Professional Development + IMSD
iJOBS
The Rutgers University iJOBS Program, funded by the National Institutes of Health, exposes life science Ph.D. students and postdocs to a range of non-academic career options and empowers them to pursue their career goals. In 2014 Rutgers became 1 of only 17 schools in the country to be awarded an NIH BEST grant.
iJOBS maintains research as the primary trainee focus while offering to program to broaden trainee's perspectives, experiences, and knowledge to facilitate the pursuit of academic and non-academic careers.
iJOBS includes career panels, site visits to partnering companies, case studies, and workshops such as SciPh.D. covering communication, teamwork, leadership, finance, and project management skills.
Many of these skills as well as awareness of the pharmaceutical industry are also critical to academic positions so all trainees benefit regardless of career aspirations. The program also gives trainees the opportunity to shadow a professional in their area of interest as part of an externship organized by iJOBS.
Trainees can also register for a non-science course relevant to that field to expand their skill set. Finally, trainees are assigned a professional mentor to advise them and help them create an Individual Development Plan. The program supports the job application process and allows alumni of iJOBS to contribute back to the program.