating that researchers...


Shu Chin
Ma

How to Linkedin- a personal prospective in the proper etiquette

When I was introduced to LinkedIn in 2004 there were no plethora of articles, blogs or websites about the proper etiquette for using the site.I learned it the hard way, by having a few soul-pulping rejections, mortifying notification of suspended requests, and a couple of not so politely worded resp...


Nathan
Vanderford

Don’t Avoid All Risk: On Becoming a Skilled Risk Manager

Imagine if a start-up company in an emerging market called you today and offered you your dream job with all your dream benefits and in your dream geographic location. Would you take the job without reservation? Or would you immediately envision the risks involved in a start-up company in an unprove...


Lauren
Celano

“How” to find a Mentor(s)

A mentor is someone who shares both wisdom and knowledge. Most often a person that is more senior in a role or specific area of expertise. A mentor can be extremely valuable for advice, insight, and professional and personal development. The importance of having a good mentor cannot be overstated; b...


Smita
Mukherjee

Pregnant productive scientist: a definite possibility

My husband and I chose to be pregnant during my time as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at University of Pittsburgh Medical School. A lot of women in scientific lab-based research make this choice during their time as a graduate student or postdoc. Pregnancy in itself is a unique and eventful expe...


Akua
Roach

Cover Letters: An Essential Non-essential

Looking for a job in this competitive market can at times be frustrating.  It is difficult to discern what a potential employer is looking for in your application packet and, if you are looking for positions outside the bench, it can be nearly impossible to detail how your previous experience i...


Alice
Gruber

Changes You Need to Know about the Nonimmigrant Visa Interview

THE NONIMMIGRANT VISA WAVIER PILOT PROGRAM IS NOW PERMANENT - MAKING LIFE SIMPLER FOR ALMOST EVERYONE!  ESPECIALLY INDIANS AND CHINESE CITIZENS, WHO OFTEN NEED TO TRAVEL LONG DISTANCES TO REACH THEIR US CONSULATE.