cancerbiophd

[cancerbiophd]

biologists will be like this is a very simplified diagram of a mammalian cell

chemists will be like this is a molecule

#loll called out!

[cancerbiophd]

“My seminar groupmates should thank me, I say so many stupid things that they look like gods.”

#loll me in any setting

[cancerbiophd]

Hi Julia! Not sure if I missed this (navigating Tumblr is still a mystery to me in 2021...) but I have a maybe silly question. Is it generally accepted to add students you've trained to your CV? I'm a MS student that worked with/trained an undergrad over the summer, as well as a PhD student on rotation during the first few months of this Fall semester. I assumed it was just part of the job, but one of my friends suggested it may be something I could add -- I'm not sure what to think!

Hi anon!

You can definitely add your mentored students to your CV. Almost all the CVs from PIs I've seen have a section for their current and past lab students (everyone from undergraduates to post-docs) to showcase some of their successful teaching/mentoring abilities. I also have it in my CV, under a section titled "Mentees", which lists their names and institution where I mentored them (my university), the time period (months or years), and the student's current position (if I kept in contact with them). You can also include any other information, like a short description of what you taught them, how long you spent teaching them (x hrs/week), any achievements you both accomplished together, etc.

Unlike resumes (which are succinct and tailored to the position you're applying to), a CV is literally collection of everything related to your academic and professional life. "Curriculum vitae" is Latin for "course of life", after all. As long as it's something you want to showcase, throw it in there!

#job advice

[cancerbiophd]

from now on we’re calling all the stem folk ‘students of the unhallowed arts’, just like mary shelley wanted us to do

#yesss i dig it

[cancerbiophd]

come join the gradblr support group discord server! 

created by the amazing @doubledteabaglife and co-modded by me

discord is like skype but way better (and it’s still free!). join us as we rant and rave about grad school and our disciplines and in general just support one another through this chaotic time. 

#this discord got me through some of the toughest darkest days of grad school #it felt so so good to not have to go through all of that alone #esp in times of covid #please come join us!

[cancerbiophd]

I saw you bring up 'informational interviews' in an answer which I had never heard of and followed the link which led to a list of (really good) questions. From that I gather its a meeting with people that have a job similar to what you might want so I have a few follow up questions:

- Are these common in industry/ academia?

- Is it something you set up yourself?

- Are people in certain positions less likely to do an info. interview?

- Are there any off- limits questions/ things to avoid?

Thanks for all your helpful answers!

Hello Anon, yes you are correct, that is exactly what an informational interview is. It's super casual, and immensely helpful to figure out a "day in the life of" or get advice and to narrow down your career options (especially when it's hard to get exposure to the position/job otherwise).

To answer your follow-up questions:

Are these common in industry/academia?

Yes in industry, I'm not too sure in academia, only because those interested in pursuing academia already have access to those positions (eg. grad student who wants to become a PI already works in that environment).

Is it something you set up yourself?

Yes. The best way is to reach out via email or LinkedIn, and the easiest way to have the interview is via the phone (or zoom). Though it's less daunting if you have some sort of connection already with the person (like you met at a conference, or went to the same university), it's still ok to contact them without any of prior introductions. The worst that could happen is they say no, or not respond. In the email you don't have to say the words "informational interview"; it can be something as simple as: "I'm interested in one day working in a position like yours, and I'm eager to learn more about what you do and your company. Do you have a few minutes for a phone call to talk about any advice you may have for me?" Entrepreneur and author Kim Perell frequently does quick info interviews with people who ask to grab a (figurative) cup of coffee together: "Can we meet up for (a virtual) coffee and just chat for 15 minutes?"

Are people in certain positions less likely to do an info interview?

Not necessarily, but those who are more likely to not respond or turn it down are those who are really busy, are not at the liberty of discussing too much of what they do (eg. classified stuff), or don't have the drive to give advice. There's also a correlation that those in higher-up positions just get a lot more emails a day, so your request may get lost (or get filtered by a secretary, etc).

Are there any off- limits questions/ things to avoid?

That depends on how comfortable the person you're talking to is about sharing things, and also whether they're at liberty of talking about certain topics. You can always preface a question with: "Please feel free to let me know if you prefer not to answer this, I will totally understand." Remaining professional and respectful is also key here, so it’s best not to get too personal or judgmental in any way (but how they choose to answer is obviously out of your control). I would also recommend staying within the time limit you two agreed upon, unless you’re both cool with talking longer. 

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions. 

#emily that is a SOLID addition thank you! #i'll have to keep that in mind for myself as well #job advice

[cancerbiophd]

I saw you bring up 'informational interviews' in an answer which I had never heard of and followed the link which led to a list of (really good) questions. From that I gather its a meeting with people that have a job similar to what you might want so I have a few follow up questions:

- Are these common in industry/ academia?

- Is it something you set up yourself?

- Are people in certain positions less likely to do an info. interview?

- Are there any off- limits questions/ things to avoid?

Thanks for all your helpful answers!

Hello Anon, yes you are correct, that is exactly what an informational interview is. It's super casual, and immensely helpful to figure out a "day in the life of" or get advice and to narrow down your career options (especially when it's hard to get exposure to the position/job otherwise).

To answer your follow-up questions:

Are these common in industry/academia?

Yes in industry, I'm not too sure in academia, only because those interested in pursuing academia already have access to those positions (eg. grad student who wants to become a PI already works in that environment).

Is it something you set up yourself?

Yes. The best way is to reach out via email or LinkedIn, and the easiest way to have the interview is via the phone (or zoom). Though it's less daunting if you have some sort of connection already with the person (like you met at a conference, or went to the same university), it's still ok to contact them without any of prior introductions. The worst that could happen is they say no, or not respond. In the email you don't have to say the words "informational interview"; it can be something as simple as: "I'm interested in one day working in a position like yours, and I'm eager to learn more about what you do and your company. Do you have a few minutes for a phone call to talk about any advice you may have for me?" Entrepreneur and author Kim Perell frequently does quick info interviews with people who ask to grab a (figurative) cup of coffee together: "Can we meet up for (a virtual) coffee and just chat for 15 minutes?"

Are people in certain positions less likely to do an info interview?

Not necessarily, but those who are more likely to not respond or turn it down are those who are really busy, are not at the liberty of discussing too much of what they do (eg. classified stuff), or don't have the drive to give advice. There's also a correlation that those in higher-up positions just get a lot more emails a day, so your request may get lost (or get filtered by a secretary, etc).

Are there any off- limits questions/ things to avoid?

That depends on how comfortable the person you're talking to is about sharing things, and also whether they're at liberty of talking about certain topics. You can always preface a question with: "Please feel free to let me know if you prefer not to answer this, I will totally understand." Remaining professional and respectful is also key here, so it’s best not to get too personal or judgmental in any way (but how they choose to answer is obviously out of your control). I would also recommend staying within the time limit you two agreed upon, unless you’re both cool with talking longer. 

I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions. 

#job advice

[cancerbiophd]

Hi! I was wondering if you have any advice for careers in fields that intersect with biology? I want to pursue a career in R&D and I have a full time job offer in a med school lab for when I graduate this winter. But it's not directly in my field and I'd probably be making less than I would in industry. It's only for my gap year, but I'm worried that if I don't start in my field now, I won't be able to enter it later...but the job market isn't great right now. Do you have any thoughts? tia!

Hi anon! Congrats on the job offer, and I'm glad to hear you're interested in biology R&D (one of us, one of us!)

The short answer is: this opportunity will not negatively affect your career prospects in industry later, so if it's a job that you need to take right now, rest easy knowing it's not closing any future doors for you!

The long answer: this job still falls in the realm of life sciences/health/research, so you're still under the right umbrella. And even if it didn't, diversity in knowledge and skills is always a plus in industry. Yes, on one hand you have to show you meet the minimal requirements of schooling and experience in the field, but on the other hand, the unique skills you're going to learn in this med school lab will set you apart from other candidates. At the end of the day, your transferable skills (like leadership, public speaking, organization, overcoming obstacles, etc) and how you spin your resume to best market yourself to whatever position you're applying for, can make a huge difference. Kinda like when the same product has different commercials for different target audiences.

I do recommend that you continue to maintain your network connections related to biology R&D areas (including having plenty of informational interviews), and to keep looking for job opportunities (and if a great one pops up, snatch it up! It's totally ok to let go of your current job for a better position, as long as you give them proper notice.)

I hope this helps. Congrats again on the job offer, and I wish you best of luck in your career! Please pop by any time if you have any more questions :)

#job advice

[cancerbiophd]

#was buying a dining table the other day #sales person did some calcs on his ipad and asked me does that sound right #and i just stared at him blankly like ur the one with the calculator #don’t look at me

[cancerbiophd]

#that’s a yikes

[cancerbiophd]

Story time:

In middle school biology, we did an experiment. We were given yams, which we would sprout in cups of water. We then had to make hypotheses about how the yams would grow, based on descriptions of yam plants in our books, and make notes of our observations as they grew.

Here’s what was supposed to happen: we were supposed to see that the actual growth of the plant did not resemble our hypotheses. We were then supposed to figure out that these were, in fact, sweet potatoes.

What actually happened was that every single student in every single class lied in their notes so that their observations perfectly matched their hypotheses. See, everyone assumed the mismatch meant they had done something wrong in the process of growing the plant or that they had misunderstood the dichotomous key or the plant identification terminology. And, thanks to the wonders of a public school education, everyone assumed the wrong results would get us a failing grade. We were trying to pass. We didn’t want to get bitched out by the teacher. Curiosity, learning, science - that had nothing to do with why we were sitting in that classroom. So we all lied.

The teacher was furious. She tried to fail every student, but the administration stepped in and told her she wasn’t allowed to because a 100% fail rate is recognized as a failure of the teacher, not the class. It wasn’t even her fault, really, though her being a notorious hard-ass didn’t help. It was a failure of the entire educational system.

So whenever I see crap like Elizabeth Holmes’s blood test scam or pharmaceutical trials which are unable to be replicated or industry-funded research that reaches wildly unscientific conclusions, I just remember those fucking sweet potatoes. I remember that curiosity dies when people are just trying to give their superiors the “right” answers, so they can get the grade, get the job, get the paycheck. It’s not about truth when it’s about paying rent. There’s no scientific integrity if you can’t control for human desperation.

#lookin at you toxic academia publish or perish

[cancerbiophd]

it’s supposed to be an antibody but uhh 🤔🤔

#0/10 design choice

[cancerbiophd]

10/3/21

October!! Time to add pumpkins everywhere, wear big chunky sweaters, go apple picking, and step on crunchy 🍁 leaves 🍁 !!! the chilly weather has been helping my motivation :)

#i spy some of my fav books! #studyspo

[cancerbiophd]

#shout it from the rooftops yeah!

[cancerbiophd]

I’M SO PROUD OF YOU EMMA!!!!

i’m starting my phd tomorrow

#one more step closer to DR EMMA #what a nice ring that has!

[cancerbiophd]

hoo boy, been a while since I’ve given any sort of update on here! Anyway, 2 big things to celebrate:

Reached my 1 year milestone at my new job! And still loving every second, especially now that I feel like I’m finally at the end of the learning curve. 

We bought a house!! Yes, it was an awful experience in this market (ugh the anxiety and heartbreak of being outbid is not something I would wish upon anyone), but we finally did it! And we’ll be moving in mid-October. I’ve never lived in a single place for longer than 4 years ever in my life, so I’m excited to finally settle down. 

#also add the house buying process as one more thing yall can ask me about #i'm no pro but i've definitely collected a few good online resources

[cancerbiophd]

09/06/2021 l not accurately dated to the photos - but this was a friends place i was staying at during my hiatus! they are art students so their study space is much cooler than mine hee hee

#wow that's lovely #studyspo