Back to Posts

This post marks my two-month blog-iversary here at the ASBMB Careers Blog. I thought this would be a good opportunity to compile some of my recent posts in one place, along with other ASBMB-related articles that contain useful information on science-career resources and opportunities, for your reading pleasure.  

Here are my first two months of posts broken down my job category. Each of these posts features job-search strategies tailored for specific career interests.

Science-communication careers

• Building a portfolio career in science communications
• Careers in technical writing

Academic-career track

• Career-transition planning for postdocs
• Faculty-hiring season commences
• Faculty jobs outside academia
• Diversity support programs for academic careers

Biomedical-career paths

• Pathogen slayers: biosurveillance and public health jobs
• Neuroscience career and training opportunities

Here are some other recent ASBMB-related articles with career information that may be of interest. In the coming weeks, I will be expanding upon many of these topics, from finding careers in science art to science policy, so stay tuned.
 

• Science worth a thousand words
• Flashback Friday: Applying for science policy fellowships
• Transitioning from science to science writing
• Científico Latino: A resource for underrepresented minorities and all STEM students
• ASBMB joins the Energy Sciences Coalition to advocate for the Department of Energy Office of Science

And while you’re catching up on some old posts, don’t forget that abstracts for the 2018 ASBMB Annual Meeting are due Dec. 7, with travel award and childcare grant applications due Dec. 14. You must submit an abstract as the first/presenting author by the abstract deadline in order to be eligible for travel awards.

Please note that ASBMB student members, ASBMB affiliate members and nonmembers must get regular ASBMB members or regular members of other Experimental Biology host societies to sponsor their abstracts. A list of host societies can be found on this website. If you are in need of a sponsor, you might check out the ASBMB member directory to find eligible members at your institution or elsewhere. If you still can’t find an appropriate sponsor, send a message to ASBMB here.

Overall, I can’t emphasize enough the value in attending conferences for your professional and career development. I can post job openings for you all day long, but the truth is that most jobs are found through networking. The annual meeting provides many opportunities to network (e.g., special events and mixers) and attend professional-development workshops (e.g., how to write a C.V.). In addition, it’s important to share your research to bolster your professional profile, gain communication skills and get feedback from the scientific community.

That being said, conferences may be cost prohibitive or it may be difficult to justify taking time off from the lab. In addition to ASBMB travel awards, there are a number of other ways to defray travel costs. I have written about funding sources for attending scientific meetings in an old blog post, which may give you some alternative options. Additionally if you need to sell your supervisor on meeting attendance, you may want to read a Lab Manager article I wrote on the topic for ideas (e.g., bringing back information to the lab on a specific topic or lab technique to share).

If you need help brainstorming funding sources or ways to convince your PI to let you go to a meeting, feel free to post a question in the comments below or reach out on Twitter. I’m more than happy to help if I can.

Donna Kridelbaugh is the ASBMB careers blogger. Connect with her on Twitter (@science_mentor) or at her website (sciencementor.me).