The Black Hole
Last week, the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars (CAPS) released its most recent survey of over 2,000 postdoctoral fellows across Canada. It is the third such survey (the others were 2009 and 2013) and offers the first robust longitudinal data set to help us understand the core issues facing the most uncertain and precarious phases […]
The following is an excerpt from a talk I gave at the Mentor Celebration Event at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA on May 23, 2016. Due to length, I have broken it up into three parts. What follows is the first part: Part 1: Training, Life sciences careers, and academics PhD and postdoctoral […]
This quarter, although we didn’t really plan a theme prospectively, the majority of our posts have focused on the critical decision making process of early career researchers at the end of their training or the beginning of their independence. Jonathan has collated a particularly insightful series of stories from colleagues of his about the varied […]
The landscape of scientific research is constantly evolving alongside your career trajectory since the needs of society versus the needs of your career and life are always in flux. To read the previous articles in this series please visit the links below: The line between successful academic and unemployment is razor thin Academic science […]
My 3.5 months of parental leave recently finished and I’m back in the lab. It’s been a fantastic experience overall – I’ve learned a lot and enjoyed my time. The lab did not fall apart (phew!) and the physical removal from the day-to-day of running the group has cleared my head. I’ve also interacted with […]
The faculty application and interview process spans over months and takes away precious time from experiments and grants. To read the previous articles in this series please visit the links below: The line between successful academic and unemployment is razor thin Academic science does not prepare you for the challenges ahead In an earlier post […]
Editors note: This entry is the third in a series on taking parental leave as a scientific group leader. Could parental leave actually be good for my academic career? Taking parental leave: I’m glad I’m not a postdoc Getting a job in academic science is not easy. The hours are long, the work is intense, […]
With great work funding will come. To read the previous articles in this series please visit the links below: The line between successful academic and unemployment is razor thin In an earlier post I defined the present economic climate for burgeoning young scientists, and the career uncertainty that should be expected if pursuing this career […]
As a group leader, I’m in a better position to take some precious time off.
If professional fulfillment were easy, everyone would do it. Read the previous articles in this series: The door to an academic science career – open or closed? Commencing the academic job search – impetus and deadlines The academic job search – getting your foot in the door Preparing your application package for an academic job […]
This quarter features a guest post from the current Chair of the Canadian Association of Postdoctoral Scholars and several posts from both Jonathan and David. As always, our guest posts are very popular (and very good!) because the writers have often thought deeply about the issue they are speaking up about – we encourage more […]
The last month has been a pretty topsy-turvy one for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. After it rolled out the first round of applications for its new operating grant application termed “project grants,” it was all set to deliver evidence that its new systems of financial allocation and peer review were superior to the […]
Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is “timing.” It waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way – Fulton J. Sheen Previous articles in this series: The door to an academic science career – open or closed? Commencing the academic job […]
Today we’re pleased to have a guest post from incoming CAPS/ACSP Chair Joe Sparling on Employment Insurance for early career researchers… Dr. Joseph S. Sparling is a postdoctoral scholar studying neurodegenerative disease in the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary. He is the current president of his local postdoctoral association (PDAC), an outspoken advocate […]
There are, of course, nuances to formulating a budget, and it’s highly advisable to consult with someone who is experienced and understands the politics of the department you are applying to before committing. To help, I’ve asked my friend Damien Wilpitz of Experimental Design Consulting to contribute a number of articles on the details of […]
In December of this year, a very interesting law comes into effect in the United States. In an effort to address unfair overtime hours across the country, the new law makes it illegal for people to work unpaid overtime hours if their salary is below (a surprisingly high) threshold of $47,476. As our readers have […]
There are, of course, nuances to formulating a budget, and it’s highly advisable to consult with someone who is experienced and understands the politics of the department you are applying to before committing. To help, I’ve asked my friend Damien Wilpitz of Experimental Design Consulting to contribute a number of articles on the details of […]
Last week, I stumbled across a Princeton professor’s oddly entitled “CV of failures” (PDF) and obviously I fancied a click-through to give it a look. It, and its accompanying introduction from Johannes Haushofer, were a good read and an even better reality check. As he says in this introduction, “failures are often invisible” and I […]
In this guest post, Damien Wilpitz details how to negotiate a start-up package that reflects your needs.
David Kent breaks down an eLife article that suggests peer review scores cannot distinguish very good grants from excellent grants. In fact, at a certain point in the process, it is pretty much a random lottery.