By Vicky Kanta   At every career development event, PhD students and postdocs are reminded of how valuable their training is, even outside the scope of academic careers. Presenting in front of large audiences and summarizing complicated topics in a short time are some of the so-called “soft skills” that come along with a STEM PhD. These advantages help scientists land jobs in almost every sector of industry and remain highly competitive in diverse career paths.   One often overlooked line of work for STEM PhDs is politics.

Written by: Paulina Krzyszczyk Edited by: Huri Mücahit and Tomas Kasza On February 1^st, I attended the iJOBS-sponsored consulting workshop led by Sidnee Pinho, the U.S. Chief Operating Officer of Prescient Healthcare Group. The workshop opened up my eyes to a field that I had previously poorly understood, and therefore not seriously considered as a potential career path. I am very glad that I attended, as I learned a lot about this exciting field.

By Tomas Kasza You might have heard that the first rule of contract research organizations (CROs) is you don’t talk about contract research organizations (CROs). THAT’S A LIE! It turns out that employees of CROs are excited to discuss their career knowledge with PhD and post-doctoral level academic researchers. CROs represent a great opportunity for PhD level scientists to transition from academia to industry. CROs provide essential support, generate fantastic science, and create quality products for the large biotechnology and corporate agencies that they contract with.

Maria Qadri graduated from Rutgers University in January 2018 with a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering and Quantitative Biomedicine. Prior to that, she received her M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Connecticut and her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Hartford. At Rutgers, she was highly involved in the formation of the Science Policy and Advocacy at Rutgers group and was also one of the founding members of the iJOBS blog.

By Deepshikha Mishra On January 15^th, 2019, I got the chance to attend the Bayer/Rutgers iJOBS meeting. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet and interact with global team leaders and to feel the work culture inside the Bayer company. The global team is comprised of Dr. Libia F Scheller, Global Head of Cooperative Groups and Strategic Alliances and Global Medical Affairs Oncology; Dr. Edio Zampaglione, Vice President of U.S. Medical Affairs; Dr. Heather Goolsby, Deputy Director, WHC Marketing; and Dr.

On January 17^th and 18^th Rutgers iJOBS hosted a two-day Genomics Workshop designed by Data Carpentry; this is the 3^rd time Rutgers has held this workshop, alternating between Newark and New Brunswick. There were two instructors, Niel Infante and Amanda Charbonneau, along with three assistants from Rutgers, Katarzyna Tyc, Zhenru Zhou, and Roman Wernyj.

Science, like many other professions, requires strict tracking of money and assets and often needs large inputs of capital to function. When these inputs disappear or finances fall short of their expectations, science faces the same setbacks and cuts as any other project might. An article from NPR addresses the issues that arise when scientists have to deal with budgetary issues and spending cuts.

by Helena Mello On November 30, the Eagleton Institute of Politics, along with iJOBS, hosted the Eagleton Science and Politics Workshop: Scientists in Politics. As introduced by Eagleton’s Director Ruth B. Mandel, PhD, this workshop is part of a series of events that aim to (1) encourage political engagement in the scientific community, and (2) explore how science, technology, and politics intersect. I had the opportunity to attend the workshop and will share some highlights of it with you.

In the last decade, several reports have been published indicating that there has been a shift in the mindset of students graduating with a degree in biomedical sciences. Now, more than 50 percent of biomedical PhD scientists are seeking non-traditional or non-academic careers (Zimmerman AM 2018; American institute of research 2014).

By: Jennifer Casiano-Matos A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a career development talk conducted by Lori Conlan, Ph.D.; Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Studies at NIH. In this panel, we discussed how graduate students should focus on the next steps after graduate school or the completion of a postdoc position. In fact, career exploration and the job search is not an easy task—it can almost take the time of a full-time job! First, you have to figure out what you want.