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<channel>
	<title>BenchFly</title>
	
	<link>http://www.benchfly.com/blog</link>
	<description>Advice for Your Life in Science</description>
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		<title>Using Your PhD Outside of Research</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BenchflyBlog/~3/xFST6_kkh2o/</link>
		<comments>http://www.benchfly.com/blog/using-your-phd-outside-of-research/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2013 15:08:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dora Farkas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flyceum: Your Science. Your Career.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.benchfly.com/blog/?p=14614</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear Dora, Are there certain career paths outside of research where the PhD dramatically helps your career advancement? I&#8217;m a third-year grad student planning on leaving the bench (to do what, I&#8217;m not sure) but I feel like I&#8217;m half way there so if getting the letters is important I could tough it out. &#8212;MM, [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/using-your-phd-outside-of-research/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-14584" title="Using Your PhD Outside of Research" alt="Dear Dora: Using Your PhD Outside of Research" src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Dear-Dora.jpg" width="300" height="250" /></a><em><strong>Dear Dora,</strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>Are there certain career paths outside of research where the PhD dramatically helps your career advancement? I&#8217;m a third-year grad student planning on leaving the bench (to do what, I&#8217;m not sure) but I feel like I&#8217;m half way there so if getting the letters is important I could tough it out.</strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>&#8212;MM, grad student</strong></em></p>
<p><span id="more-14614"></span></p>
<p>Dear MM,</p>
<p>There are many alternative paths where a PhD would enhance your career advancement (see Q&amp;A column below on administrative positions). Other careers include patent law, science writing, and regulatory jobs (e.g. working for the FDA). Many scientist positions in the pharmaceutical industry are away from the bench as well (e.g. project management, report writing). I listed several references below (including a group on LinkedIn) on alternative careers for PhDs.</p>
<p>If you are interested in these careers I recommend researching job postings, since some of these positions only require a Master’s Degree. In fact, I have a patent lawyer friend who left graduate school after five years (!) with a Masters Degree to go to law school. It is important to evaluate whether staying in graduate school is worth your time (for example, will you school give you a Masters degree if you leave early). My friend had a few publications already, so he had something to show for the time he spent in graduate school. Another friend of mine left graduate school after 2 years, but he already had a job offer for a position that only required a Bachelors.</p>
<p>Whether you decide to stay or leave it important to have a plan both for your finances and your career advancement. Employers will understand if you change your mind about earning a PhD, as long as you have the right skills, enthusiasm and commitment to your new career path.</p>
<p>If you have any doubts whether it is worth getting a PhD, visit our latest blog at:</p>
<p><a href="http://gradschoolnet.org/2013/04/is-it-worth-getting-a-phd/">http://gradschoolnet.org/2013/04/is-it-worth-getting-a-phd/</a></p>
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
<p><strong>References</strong></p>
<p>Articles on job search and alternative careers:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://www.phds.org/jobs/">http://www.phds.org/jobs/</a></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/tools_tips/outreach/events/2010_06_17">http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/tools_tips/outreach/events/2010_06_17</a></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://acswebinars.org/carlo">http://acswebinars.org/carlo</a></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Alternative-PHD-Careers-3404777/about">http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Alternative-PHD-Careers-3404777/about</a></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/08/what_is_the_value_of_a_science_phd_is_graduate_school_worth_the_effort_.html">http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/08/what_is_the_value_of_a_science_phd_is_graduate_school_worth_the_effort_.html</a></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #ffffff;">.</span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><em>Dora Farkas, Ph.D. is the author “The Smart Way to Your Ph.D.:200 Secrets from 100 Graduates,” and the founder of Grad School Net, an online community for graduate students and PhDs. You will find links to her book, monthly newsletters, and discussion board on <a href="http://gradschoolnet.org/" target="_blank">her site</a>. Send your questions to DearDora@benchfly.com and keep an eye out for them in an upcoming issue!</em></p>
<p><em> </em></p>
<h3><em><em>Stay tuned for the next Dear Dora in two weeks!  In the meantime, check a few of Dora&#8217;s recent posts:</em></em></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/the-conferencation-adding-personal-time-to-a-scientific-meeting/"><em><strong>The Conferencation: Adding Personal Time to a Scientific Meeting</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/keeping-preliminary-results-private-with-an-overexcited-PI/"><em><strong>Keeping Preliminary Results Private with an Overexcited PI</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-long-is-acceptable-for-holiday-vacation/"><em><strong>How Long is Acceptable for Holiday Vacation?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/graduate-school-how-long-is-too-long/"><em><strong>Graduate School: How Long is Too Long?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-a-parasitic-postdoc-trying-to-steal-your-project/"><em><strong>Is a Parasitic Postdoc Trying to Steal Your Project?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-the-nih-minimum-salary-binding-for-all/"><em><strong>Is the NIH Minimum Binding for All?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/backing-out-of-a-postdoc-offer-for-a-better-on/"><em><strong>Backing Out of a Postdoc Offer for a Better One</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/managing-publication-jealousy-in-the-lab/"><em><strong>Managing Publication Jealousy in the Lab</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/debriefing-the-lab-after-a-scientific-conference/"><em><strong>Debriefing the Lab After a Scientific Conference</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/music-in-the-lab-mytunes-itunes-or-notunes/"><em><strong>Music in the Lab: MyTunes, iTunes, or No Tunes?</strong></em></a></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><em><em><em>Submit your ques</em>tions to Dora at <a href="mailto:DearDora@benchfly.com">DearDora@benchfly.com</a>, or use the comment box below!</em></em></h3>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong><em><strong><em>.</em></strong></em></strong></span></p>
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		<title>The Broken Graduate Education Experience</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BenchflyBlog/~3/wGlp6sH0zrk/</link>
		<comments>http://www.benchfly.com/blog/the-broken-graduate-education-experience/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:05:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Nathan L. Vanderford</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flyceum: Your Science. Your Career.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.benchfly.com/blog/?p=14591</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The life of a scientist can be very hard. Some of us find ourselves fighting through graduate school and postdoctoral fellowships, battling for jobs in a saturated job market, and then bootstrapping our way through the progression of our career trajectory. Regardless of that, obtaining a PhD is extraordinarily rewarding and impactful to society! Let’s [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/the-broken-graduate-education-experience/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-14606" title="The Broken Graduate Education Experience" src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/broken-grad-ed.jpg" alt="The Broken Graduate Education Experience" width="300" height="250" /></a>The life of a scientist can be very hard. Some of us find ourselves fighting through graduate school and postdoctoral fellowships, battling for jobs in a saturated job market, and then bootstrapping our way through the progression of our career trajectory. Regardless of that, obtaining a PhD is extraordinarily rewarding and impactful to society!</p>
<p><span id="more-14591"></span></p>
<p>Let’s focus on the beginning: graduate school. Obtaining a PhD is hard and it should be. What I found was that graduate school was not impossibly difficult from an intellectual standpoint, but it was painfully hard from an emotional and physical standpoint. I felt as though faculty had the mentality of putting students (and postdocs) through, well, torture because that is how they went through graduate school and their postdoctoral fellowship…that is, at least, my perception. I also found it mentally frustrating that graduate education is narrowly focused on preparing students to eventually become faculty in major universities in which they would be running their own research programs. Looking back, I see the graduate education system as broken, but very fixable.</p>
<p>It is sad that PhD programs continue to focus on training future faculty researchers when, in fact, <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind12/" target="_blank">the majority of PhDs pursue careers outside of academia</a>. I strongly believe that PhD programs are missing opportunities to better prepare PhDs for all the different career fields that are available. I believe that fixing the broken graduate education experience would require at least three main focus areas:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>1. Culture change</strong></span><br />
Faculty must become accepting and supportive of career opportunities outside academia.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>2. Coursework</strong></span><br />
PhD programs should integrate multi-disciplinary coursework into PhD curricula in order to specifically focus on providing the skills PhDs need to excel outside academia.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="color: #000000;"><strong>3. Work experience</strong></span><br />
PhD programs should provide opportunities for students/postdocs to participate in internships and other work experience-related activities so that they can obtain paid work experience in their area of interest. One of the biggest “complaints” that employers have about newly minted PhDs (students and postdocs) who are entering the non-academic job market is that they have no paid work experience. So, our education system should help fix this issue.</p>
<p>There is some rhetoric beginning at the <a href="http://commonfund.nih.gov/workforce/" target="_blank">NIH</a> and <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/gradchallenge/" target="_blank">NSF</a> regarding a change to the graduate education system. Will this be enough? I’m not so sure. The biggest hurdle, I believe, is the way current faculty think. Adapting coursework and integrating work experience into PhD programs should be fairly easy, but it is really hard to change the way people think and feel.</p>
<p>I have witnessed very negative thinking regarding careers outside academia. This negative thinking and my feelings on the need to generally enhance the positive atmosphere of the graduate education system literally lead me to dedicate my dissertation “to all those who I will positively influence and encourage.” Over the last five years, I’ve been trying to do just that. I have written about these issues in <em>The Scientist</em>, <em>Nature Biotechnology,</em> and <em>Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education</em>. I recently also founded a company focusing on helping PhDs understand how best to integrate multiple disciplines alongside their PhD to ultimately excel at work they love. Current PhD students and recent graduates have responded very well to these initiatives, but not surprisingly, many senior faculty look at these activities as propaganda against graduate education and generally harmful to <strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">their</span></em></strong> academic mission.</p>
<p>Do you think graduate education needs revised? What do you think will help improve the system and process of educating and training PhDs? Do you think that change is possible? What will it take to change the culture? Let me know what you think!</p>
<p>Ultimately, graduate education will change. It has to in order to keep up with market demand (remember that I said above that most PhDs are already being employed outside academia). So, my goal is to help this change happen sooner and in a way that helps ease the heartache currently experience by so many graduate students and postdocs around the world.</p>
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
<blockquote><p><img class="alignleft  wp-image-14600" title="Nathan L. Vanderford" src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/nathanv1.png" alt="" width="98" height="130" />Nathan holds a PhD in biochemistry and will complete an MBA (with a leadership and operations management focus) in May of 2013. He is an administrator, researcher, educator/consultant, writer/editor, and entrepreneur. He is founder of <a href="http://integrativeacademicsolutions.com" target="_blank">Integrative Academic Solutions</a> which aims to integrate multiple disciplines to achieve innovative job performance.</p></blockquote>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<title>The Conferencation: Adding Personal Time to a Scientific Meeting</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BenchflyBlog/~3/_iaR6t2B64Q/</link>
		<comments>http://www.benchfly.com/blog/the-conferencation-adding-personal-time-to-a-scientific-meeting/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:47:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dora Farkas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flyceum: Your Science. Your Career.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.benchfly.com/blog/?p=14526</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear Dora, Any tips on how to tack a vacation on to a conference without my PI getting angry? I&#8217;m traveling to a conference in a great location and I want to stay an extra week after the conference (which itself is a week long), but I&#8217;m really nervous to tell the boss.  -RJ, graduate [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/the-conferencation-adding-personal-time-to-a-scientific-meeting/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-14527" title="The Conferencation: Adding Personal Time to a Scientific Meeting" src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Dear-Dora1.jpg" alt="The Conferencation: Adding Personal Time to a Scientific Meeting" width="300" height="250" /></a>Dear Dora,</strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>Any tips on how to tack a vacation on to a conference without my PI getting angry? I&#8217;m traveling to a conference in a great location and I want to stay an extra week after the conference (which itself is a week long), but I&#8217;m really nervous to tell the boss.  </strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>-RJ, graduate student</strong></em></p>
<p><span id="more-14526"></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Dear RJ,</p>
<p>Congratulations on going to a conference in an exciting location! The time that you spend at the conference does not come out of your vacation days. If you want to spend an extra week there, then you would need to take those days off. Most schools have policies regarding the number of vacation days students are allowed to take (if you do not know it, find out from your academic administrator or student handbook). Whether or not such a policy is published, most schools and workplaces allow at least two weeks vacation a year. Therefore, by all means take the extra week off. If your PI seems unhappy, let him/her know that this is just one week of vacation, and you are not doing anything against the rules. In addition, you will come back rested and more productive.</p>
<p>Of course the extra week of lodging will have to come out of your own budget, but the airfare to and from should be covered by the school.</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Dora Farkas, Ph.D. is the author “The Smart Way to Your Ph.D.:200 Secrets from 100 Graduates,” and the founder of PhDNet, an online community for graduate students and PhDs. You will find links to her book, monthly newsletters, and discussion board on <a href="http://phdnet.org/" target="_blank">her site</a>.</em><em> Send your questions to DearDora@benchfly.com and keep an eye out for them in an upcoming issue!</em></p></blockquote>
<h3><em><em>Stay tuned for the next Dear Dora in two weeks!  In the meantime, check a few of Dora&#8217;s recent posts:</em></em></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/keeping-preliminary-results-private-with-an-overexcited-PI/"><em><strong>Keeping Preliminary Results Private with an Overexcited PI</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-long-is-acceptable-for-holiday-vacation/"><em><strong>How Long is Acceptable for Holiday Vacation?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/graduate-school-how-long-is-too-long/"><em><strong>Graduate School: How Long is Too Long?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-a-parasitic-postdoc-trying-to-steal-your-project/"><em><strong>Is a Parasitic Postdoc Trying to Steal Your Project?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-the-nih-minimum-salary-binding-for-all/"><em><strong>Is the NIH Minimum Binding for All?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/backing-out-of-a-postdoc-offer-for-a-better-on/"><em><strong>Backing Out of a Postdoc Offer for a Better One</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/managing-publication-jealousy-in-the-lab/"><em><strong>Managing Publication Jealousy in the Lab</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/debriefing-the-lab-after-a-scientific-conference/"><em><strong>Debriefing the Lab After a Scientific Conference</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/music-in-the-lab-mytunes-itunes-or-notunes/"><em><strong>Music in the Lab: MyTunes, iTunes, or No Tunes?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/cell-culture-derailing-your-vacation-plans/"><em><strong>Cell Culture Derailing Your Vacation Plans?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-a-publication-gap-on-our-cv-a-job-killer/"><em><strong>Is a Publication Gap on Our CV a Job Killer?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-to-leave-a-postdoc-quickly-with-your-reputation-intact/"><strong><em>How to Leave a Postdoc Quickly with Your Reputation Intact</em></strong></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-to-establish-and-enforce-the-chain-of-command-in-lab/"><em><strong>How to Establish and Enforce the Chain of Command in Lab</strong></em></a></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><em><em><em>Submit your ques</em>tions to Dora at <a href="mailto:DearDora@benchfly.com">DearDora@benchfly.com</a>, or use the comment box below!</em></em></h3>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong><em><strong><em>.</em></strong></em></strong></span></p>
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		<title>My (non)Postdoc Story: Marketing at Scientific Publisher</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BenchflyBlog/~3/tATZI1SSoL4/</link>
		<comments>http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-nonpostdoc-story-marketing-at-scientific-publisher/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:20:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Christine Buske</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flyceum: Your Science. Your Career.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.benchfly.com/blog/?p=14547</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[While nearly all of us face challenges during our postdoctoral years, we often feel alone in our struggles. In this series, we hope to share encouraging and uplifting stories of how other scientists were able to turn their situation around and move forward, despite a non-ideal situation. Like snowflakes, fingerprints, and nightmares, every postdoctoral experience [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-nonpostdoc-story-marketing-at-scientific-publisher/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-14554" title="My (non)Postdoc Story: Marketing at Scientific Publisher" src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/MyPostdocStory.jpg" alt="My (non)Postdoc Story" width="300" height="250" /></a>While nearly all of us face challenges during our postdoctoral years, we often feel alone in our struggles. In this series, we hope to share encouraging and uplifting stories of how other scientists were able to turn their situation around and move forward, despite a non-ideal situation. Like snowflakes, fingerprints, and nightmares, every postdoctoral experience is unique, so today we share the (non)Postdoc Story of another successful scientist.</em></p>
<p><span id="more-14547"></span></p>
<h2><span style="color: #000000;">I. The Story</span></h2>
<p>In grad school I was a behavioral neuroscientist. Now, I&#8217;m working for Papers at Springer Science+Business Media as their “Papers Genius”. I started working for <a href="http://www.mekentosj.com/papers?utm_source=BenchFly&amp;utm_medium=BenchFly&amp;utm_campaign=BenchFly" target="_blank">Papers</a> during my graduate degree, but only part time, and wanted to join full time after completing my PhD in December 2012. After eight years in research (combined undergraduate and graduate experience) I wanted to expand on my experiences in business and by joining Springer I felt we, as a team, could accomplish a lot of what we had envisioned for Papers. When I started my graduate training I already had quite a bit of experience from the private sector, but only as a freelancer. At that point I was certainly not someone who only had one interest, and would ever only pursue an academic path. However, the final decision which path to choose was made a lot easier by already knowing the team I would be working with, and being really passionate about Papers myself. On top of this, I see this as a great learning opportunity where I get to further expand on my skillset while still being in touch with academia and research.</p>
<p>On the road to pursuing these goals, I didn’t expect to meet one of my old professors from my time as an undergraduate student, and have him still recognize me. It was fun to interact with my former professors in a professional capacity and turn the tables where now I was the expert helping them with citation management.</p>
<h2><span style="color: #000000;">II. The Situation</span></h2>
<p>During my time in graduate school, my interests shifted back and forth quite a bit between industry and academia. I loved research, and I was a good scientist, but I also had other interests. I also loved teaching and public speaking opportunities that often come with an academic track. Previously, I thought most of my interests could be met within an academic setting, but ultimately I started to enjoy the process of doing research less. The time it took to see results, the delays, and particularly some of the politics within my institution. All things considered, I was incredibly fortunate with my advisor and lab colleagues, and even with my institute. However, I felt more and more that I needed a change of pace, and that in the long run I just wasn’t sure pure research would make me happy. I fell into the all-too-familiar slump towards the middle and again towards the final part of my studies. Experiments were stalled, results were pending, and my motivation was lowering. There was no way I was going to leave without finishing my degree, but it prompted me to start thinking about my next steps even more seriously. I recognized that I would always love research and teaching, and perhaps one day return to it in some way, but that for the time being I needed to try something a little different.</p>
<h2><span style="color: #000000;">III. The Emotions</span></h2>
<p>Towards the last year of my PhD I was feeling like I might never finish. Although my PI was an excellent advisor, he left it up to me to indicate when I would have sufficient material to write my thesis and defend, and I understood rather late how self directed he really wanted me to be. This made me feel stalled and frustrated with myself, not having a clear path or a clear timeline for finishing up. I still really liked my project and I was proud of my accomplishments, but I had heard myself tell the same story so many times, that every time I gave a presentation I felt I needed to accomplish something new. It was time to leave and move on to the next stage of my life. <em></em></p>
<h2><span style="color: #000000;">IV. The Solution</span></h2>
<p>When it became clear I was not going to be starting any new research projects, I spoke with people from my department to get a better feel for how much work is needed to justify a PhD thesis. I felt like I was clueless to what the requirements really were, and if what I had produced was sufficient. After having published three first author articles, I wrote another three chapters and spoke with my advisor about the timeline for finishing. Those final 5-6 months were the most nerve wracking of my entire time in graduate school. Due to various factors, I really did have to defend by the end of 2012, and I opened up to my advisor about this, which gave him a better understanding of my situation. He was on board with my plan to finish up, and helped me to meet the tight timeline. In the end, I defended on 12-12-12, and was so excited to have completed everything by my self-imposed deadline. Because I had been so high strung and stressed for five straight months leading up to this day, and for a long time thought I would not be able to make all the deadlines, the post defense feeling was rather anticlimactic. I really had to get used to the idea of having finished. Imagine running a marathon, and the finish line is just a split second experience of all your efforts. It felt much like that; as if I wanted to stretch the experience of the defense further to have something that felt more like closure.</p>
<h2><span style="color: #000000;">V. The Lesson</span></h2>
<p>When going to career development seminars during my undergraduate and graduate years, I always received the advice not to worry too much, that things would fall into place. While I was never a believer in passive acceptance, I find myself now giving others similar advice. It is true that nothing <em>just happens </em>while you sit on your couch waiting for it, but you also cannot over micro-manage your entire career. In my experience there are two main things you can and should do:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">1)    Plant as many ‘seeds’ as you can, as early as you can. These could consist of networking and making connections in your field <em>and outside </em>of your direct field. They could consist of having extracurricular interests that could later on lead to job opportunities or transferable skills.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">2)    Find out what you really like to do. This is easier said than done. I still love research, but I discovered that there were many things surrounding the research process that contributed to not feeling an academic career was the right choice for me, at least not right now. Sometime we think we like one thing, and by keeping an open mind and exploring different things we carve out a path for ourselves we never even knew was possible.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><em>Want to hear another story?</em></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-world-traveler/"><em><strong>My Postdoc Story: World Traveler</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-research-and-application-scientist-anonymous/"><em><strong>My Postdoc Story: Research and Application Scientist</strong></em></a><br />
<em><strong></strong></em></li>
<li><em><strong><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-junior-faculty-member/">My Postdoc Story: Junior Faculty Member</a></strong></em><br />
<strong><em></em></strong></li>
<li><strong><em><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-start-up-company-scientist-anonymous/">My Postdoc Story: Start-up Company Scientist</a></em></strong></li>
<li><em><strong><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-staff-scientist-27andaphd/">My Postdoc Story: Staff Scientist</a></strong></em></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;">.</span></p>
<h3><em>Do you have a Postdoc Story you&#8217;d like to share? <a href="mailto:blog@benchfly.com?subject=My Postdoc Story">Email us</a> to let us know. </em></h3>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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		<item>
		<title>Keeping Preliminary Results Private with an Overexcited PI</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BenchflyBlog/~3/3Fyyh4irHhk/</link>
		<comments>http://www.benchfly.com/blog/keeping-preliminary-results-private-with-an-overexcited-pi/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:45:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dora Farkas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flyceum: Your Science. Your Career.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.benchfly.com/blog/?p=14519</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear Dora, Is there a nice way to tell your boss to &#8220;keep his trap shut&#8221;?! Every time I share preliminary results, I find out later he tells our collaborators and a few times this has backfired when I wasn&#8217;t able to validate my preliminary result. I know I could just stay quiet until the [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/keeping-preliminary-results-private-with-an-overexcited-PI/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-14521" title="Keeping Preliminary Results Private with an Overexcited PI" src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Dear-Dora.jpg" alt="Keeping Preliminary Results Private with an Overexcited PI" width="300" height="250" /></a>Dear Dora,</strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>Is there a nice way to tell your boss to &#8220;keep his trap shut&#8221;?! Every time I share preliminary results, I find out later he tells our collaborators and a few times this has backfired when I wasn&#8217;t able to validate my preliminary result. I know I could just stay quiet until the data are validated, but I value his input and don&#8217;t want to lose his insights and feedback simply because I can&#8217;t trust him to keep new results quiet.</strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>-Angie, graduate student</strong></em></p>
<p><span id="more-14519"></span></p>
<p>Dear Angie,</p>
<p>Many PI’s are very excited about preliminary results, and I have received this question from other students/postdocs too. If you value your PI’s input, you can ask him to keep the results private until you have validated them:</p>
<p>“I know you are excited about these preliminary results, but it would be best to share the data with our collaborators only after I have validated them. I will have more confidence in my data once I have repeated the experiments.”</p>
<p>Your PI will actually have more respect for you if you establish rigorous standards for your data. You can also try to validate the results before you talk with him, so he is less likely to get confused if your data is not reproducible.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Dora Farkas, Ph.D. is the author “The Smart Way to Your Ph.D.:200 Secrets from 100 Graduates,” and the founder of PhDNet, an online community for graduate students and PhDs. You will find links to her book, monthly newsletters, and discussion board on <a href="http://phdnet.org/" target="_blank">her site</a>.</em><em> Send your questions to DearDora@benchfly.com and keep an eye out for them in an upcoming issue!</em></p></blockquote>
<h3><em><em>Stay tuned for the next Dear Dora in two weeks!  In the meantime, check a few of Dora&#8217;s recent posts:</em></em></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-long-is-acceptable-for-holiday-vacation/"><em><strong>How Long is Acceptable for Holiday Vacation?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/graduate-school-how-long-is-too-long/"><em><strong>Graduate School: How Long is Too Long?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-a-parasitic-postdoc-trying-to-steal-your-project/"><em><strong>Is a Parasitic Postdoc Trying to Steal Your Project?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-the-nih-minimum-salary-binding-for-all/"><em><strong>Is the NIH Minimum Binding for All?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/backing-out-of-a-postdoc-offer-for-a-better-on/"><em><strong>Backing Out of a Postdoc Offer for a Better One</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/managing-publication-jealousy-in-the-lab/"><em><strong>Managing Publication Jealousy in the Lab</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/debriefing-the-lab-after-a-scientific-conference/"><em><strong>Debriefing the Lab After a Scientific Conference</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/music-in-the-lab-mytunes-itunes-or-notunes/"><em><strong>Music in the Lab: MyTunes, iTunes, or No Tunes?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/cell-culture-derailing-your-vacation-plans/"><em><strong>Cell Culture Derailing Your Vacation Plans?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-a-publication-gap-on-our-cv-a-job-killer/"><em><strong>Is a Publication Gap on Our CV a Job Killer?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-to-leave-a-postdoc-quickly-with-your-reputation-intact/"><strong><em>How to Leave a Postdoc Quickly with Your Reputation Intact</em></strong></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-to-establish-and-enforce-the-chain-of-command-in-lab/"><em><strong>How to Establish and Enforce the Chain of Command in Lab</strong></em></a></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><em><em><em>Submit your ques</em>tions to Dora at <a href="mailto:DearDora@benchfly.com">DearDora@benchfly.com</a>, or use the comment box below!</em></em></h3>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong><em><strong><em>.</em></strong></em></strong></span></p>
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		<title>Rules of a Scientist’s Life</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BenchflyBlog/~3/00dw6df3c5c/</link>
		<comments>http://www.benchfly.com/blog/rules-of-a-scientists-life/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:25:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan Marnett</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flyceum: Your Science. Your Career.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.benchfly.com/blog/?p=14489</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re three weeks into the new year. By now, most of us have decided that the &#8220;all organic raw nuts and berries&#8221; diet we were so gung ho about probably isn&#8217;t going to make it into February. Nor is the six-days-a-week workout schedule we undertook on January 2nd, after the hangover wore off. For now, [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/rules-of-a-scientists-life/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-14492" title="Rules of a Scientist's Life" src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Rules-thumbnail.jpg" alt="BenchFly's Rules of a Scientist's Life" width="300" height="250" /></a>We&#8217;re three weeks into the new year. By now, most of us have decided that the &#8220;all organic raw nuts and berries&#8221; diet we were so gung ho about probably isn&#8217;t going to make it into February. Nor is the six-days-a-week workout schedule we <em></em>undertook on January 2nd, after the hangover wore off. For now, three days a week will do. By March, we won&#8217;t even remember which gym we signed up with. Reflecting upon the over-optimistic personal goals we set for ourselves every January, we pondered whether their were rules of a scientist&#8217;s life that we should adhere to at all times, regardless of the month.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span id="more-14489"></span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffffff;">.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Rules-of-a-Scientists-Life.pdf"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-14506" title="Rules of a Scientist's Life" src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Rules-of-a-Scientists-Life3.jpg" alt="Click to download a Rules of a Scientist's Life poster" width="600" height="627" /></a><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Rules-of-a-Scientists-Life.pdf">[<em>click here or on image to download a PDF version</em>]</a></p>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;">.</span></p>
<h3><em>Have any other rules you&#8217;d like to add to the list?</em></h3>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;">.</span></p>
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		<title>2012: A Killer Year Impossible Without You…and You…and You</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BenchflyBlog/~3/gU1XxeL-hTk/</link>
		<comments>http://www.benchfly.com/blog/2012-a-killer-year-impossible-without-you-and-you-and-you/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 18 Dec 2012 18:49:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Alan Marnett</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flyceum: Your Science. Your Career.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.benchfly.com/blog/?p=14434</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As 2012 winds down and people start hiding their pipetman stash in anticipation of heading home for the holidays, we wanted to take a minute to reflect on the year and say thanks to those who helped make it a great success. It’s hard to believe our fourth year is in the books. Since we [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/2012-a-killer-year-impossible-without-you-and-you-and-you/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-14438" title="2012: A Killer Year Impossible Without You...and You...and You" src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/thank-you.jpg" alt="2012: A Killer Year Impossible Without You...and You...and You" width="300" height="250" /></a>As 2012 winds down and people start hiding their pipetman stash in anticipation of heading home for the holidays, we wanted to take a minute to reflect on the year and say thanks to those who helped make it a great success.</p>
<p><span id="more-14434"></span></p>
<p>It’s hard to believe our fourth year is in the books. Since we consider our relationship with science to be more like marriage, 2012 marks the fruit or flowers anniversary. So, science, we’ll keep our eye out for that Florida citrus basket I’m sure you’re sending…</p>
<p>Along the road, we’ve been very fortunate to have worked with a number of very talented contributors who have shared their expertise in everything from lab management to fashion trends. Their enthusiasm and support is inspiring and fuels our passion for helping scientists every day.</p>
<p>This year we welcomed new columns by <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/author/yevgeniy-grigoryev/" target="_blank">Yevgeniy Grigoryev</a>, <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/author/kristy-meyer/" target="_blank">Kristy Meyer</a>, <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-staff-scientist-27andaphd/" target="_blank">@27andaphd</a>, and <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/author/flygirl/" target="_blank">FlyGirl</a>. We also saw the continuation of the popular Dear Dora, Mind the Gap, and Enzyme Corner columns by <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/author/dora-farkas/" target="_blank">Dora Farkas</a>, <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/author/katie-pratt/" target="_blank">Katie Pratt</a>, and <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/author/christopher-dieni/" target="_blank">Christopher Dieni</a>, respectively.</p>
<p>Articles by <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/ref-lockout-homemade-thai-takeout/" target="_blank">Food Lab</a> and <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/fun-fast-workouts-for-small-spaces-like-labs/" target="_blank">Adrian Dunn</a> provided tips on how to work in a delicious meal or rigorous workout without the time or money we assumed we needed. I’m sure Pfizer was excited by the workout article as well since the sales of Advil saw an unusually large bump shortly after I started the regimen. It’s normal for your quads to shake for two hours after doing simple lunges, right?</p>
<p>One of our favorite scientists and authors&#8211;and now TV hosts&#8211;<a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/harnessing-the-neuroscientist-author-tv-star-mark-changizi-phd/" target="_blank">Mark Changizi</a> helped us understand how how music evolved to fit our brains, as he hypothesizes in his new book, <em>Harnessed</em>. He also shared the popular <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/the-7-requirements-of-all-effective-scientists/" target="_blank">7 requirements of all effective scientists</a>. Fellow scientist-turned-author <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/from-academic-bench-chemist-to-freelance-science-writer/" target="_blank">Katharine Sanderson</a> revealed how she went from bench chemist to freelance science writer illustrating that with determination and guts, anyone can create the career opportunities they desire. Of course, any career these days—at the bench or otherwise—depends on a computer, so as <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/what-is-the-perfect-backup-plan/" target="_blank">Mauricio Prinzlau</a> cautions, back it up. Hard drives die every day and their failure is often accompanied by a failure of bowel control as well. For the sake of your data&#8211;and your desk chair&#8211;consider an online solution.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/small-brains-big-ideas-inspiring-latin-american-scientists/" target="_blank">Yuly Fuentes-Medel and Jennifer Pirri</a> inspired us with their tale of developing an amazing training program to train the next generation of Latin American scientists. We were also fortunate to interview <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/tom-barton-phd-acs-presidential-candidate/" target="_blank">Tom Barton</a> and <a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/luis-echegoyen-phd-acs-presidential-candidate/" target="_blank">Luis Echgoyen</a>, both of whom sought to impact the future of science as the American Chemical Society President. Congratulations to Dr. Barton—we look forward to an exciting 2013 under his stewardship at the ACS.</p>
<p>And of course, thanks to You. Fellow scientist, reader, commentor, sharer, advocate. We started BenchFly in 2009 with the goal of supporting scientists in and out of the lab. Your feedback, comments, contributions, and suggestions have helped BenchFly evolve in ways we couldn&#8217;t have imagined in 2009. Tolstoy reminds us “each person’s task in life is to become an increasingly better person.” We’ve taken that to heart and have dedicated ourselves to looking forward—not just to 2013, but beyond. Not just “where is BenchFly going”, but “where is science going”? And how can we continue to fulfill our mission and best serve scientists.</p>
<p>This is our goal.</p>
<p>2013 will bring with it a number of exciting changes to both BenchFly and the profession we all love. We will work hard to earn your continued support. In the meantime, have a safe and wonderful holiday season and we’ll see you in the New Year!</p>
<p>&#8211; Alan</p>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;">.</span></p>
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		<item>
		<title>How Long is Acceptable for Holiday Vacation?</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BenchflyBlog/~3/hzX8wtnY-Cg/</link>
		<comments>http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-long-is-acceptable-for-holiday-vacation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:16:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dora Farkas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flyceum: Your Science. Your Career.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.benchfly.com/blog/?p=14403</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear Dora, I am a new PhD student and I relocated several states away from my home to attend graduate school. I am looking forward to going home for the holidays but I am unsure of how long is appropriate to be away from the office. I am not going home for Thanksgiving but I [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong><em><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-long-is-acceptable-for-holiday-vacation/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-14404" title="How Long is Acceptable for Holiday Vacation? " src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Dear-Dora.jpg" alt="Dear Dora: How Long is Acceptable for Holiday Vacation? " width="300" height="250" /></a>Dear Dora,</em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em>I am a new PhD student and I relocated several states away from my home to attend graduate school. I am looking forward to going home for the holidays but I am unsure of how long is appropriate to be away from the office. I am not going home for Thanksgiving but I would like to take as much time as I can to enjoy my family during the Christmas season. What are the expectations/norms for graduate student time off around the holidays? Is there an &#8216;unspoken rule&#8217; that even if we are home for the holidays that we should still be working?</em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em>Thank you,</em></strong></p>
<p><strong><em>First-year PhD student</em></strong></p>
<p><span id="more-14403"></span></p>
<p>Dear First-year PhD student,</p>
<p>I am not aware of an unspoken rule that students are expected to work during the holidays. Since most students travel during the holidays, labs and offices are very quiet at that time (if you went to work during the Thanksgiving weekend, you might have experienced that).</p>
<p>Students who go to school far from home usually spend fewer but longer vacations with their families. As far as I know (and there is a chance your school or PI might be stricter) a vacation means time-off, so no work is expected. In fact, supervisors hope that you will return from your vacation rested and refreshed so you can focus on your work again in the New Year. While it is unlikely that your PI would expect work from around the holidays (especially if you are on vacation), it is always best to discuss with your PI which projects you will be wrapping up before traveling.</p>
<p>Have a great time with your family,</p>
<p>Dora</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Dora Farkas, Ph.D. is the author “The Smart Way to Your Ph.D.:200 Secrets from 100 Graduates,” and the founder of PhDNet, an online community for graduate students and PhDs. You will find links to her book, monthly newsletters, and discussion board on <a href="http://phdnet.org/" target="_blank">her site</a>.</em><em> Send your questions to DearDora@benchfly.com and keep an eye out for them in an upcoming issue!</em></p></blockquote>
<h3><span style="color: #999999;"><em><em>Stay tuned for the next Dear Dora in two weeks!  In the meantime, check a few of Dora&#8217;s recent posts:</em></em></span></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/graduate-school-how-long-is-too-long/"><em><strong>Graduate School: How Long is Too Long?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-a-parasitic-postdoc-trying-to-steal-your-project/"><em><strong>Is a Parasitic Postdoc Trying to Steal Your Project?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-the-nih-minimum-salary-binding-for-all/"><em><strong>Is the NIH Minimum Binding for All?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/backing-out-of-a-postdoc-offer-for-a-better-on/"><em><strong>Backing Out of a Postdoc Offer for a Better One</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/managing-publication-jealousy-in-the-lab/"><em><strong>Managing Publication Jealousy in the Lab</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/debriefing-the-lab-after-a-scientific-conference/"><em><strong>Debriefing the Lab After a Scientific Conference</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/music-in-the-lab-mytunes-itunes-or-notunes/"><em><strong>Music in the Lab: MyTunes, iTunes, or No Tunes?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/cell-culture-derailing-your-vacation-plans/"><em><strong>Cell Culture Derailing Your Vacation Plans?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-a-publication-gap-on-our-cv-a-job-killer/"><em><strong>Is a Publication Gap on Our CV a Job Killer?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-to-leave-a-postdoc-quickly-with-your-reputation-intact/"><strong><em>How to Leave a Postdoc Quickly with Your Reputation Intact</em></strong></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-to-establish-and-enforce-the-chain-of-command-in-lab/"><em><strong>How to Establish and Enforce the Chain of Command in Lab</strong></em></a></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><em><em><em>Submit your ques</em>tions to Dora at <a href="mailto:DearDora@benchfly.com">DearDora@benchfly.com</a>, or use the comment box below!</em></em></h3>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong><em><strong><em>.</em></strong></em></strong></span></p>
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		<title>My Postdoc Story: World Traveler</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BenchflyBlog/~3/LUonBKFbrjQ/</link>
		<comments>http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-world-traveler/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 29 Nov 2012 15:08:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Anonymous</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flyceum: Your Science. Your Career.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.benchfly.com/blog/?p=14369</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[While nearly all of us face challenges during our postdoctoral years, we often feel alone in our struggles. In this series, we hope to share encouraging and uplifting stories of how other scientists were able to turn their situation around and move forward, despite a non-ideal situation. Like snowflakes, fingerprints, and nightmares, every postdoctoral experience [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-world-traveler/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-14373" title="My Postdoc Story" src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/MyPostdocStory.jpg" alt="My Postdoc Story" width="300" height="250" /></a>While nearly all of us face challenges during our postdoctoral years, we often feel alone in our struggles. In this series, we hope to share encouraging and uplifting stories of how other scientists were able to turn their situation around and move forward, despite a non-ideal situation. Like snowflakes, fingerprints, and nightmares, every postdoctoral experience is unique, so today we share the Postdoc Story of another successful scientist.</em></p>
<p><span id="more-14369"></span></p>
<h2></h2>
<h2></h2>
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<h2><span style="color: #ffffff;">.</span></h2>
<h2><span style="color: #000000;">I. The Story</span></h2>
<p>In grad school I was a physicist-turned-psychologist. As a postdoc I studied behavioural (in the first postdoc), and computational and clinical neuroscience (in the second). Now, I&#8217;m selling everything I own and travelling around the world. After completing my degree, I was motivated to do a postdoc because all I had ever wanted to do was be an academic, and this was the next step in the process. In selecting my postdoctoral labs, I based my decision on the work of the PI, the reputation of the university and where I would be interested in living for the next few years.</p>
<p>Going into my second postdoc I wanted to consolidate the behavioural work that I’d undertaken in the first one and broaden my knowledge to computational work, with the goal of applying to a faculty position afterwards. On the road to pursuing my goals, I didn’t expect to have to deal with a slew of personal and professional issues leading to acute anxiety and depression.</p>
<h2><span style="color: #000000;">II. The Situation</span></h2>
<p>I enjoyed my first postdoc and was fairly productive, but the second was a different story. I moved to a new continent to start what I thought what was going to be a productive couple of years in computational neuroscience, but things started going wrong almost immediately. Within a week of arriving, my grandmother died unexpectedly – we were very close. I had just left all my friends behind and was living completely on my own for the first time in a small town in a country where I knew barely anyone, so I had no support network. This particular town also had a slightly insular and very transient nature so it was not only hard to make friends but also hard to keep them. To cap it all the project I had thought I was going to do when I arrived was put on hold when the grad student I was meant to be learning from became very ill and was off work for 18 months. I was left without a project, without a social group and with a growing sense of hopelessness.</p>
<h2></h2>
<h2><span style="color: #000000;">III. The Emotions</span></h2>
<p>At first, when my grandmother died, I was emotionally floored. I ended up flying back home for the memorial service, which made it even stranger and harder to settle when I returned to my lonely apartment. Fairly soon after this my project partner became ill, and I aimlessly span my wheels for a while, eventually ending up doing clinical research I had no real passion for. Over the next year or so I went through cycles of working hard on the project and doing absolutely nothing, feeling stupid, guilty and lazy as I did so. Along the way I broke up with my long-distance girlfriend and turned 30, two more life events that were fairly major, all the while watching my other friends settle down and consolidate their careers. Helplessness and lack of passion slowly turned into severe depression.</p>
<h2></h2>
<h2><span style="color: #000000;">IV. The Solution</span></h2>
<p>There were many stopgap solutions I tried before deciding that things had to change more comprehensively. I’ve always been interested in the arts and I spent a lot of time performing in and running local theatre productions; I even helped to found a company. During a good period I managed to be awarded a fellowship, extending my contract for at least another year – but it was more on the clinical side of things that I wasn’t that interested in. All in all though the main problem was that I didn’t enjoy my work. Once I realised this, it was difficult to decide what to do. I was depressed and I tried counseling and medication but neither were very effective, and he drugs made things worse for a time; I suspect that if I’d worked out what was happening and sought help earlier I’d have had more luck. My PI had already spoken to me about my lack of productivity, which helped me to focus for a while, but in the end it was one of the Masters students deciding that research wasn’t for her that was the trigger. Conversations with some of the few good friends I had managed to make also really helped. My funding was coming to an end in a few months, I had nothing lined up to do afterwards and I really wasn’t sure whether I was interested in my field at all any more – so I decided to go travelling. I’ve sold almost everything I own and bought a round-the-world ticket. I leave this town in four days, and hopefully somewhere along the way I can rediscover my love of exploring and perhaps find out what it is I really love.</p>
<h2></h2>
<h2><span style="color: #000000;">V. The Lesson</span></h2>
<p>I think the best possible piece of advice I could give is: know why you are doing this, and seriously question whether you should be if you don’t. I thought I liked my field and wanted to understand the answers to the questions, but I’m now at the point where they’re almost completely uninteresting to me. Finding the answer to that research question that bugs you should be something that motivates you to work hard and do excellent science, but if you’re not passionate about the topic then you’re on a hiding to nothing at best. And if that’s the underlying problem: don’t try to paper over the cracks with other activities, seek help sooner rather than later, and don’t be afraid of making a major change. Now if you’ll excuse me I have some packing to do…</p>
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><em>Want to hear another story?</em></h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-research-and-application-scientist-anonymous/"><em><strong>My Postdoc Story: Research and Application Scientist</strong></em></a><br />
<em><strong></strong></em></li>
<li><em><strong><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-junior-faculty-member/">My Postdoc Story: Junior Faculty Member</a></strong></em><br />
<strong><em></em></strong></li>
<li><strong><em><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-start-up-company-scientist-anonymous/">My Postdoc Story: Start-up Company Scientist</a></em></strong></li>
<li><em><strong><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/my-postdoc-story-staff-scientist-27andaphd/">My Postdoc Story: Staff Scientist</a></strong></em></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;">.</span></p>
<h3><em>Do you have a Postdoc Story you&#8217;d like to share? <a href="mailto:blog@benchfly.com?subject=My Postdoc Story">Email us</a> to let us know.</em></h3>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;">.</span></p>
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		<title>Graduate School: How Long is Too Long?</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BenchflyBlog/~3/U14whVJZgfc/</link>
		<comments>http://www.benchfly.com/blog/graduate-school-how-long-is-too-long/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Nov 2012 15:48:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Dora Farkas</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Flyceum: Your Science. Your Career.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.benchfly.com/blog/?p=14356</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Dear Dora, How long is *too* long to be in grad school? There&#8217;s a 9th year in our department and it scares the life out of me. What do you think?  -Alexa, second-year graduate student &#160; Hi Alexa, Nine years is definitely a long time, but there are some fields (e.g. humanities and social sciences), [...]]]></description>
				<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><em><strong><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/graduate-school-how-long-is-too-long/"><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-14357" title="Graduate School: How Long is Too Long?" src="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Dear-Dora.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="250" /></a>Dear Dora, </strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>How long is *too* long to be in grad school? There&#8217;s a 9th year in our department and it scares the life out of me. What do you think?  </strong></em></p>
<p><em><strong>-Alexa, second-year graduate student</strong></em></p>
<p><span id="more-14356"></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Hi Alexa,</p>
<p>Nine years is definitely a long time, but there are some fields (e.g. humanities and social sciences), where a nine year PhD is approximately average. In the life sciences the average is usually between 4-7 years (depending on the nature of the research). However, there are students who take 8, 9 or 10 years in the life sciences while their group mates graduate in 4-6 years.</p>
<p>If you want to decrease your chances of having a very long PhD, my recommendation is to stay on top of your research on a daily basis. Be proactive about getting projects going (sometimes multiple projects simultaneously). Many experiments or projects will fail but the sooner a bad project fails, the sooner you will learn from it and the sooner you can get started on a new project. Sometimes what sets students back is that they let projects linger for weeks or months, and then they have a tough time catching up. Weeks turn into months and years, and they have little to show for their long hours in the lab. Make every day count, and keep your eyes focused on your goals (i.e. publishing, job search, graduation)</p>
<p>The relationship with your PI will also impact the length of your PhD and the quality of your research. First, be sure to maintain a professional relationship your supervisor (even if he/she has a difficult personality). Second, communicate as frequently as needed to ensure that the two of you are on the same page regarding the requirements for publishing and graduation. Finally, if you get stuck, ask for help either from your PI, group mates or other professors so you can get your project back on track.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<blockquote><p><em>Dora Farkas, Ph.D. is the author “The Smart Way to Your Ph.D.:200 Secrets from 100 Graduates,” and the founder of PhDNet, an online community for graduate students and PhDs. You will find links to her book, monthly newsletters, and discussion board on <a href="http://phdnet.org/" target="_blank">her site</a>.</em><em> Send your questions to DearDora@benchfly.com and keep an eye out for them in an upcoming issue!</em></p></blockquote>
<h3><span style="color: #ffffff;">.</span></h3>
<h2><em><em>Stay tuned for the next Dear Dora in two weeks!  In the meantime, check a few of Dora&#8217;s recent posts:</em></em></h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-a-parasitic-postdoc-trying-to-steal-your-project/"><em><strong>Is a Parasitic Postdoc Trying to Steal Your Project?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-the-nih-minimum-salary-binding-for-all/"><em><strong>Is the NIH Minimum Binding for All?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/backing-out-of-a-postdoc-offer-for-a-better-on/"><em><strong>Backing Out of a Postdoc Offer for a Better One</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/managing-publication-jealousy-in-the-lab/"><em><strong>Managing Publication Jealousy in the Lab</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/debriefing-the-lab-after-a-scientific-conference/"><em><strong>Debriefing the Lab After a Scientific Conference</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/music-in-the-lab-mytunes-itunes-or-notunes/"><em><strong>Music in the Lab: MyTunes, iTunes, or No Tunes?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/cell-culture-derailing-your-vacation-plans/"><em><strong>Cell Culture Derailing Your Vacation Plans?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/is-a-publication-gap-on-our-cv-a-job-killer/"><em><strong>Is a Publication Gap on Our CV a Job Killer?</strong></em></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-to-leave-a-postdoc-quickly-with-your-reputation-intact/"><strong><em>How to Leave a Postdoc Quickly with Your Reputation Intact</em></strong></a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.benchfly.com/blog/how-to-establish-and-enforce-the-chain-of-command-in-lab/"><em><strong>How to Establish and Enforce the Chain of Command in Lab</strong></em></a></li>
</ul>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<h3><em><em><em>Submit your ques</em>tions to Dora at <a href="mailto:DearDora@benchfly.com">DearDora@benchfly.com</a>, or use the comment box below!</em></em></h3>
<p><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong><em><strong><em>.</em></strong></em></strong></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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