These days many people at various points in their career are facing an array of choices and decisions beyond this traditional academic research career track. These decisions are often not straightforward and it is not always obvious how to go about making the right choice. 

In an effort to highlight the fact that many people have faced these decisions and weighed the various options, we approached a number of biologists who have gone through this process and made interesting career choices, and we asked them to write a short piece describing their jobs and the considerations that went into their career decisions. We are featuring these articles in an ASBMB Today column called Career Insights, and they will also be preserved on the website for future reference. 

Career Insight Articles from ASBMB Today 

2010 

• A career in academic research - what does it take to succeed? December 2010
  by Barbara M. Sanborn
• A Career in Science Policy, November 2010
  by Kyle Brown
• A Career in Biomarker Discovery, October 2010
  by Sheri Wilcox
• A Job in Career Development
  by Lori M. Conlan, September 2010
• How to Prepare for a Job in Industry
  by Tertius De Kluyver, August 2010
• A Career in Research Administration
  by David Taylor, July 2010 
• Nontraditional Career Options for Life Scientists
  Clifford S Mintz , June 2010
• One in a Land of 1,338,612,968
  Andrea Stith, May 2010 
• Functional Resume Writing Tips for Life Scientists
  Clifford Mintz, April, 2010 
• Chance Favors the Prepared Mind
  Shawn R. Drew, March 2010
• Note to Self: If I Network, the Jobs Will Come
  Sarah Edwards, February, 2010
• Taking the Path Less Traveled
  Clifford Mintz, January, 2010

2009 

• "Jump, Don't Fall, into Your Career Transition"
  Jeanne McAdara-Berkowitz - December 2009
• "From the Bench to the Capitol"
  Allen Dodson, November, 2009
• "A Life in the Museum"
  Erika Shugart, October 2009, Page 34 
• "From Lab Work and Genetics to Toxic Chemicals and Public Policy"
  Holly Davies, September 2009, Page 36 
• "Shedding Light on Microscopy"
  Joseph Brzostowski, August 2009, Page 28 
• "Matchmaking in Science"
  Barbara Preston, July 2009, Page 28 
• "Falling into Outcomes Research in Healthcare"
  Monica Horvath, June 2009, Page 28 
• "Mastering Microscopes"
  Bret L. Judson, May 2009, Page 24
• "Luck, Knowing Someone, and Doing Something For Free: My Career Trajectory"
  Faye Farmer, March 2009, Page 28 
• "From inside the Lab to inside the Beltway"
  Carrie Wolinetz, February 2009, Page 28 
• "A Backwards Career in Biotechnology: From Law to Human Embryonic Stem Cell Science"
  Elizabeth L. R. Donley, January 2009, Page 24
   

Read Career Insight articles prior to 2009, visit ASBMB Yesterday