I think it's safe to say that I've probably eaten more Baja Fresh in a 30-hr period than any normal-sized person ever should. But it was that or Sbarro, so... .
Anyway, carnitas overdose aside, I had a very nice trip to Anaheim. When I wasn't compulsively checking the PC-compatibility of my Mac-designed presentation or arguing with my circadian clock about what time it was, I bounced around the exhibits and talks, spending a solid amount of time in the Career Resources Center. And I gotta say, the EB CRC kicked the SfN CRC's ass so much it wasn't even funny! There were at least 3 or 4 workshops going on at any given time between 8 am and 4 pm, plus a job board, plus a private area for interviews, plus people who would critique your CV. In addition to the expected topics like "how to write a great cover letter," "the NIH peer review process," and "how to give a dynamic talk" (hot damn was that one packed! You'd think it had never occurred to anyone to label their x- and y-axes before, the way they were all scribbling furiously), there were some unconventional (and, it should be noted, poorly attended) workshops as well.
I went to the "social media and career development" workshop because I am kind of a crazy social media junky, and was curious to hear how all of my internet friends could help me get a job. Sadly, I was not impressed. I mean, here was this guy, trying to explain Twitter to people, and he hadn't thought to put a screen shot of a Twitter feed in his presentation? People (especially in the scientific community, it seems) are absolutely clueless about what Twitter is for besides reading about what Ashton Kutcher ate for lunch, and hearing nothing but "well you see, you follow people and see their tweets, and people who follow you see your tweets" is not all that helpful.
Oh, how did my talk go? I think it went pretty well. I was a little nervous, and kept saying "channels" when I meant "receptors," but I think in general I was clear and told a good story. I'll admit, though, it was not the easiest thing in the world to present my former advisor's data. It's not that I didn't know it well enough or anything, it's just that on a certain level I couldn't own the work the way I can my own. There was a mediated discussion after all four parts of the symposium were finished, and I pretty much completely BS'd my way through my answer to what was, frankly, a not-all-that-answerable question (DrugMonkey, I truly hope you'd left by that point!)
The best part of the whole meeting, though, was a long chat I had after my talk with one of my contemporaries, a post-doc who left my lab for a second post-doc just before I arrived, and who's just accepted a TT job offer. We talked lots of science, and then some jobby stuff, about which he had some interesting things to say. First, he's currently in one of the departments that had an opening I applied to, and he said that they got 1200 applications for that position, and that the people who got interviews had 7-8 years of post-doc experience. So I'm thrilled to hear that the 7-8 year post-doc is the new 4-5 year post-doc--just like 35 is the new 25, yes? Along those lines, he also said something very wise. He said "Look, if you get a job tomorrow, it's not going to be as good as the job you'd get in a year or two." This is totally true, and made me feel significantly better about my situation. Do I want the job that awesome-ish me could get now, or the job that super-awesome me could get after a couple more fancy papers? Door number 2, please!
Finally, when I asked him how he thought I fielded that discussion question, he said "I think it was an appropriately verbose and evasive answer, given the question." Hahahaha!! I am going to be such a good scientist!!
The Plight of the Post-Doc
4.28.2010
4.24.2010
One night only!
We are pleased to announce that Dr Becca will be making a rare West Coast appearance in the coming days. Though this limited engagement--just 32 hrs on California soil--will be her Experimental Biology meeting debut, her performance talk is rumored to be one celebrated for years to come.
I am so excited, you guys!!! I gave my talk to my department yesterday, and not only was it exactly 25 minutes, but everyone said it was super clear and well put-together and interesting. Since my post-doc work is loosely related to my grad advisor's (whose place I'm taking, in case you haven't read the backstory), I was able to squeeze in a little of my recent work, which I think will cause much eye-widening and ooh-ing and ah-ing, and possibly opening of the old department checkbook, if you know what I mean.
Oh, just kidding. Sort of.
I have to say, one thing I'm really impressed with is how many career-oriented resources there are for young scientists. I mean, they've got workshops going on all day, every day for people just like me! Topics include:
"NIH K awards"
"Formula for grant success"
"Social media and career development for life sciences" (I KNEW there had to be a way to cash in on all that twittering!)
"The job talk"
"Ten ways to get lucky in the job search"
"Developing your personal statement/elevator pitch"
etc!!
There's also a whole symposium on Sunday afternoon about non-traditional careers like publishing and regulatory affairs, and another on the ins and outs of the peer review process. This, I think, is pretty great, and I'm really looking forward to checking some of them out in between posters and mentally rehearsing my talk for the gajillionth time.
And speaking of my talk--if you happen to find yourself at it (and I'm confident you'll know if you are), do come say hi after! Do not, however, blab my last name all over teh interwebs.
See you in Anaheim!
I am so excited, you guys!!! I gave my talk to my department yesterday, and not only was it exactly 25 minutes, but everyone said it was super clear and well put-together and interesting. Since my post-doc work is loosely related to my grad advisor's (whose place I'm taking, in case you haven't read the backstory), I was able to squeeze in a little of my recent work, which I think will cause much eye-widening and ooh-ing and ah-ing, and possibly opening of the old department checkbook, if you know what I mean.
Oh, just kidding. Sort of.
I have to say, one thing I'm really impressed with is how many career-oriented resources there are for young scientists. I mean, they've got workshops going on all day, every day for people just like me! Topics include:
"NIH K awards"
"Formula for grant success"
"Social media and career development for life sciences" (I KNEW there had to be a way to cash in on all that twittering!)
"The job talk"
"Ten ways to get lucky in the job search"
"Developing your personal statement/elevator pitch"
etc!!
There's also a whole symposium on Sunday afternoon about non-traditional careers like publishing and regulatory affairs, and another on the ins and outs of the peer review process. This, I think, is pretty great, and I'm really looking forward to checking some of them out in between posters and mentally rehearsing my talk for the gajillionth time.
And speaking of my talk--if you happen to find yourself at it (and I'm confident you'll know if you are), do come say hi after! Do not, however, blab my last name all over teh interwebs.
See you in Anaheim!
4.15.2010
Have you hugged your post-doc today?
I'm speaking metaphorically, of course; everyone knows that scientists are socially challenged and very rarely engage in human contact. But if I may reiterate the sentiments of Dr Isis and Scicurious, there is a way you can do something great for that special post-doc in your life--be it yourself, your future self, your current PhD-holding trainee, relative, friend, or significant other--write your congressperson!
President Obama's FY 2011 budget includes a 6% increase in trainee stipends, which, while modest (especially in light of what we actually make), would be a significant improvement over the last 4 years' budgets, in which stipend increases were either 0% or 1%. We are long overdue for this raise, but the budget still needs to work its way through appropriations in order for these changes to become a reality.
So here's where you come in! Write to your congressperson and tell them how important it is that our country invests in its young scientists. The National Postdoctoral Association's website has all the information you might need to do so, including links to all the appropriations committee members and a form letter in case you're not sure exactly what to say. But I highly encourage you to write your own letter, with feeling!
Think of it like a hug for your post-doc. A hug made of money.
President Obama's FY 2011 budget includes a 6% increase in trainee stipends, which, while modest (especially in light of what we actually make), would be a significant improvement over the last 4 years' budgets, in which stipend increases were either 0% or 1%. We are long overdue for this raise, but the budget still needs to work its way through appropriations in order for these changes to become a reality.
So here's where you come in! Write to your congressperson and tell them how important it is that our country invests in its young scientists. The National Postdoctoral Association's website has all the information you might need to do so, including links to all the appropriations committee members and a form letter in case you're not sure exactly what to say. But I highly encourage you to write your own letter, with feeling!
Think of it like a hug for your post-doc. A hug made of money.
4.08.2010
Ph.Dishes - Meat Stock, and saving the environment
I really really really wanted to write a post for biochem belle's excellent Scientiae Carnival on Sustainability this month, but re-working my former advisor's talk for this upcoming meeting on top of an evil, not-going-away cough has me not quite capable of putting thoughts together in a coherent way. Or maybe it's just all the Nyquil? I'll admit, too, that when I hear the word "sustainability" I first think of things like grass-fed beef and supporting local farmers and whatnot. You know, the environment! And how it relates to food.
So on that note, I'm going to tell you how I make meat stock, which is useful not only for actual soup, but for things like risotto, chicken marsala, and red wine mushroom sauce as well. What does this have to do with the environment? Well, you can make stock almost exclusively from things you were just going to throw away, so it's like recycling! You will need:
1. A carcass. Any kind will do--the bones from a chicken or turkey you recently roasted, lamb leg bone, pork shoulder bone, etc. Shrimp heads, leftover beef, anything, really!
2. Your veggie discards freezer bag. This takes a little planning, but starting TODAY, every time you peel a carrot or take off the outer onion layer or chop the tops from celery, put it in a freezer bag. If you don't cook with these things enough for this to be all that realistic, just go buy the veggies.
3. Some fresh herbs. It doesn't really matter too much what kind; I usually just throw in whatever I happen to have in the fridge. But that said, I'd recommend dill, rosemary, parsley, sage, etc. Pretty much anything but mint. If you live in NYC, I highly encourage getting your herbs from FreshDirect (if you can't make it to the farmers market, of course!)--they're super cheap and you get like 5 times as much as you get in those crappy plastic containers at Whole Foods or wherever.
So you throw it all in a stockpot, dump in a ton of kosher salt and grind a bunch of pepper over it, fill the thing with water, and let it simmer for maybe 2 hrs. Here's what it will look like if you're using the pork shoulder you smoked a couple of weeks ago:
You may want to stir it once in a while, but it doesn't need a whole lot of attention. Plus, the kitties will keep an eye on things for you:
.jpg)
When it's finished, let it cool a little and then pour through a colander into tupperware. You can freeze it if you like! Toss all the mushy veggies and herbs, conscience clean that you at least used them before throwing them out. Also, you'll never have to buy bouillon again!
So on that note, I'm going to tell you how I make meat stock, which is useful not only for actual soup, but for things like risotto, chicken marsala, and red wine mushroom sauce as well. What does this have to do with the environment? Well, you can make stock almost exclusively from things you were just going to throw away, so it's like recycling! You will need:
1. A carcass. Any kind will do--the bones from a chicken or turkey you recently roasted, lamb leg bone, pork shoulder bone, etc. Shrimp heads, leftover beef, anything, really!
2. Your veggie discards freezer bag. This takes a little planning, but starting TODAY, every time you peel a carrot or take off the outer onion layer or chop the tops from celery, put it in a freezer bag. If you don't cook with these things enough for this to be all that realistic, just go buy the veggies.
3. Some fresh herbs. It doesn't really matter too much what kind; I usually just throw in whatever I happen to have in the fridge. But that said, I'd recommend dill, rosemary, parsley, sage, etc. Pretty much anything but mint. If you live in NYC, I highly encourage getting your herbs from FreshDirect (if you can't make it to the farmers market, of course!)--they're super cheap and you get like 5 times as much as you get in those crappy plastic containers at Whole Foods or wherever.
So you throw it all in a stockpot, dump in a ton of kosher salt and grind a bunch of pepper over it, fill the thing with water, and let it simmer for maybe 2 hrs. Here's what it will look like if you're using the pork shoulder you smoked a couple of weeks ago:
You may want to stir it once in a while, but it doesn't need a whole lot of attention. Plus, the kitties will keep an eye on things for you:
.jpg)
When it's finished, let it cool a little and then pour through a colander into tupperware. You can freeze it if you like! Toss all the mushy veggies and herbs, conscience clean that you at least used them before throwing them out. Also, you'll never have to buy bouillon again!
4.02.2010
The latest in lab fashion
Today was my birthday (NO FOOLING), and I officially have the coolest boyfriend anywhere, because he got me this:
Namaste.
He chose the Pearl Station patch because it's where Dharma researchers purportedly observe, record, and report the behavior of the button-pushers in the Swan Station, much like I observe, record, and report the behavior of my rats. However, as we learn in the final episodes of Season 2 ("Live Together/Die Alone"), the reports actually just end up in a big pile in the middle of the island somewhere, never to be read. Much like my papers, but the island in this metaphor is PubMed, or the internet or something.
3.28.2010
When life becomes an After-School Special
You know the scene.
It's The Big Game. Our protagonist sits on the sidelines in street clothes, a deflated look on her face. Though she trained all season with the team--countless times up and down the bleacher stairs, suicide drills until her thighs cried out in agony, and damn but all those practice penalty kicks/free throws/etc--she didn't make the cut for the championship this year. Late in the final quarter or half or whatever, the game's tied. Suddenly, the home team's star player is down! Her ankle is twisted; there's no way she can keep playing. The coach turns to our protagonist. "Hey!" he says, tossing her a spare jersey. "You're in. Go get changed." A smile, followed by a look of intense determination appears on her face, and she dashes for the locker room.
Yesterday I got an email from my thesis advisor that read, "I'm meant to give a talk on Your Area of Research, Broadly Defined at upcoming Giant Meeting, but I've hurt my leg and can't travel. Would you like to give it for me?" (I am not even kidding, she really hurt her leg. It is too much!!!) Naturally I replied, "YES! YES! YES! Oh, and sorry about your leg!" She promised to send me her PowerPoint, to which I could add some of my recent relevant data.
I am really excited about this, folks. I feel like it's my Big Moment. I checked out the meeting program, and I'll be following one of the country's absolute top people re: My Area of Research, Broadly Defined. It's scary, but also an amazing chance for me to really strut my stuff and get my name out there.
And so, we all know what happens next, right? Seconds are left on the clock. Without warning, our protagonist finds the ball in her hands/at her feet/against her field hockey stick, with no one between her and the basket/goal. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and just as the buzzer/whistle goes.....
SCORE!!!!!!!!
It's The Big Game. Our protagonist sits on the sidelines in street clothes, a deflated look on her face. Though she trained all season with the team--countless times up and down the bleacher stairs, suicide drills until her thighs cried out in agony, and damn but all those practice penalty kicks/free throws/etc--she didn't make the cut for the championship this year. Late in the final quarter or half or whatever, the game's tied. Suddenly, the home team's star player is down! Her ankle is twisted; there's no way she can keep playing. The coach turns to our protagonist. "Hey!" he says, tossing her a spare jersey. "You're in. Go get changed." A smile, followed by a look of intense determination appears on her face, and she dashes for the locker room.
Yesterday I got an email from my thesis advisor that read, "I'm meant to give a talk on Your Area of Research, Broadly Defined at upcoming Giant Meeting, but I've hurt my leg and can't travel. Would you like to give it for me?" (I am not even kidding, she really hurt her leg. It is too much!!!) Naturally I replied, "YES! YES! YES! Oh, and sorry about your leg!" She promised to send me her PowerPoint, to which I could add some of my recent relevant data.
I am really excited about this, folks. I feel like it's my Big Moment. I checked out the meeting program, and I'll be following one of the country's absolute top people re: My Area of Research, Broadly Defined. It's scary, but also an amazing chance for me to really strut my stuff and get my name out there.
And so, we all know what happens next, right? Seconds are left on the clock. Without warning, our protagonist finds the ball in her hands/at her feet/against her field hockey stick, with no one between her and the basket/goal. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and just as the buzzer/whistle goes.....
SCORE!!!!!!!!
3.21.2010
"Use more hyphens" and other career panel advice
On Friday my institution hosted a "career panel" for post-docs. Though it was mostly meant to be a chance for us to hear from people who'd decided not to stay in academia after getting their PhDs, I decided to go, figuring it would be mildly interesting at the very least, and monumentally life-changing at the very most.
The panel consisted of three biotech/pharma people, one publishing person, and one academia person (administration, not faculty). They were asked to describe their journeys off the tenure-track track, discuss the current state of hiring at their company/institution, and describe desirable qualities in new hires. In a surprising twist, all except the publishing person noted that having several first-author publications in top-tier journals was supremely important.
And just as I was about to be all, tell me something I don't know, I did learn something I didn't know! The publishing lady, after talking about how she entered publishing when she realized she hated bench work and how people who succeed in publishing have a keen eye for dangling prepositions and whatnot, said this: "Something I've noticed is that people in this country often don't hyphenate when they should. So...use more hyphens!" As a long-standing proponent of the hyphen, I felt that this was advice I could really get behind.
Two out of the three biotech/pharma people were pretty depressing. Neither one seemed to be all that enthusiastic about industry, and they each noted that hiring where they were had all but ground to a halt. One did admit, though, that when her company does accept applications the initial CV screening is done by computer, meaning that if your CV doesn't contain exact word matches from the job ad, you're not getting through. Crikey!
The third industry person, however, was different. Unlike the other two, he genuinely seemed to love his job and believe in his company. He was cool, and spoke with the casual wisdom of someone who probably takes his kids fishing on the weekends, and also knows a lot about wine. He qualified his earlier statement re: potential hires' publication records and said that while fancy papers were great, they were also looking for creative people, people who write well, people who have skills they didn't know they had. His company has on staff a group of what they call "deep divers"--people whose job it is to immerse themselves in literature, attend meetings, and report back with all the cool stuff they learned and help everyone think about how to apply it to the company's work. Sounds kind of fun, no?
I looked at this guy's company's website, and they've won several "Best Places to Work" and "Most Innovative Companies" awards. And, according to him, they're currently looking to fill 50 new spots for Ph.D-holders! I'm not sure if I should just blab this company's name out loud, but if you're seriously considering an industry job, shoot me an email and I'll point you in the right direction.
While it's nice to know that I was not completely turned off by the prospect, I'm not ready to start applying for "alternative careers" just yet. Plus, I had a pretty great week in the academic world: got some new exciting data, started planning the class I'm going to help teach, met a faculty member who wants to collaborate, and convinced my boss to send me to two conferences this summer. So for now, then, I'll be staying on the tenure-track track.
