Finding a Career Entry That Suits You - Part II

With far fewer academic positions available than there are people with PhDs, the traditional path from student to postdoc to professor is no longer the norm. But besides that, there are many reasons why you might want to leave academia. Maybe you want a more secure job, want to get in contact with clients, or just don't like research anymore. Luckily, there are more jobs out there than you might realize! The process of job hunting can be confusing and intimidating. This collection of tips will help you to identify your strengths and the industry you want to move into and finally find a career entry that fits your interests.

Where can I get insights into specific positions?
We all know former lab members or fellow students who have moved on to non-academic careers. Ask them what they do now, if they are happy, and what kind of additional qualifications they had, suggests career coach Ulrike Schneeberg (http://deinemonster.de/), whom I met last year at a career day organized by the FU in Dahlem.
Job shadowing is also a great opportunity to find out if a job will suit you. Some universities offer programs, but you can as well just ask your acquaintances who work in a job you would like to get to know better. If you are eager and self-confident, you can also directly contact companies; it will for sure make a good impression. If you are about to graduate, do not cancel your studentship just yet: companies prefer to give away internships to students than to recent-graduates.

How do I get familiar with the job lingo?
Online job portals will help you figure out what names the jobs have and what specific skills are listed for the different job titles.
Check the job descriptions of your networking contacts and contact those whose job descriptions sound interesting to you. Most people are happy to report about their job and how they got there. Reach out to people in different jobs, ask if you could meet them for a coffee to ask career questions or interview them for a few minutes on the phone. I can personally report that it is incredibly helpful to get some inside information.

Do I have the right skills?
Browse through job offers and carefully read the descriptions. Ask yourself if you have the essential qualifications. If not, what could you do to gain additional expertise? Maybe you can join a project from a befriended lab, or take a course at your university or online while finishing your degree? However, don’t let the lists of desired skills intimidate you. Most employers are open for applicants who do not have a final degree that exactly matches the industrial sector or job opening if the application is convincing.

How do I structure my job search?
Career coach Ulrike Schneeberg suggests making a timeline to structure your job hunt efficiently. For example: by the end of next month you should have interviewed five people with jobs that sound interesting. Upon completion, reflect if your view has changed and eventually schedule another round of browsing job options and setting up informational interviews. Then narrow your career options down to a few choices that align best with your skills and interests. Having completed this step, it makes sense to start writing your resume, CV and parts of a cover letter tailored to the specific positions and industry. This is a very crucial step - take your time and go over it several times. Show them to your friends and colleagues (maybe even to this person who holds your dream job). Some applications may require references; ask your supervisors early enough if they would be willing to write you a recommendation letter. Most of the time they will be happy to do so, but won’t have much time. In this case, draft a reference yourself, so your referee will only need to edit and update it.

How do I get the attention of prospect employers?
Tell your friends and colleagues that you are looking for a new job. This will increase the likelihood of being offered a position which is not on the public market.
At career fairs, you can get directly in contact with recruitment managers. If you make a good impression and give them your contact detail, you are already one step closer to your dream job.
According to recruiting managers, it is highly recommended to participate in online job portals. More and more companies follow the trend to search suitable candidates themselves or work with recruiting agencies. If you want to be found, make sure to include the right buzzwords in your profile.

Where do I find job adverts?
Most companies advertise their openings online. The biggest resources are LinkedIn (for the international job search), Xing (the most important platform in Germany) and Indeed, but don’t forget to check out more local portals and those specific to the sector you are looking at, such as yourfirm, jobmehappy, jobworld.de, or stepstone.
However, also check out individual company homepages, as not all openings are shared in online job portals. Interestingly, many small- and medium-sized businesses still advertise in print media. Thus getting a copy of your local newspaper might be a good idea as well.
A great resource are also Laborjournal, academics, duz wissenschaftskarriere, Science Jobs DE, Sci-Tec Career, and Wila Bonn. Those looking for international jobs, will find interesting job offers at Science Careers and Naturejobs.

Where do I get information about prospect employers?
Always use more than one source: the company webpage, press releases, social media and rating portals such as glassdoor or kununu. Also check whether local and/or daily news reported about the companies you are interested in. If you want to move into the biotech scene, you should definitely check out labiotech.eu. The different pieces of information will help you to shape an image of the company. Ideal would be if you could talk to current or former employees. This is possible at career fairs or by directly contacting employees.

Where can I get help?
A very helpful tool is the “individual development plan” from science careers. You may also get help from your university. Charité students may contact the stud-hotline@charite.de to get career advice, even after completion of studies. For students enrolled at the Humboldt University, these links might be helpful (http://bit.ly/2E7bMFU , http://bit.ly/2BMLjLW) and you can also attend their events even after you graduated. There are also many helpful events organized by the Agentur für Arbeit. If you are looking for individual help, I can recommend to meet with a career coach. And stay tuned for the new Career Development Program for Berlin Neuroscience graduate students, currently being developed by SPARK with the help of MedNeuro students!
Get in touch with recruitment agencies specific for the sector you want to move into. Generally their services are free of charge for the job seeker and they have a genuine interest to get you a position because they will be paid by the companies upon success. Furthermore, recruitment agencies have a great portfolio of companies, you might not be aware of.

We wish you all the best!
Let us know your career stories, so we can help future graduates to smoothly transition into their first positions!

by Claudia Willmes, PhD Alumna, AG Eickholt / AG Schmitz
This article originally appeared March 2018, in Beauty and the Brain , Vol 11 - Issue 01

Finding a Career Entry That Suits You - Part I

With far fewer academic positions available than there are people with PhDs, the traditional path from student to postdoc to professor is no longer the norm. But besides that, there are many reasons why you might want to leave academia. Maybe you want a more secure job, want to get in contact with clients, or just don't like research anymore. Luckily, there are more jobs out there than you might realize! The process of job hunting can be confusing and intimidating. This collection of tips will help you to identify your strengths and the industry you want to move into and finally find a career entry that fits your interests.

How do I start?
The most important building block for a successful career is to be honest in defining your interests and strengths. The first question should be: do I want to apply for jobs in a technical, creative or management sector? But don’t build up too much pressure: you don’t have to make the perfect decision. A career is a path that arises from many decisions. Of course, the first job sets the direction, but you can always transition to another position. Especially when looking for your first "real world job", you might need to compromise on one or two things.

Where can I get inspiration?
Use conferences, social events, career fairs, meet-ups and career talks to question others about their work and explore the realities of these possibilities. A great opportunity to get in touch with scientists working outside of academia is the Career Development Seminar every second Wednesday at noon in the CCO Auditorium. Find people with a similar academic background who share your view on life and ask them about their careers. You might not only get inspired but also make important contacts. Even getting to know what you don't like will shape your idea of what you might want to do.
Think outside the box: scientists are not only needed in science but also in jobs like consulting, the public sector, non-profit organizations, management, communication, and many more. There are plenty reports from scientists that escaped academia on Science, Nature and Reddit.
Reflect when you read advertisements in newspapers or scientific journals: why were you attracted to this advertisement? Could you imagine working for this company or in this sector?

What are my strengths?
Pinpoint moments when you really enjoyed or really didn’t enjoy doing something, instead of trying to imagine what you would enjoy doing, because a lot of things aren’t what they seem to be. Find out what you are good at by asking yourself “what do people ask me to help them with?”. Ask people around you what you are good at and what they think is special about you. Consider also your life beyond the lab and think about your strengths outside of your field of study.

What are my interests?
Maybe you are graduating in neuroscience, but you have always been attracted by nutrition science, or you are more interested in the bigger picture of science - all this is worth considering. Only if your career satisfies your interests, will it make you happy. Figure out what it is that drives you. Think about moments when you were really happy, inspired or content with what you were doing.

What is important to me?
Consider what is important to you and prioritize. This might be the work environment, career perspectives within a company, working hours, the salary, or additional benefits. Make sure your prospect job fits your lifestyle and incorporates your personal life plan. If you want kids and would like to take a break from work, would this be compatible with the career aspired to? Do you want to stay in this city or are you willing to relocate? Can you commit to a job that needs a lot of traveling or working on the weekends? Do you want to work in a highly competitive environment? Answering these questions will help you to further narrow down career options.

stay tuned for Part II : Everything from getting familiar with the job lingo, structuring your job search, and where to get further information

By Claudia Willmes, PhD Alumna AG Eickholt / AG Schmitz
This article originally appeared March 2018, in Beauty and the Brain , Vol 11 - Issue 01

Compensation in Life Sciences

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” (Epictetus)

"Piled Higher and Deeper" by Jorge Cham, www.phdcomics.com

 

Renumeration in the Life Sciences

Can I fuse my passion for research with a worthwhile and financially secure living? This is one of the most gripping questions that researchers at all levels face when becoming part of an ever-growing global academic elite of dynamic, aspiring scientists.

More and more countries of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) are building up their higher education sectors. Science doctorates, post-docs, and principle investigators are key factors for the generation of wide-scale economic growth [1]. However, the question arises as to how we compensate life scientists for their academic excellence.

ACADEMIA PAYS UP TO 30% LESS THAN INDUSTRY

Taking a closer look at the importance of salaries in neuroscience becomes even more crucial in the light of global ‘over-production’ of science graduates [1]. Nowadays, scientists are increasingly being exploited as a cheap working force derived from a never-ending fountain of highly-skilled doctoral students and post-docs, allowing countries to develop their higher education system and general economy by paradoxically investing as little as possible into compensation of academics.

Salaries in Europe and the USA

The Scientist's 2014 web-based survey of compensation of life scientists gathered information from over 5334 individuals ranging from graduate students to professors in various life science sectors [2]. The survey revealed differences in income between different sectors, genders and institutions. European life scientists annually earn US$68,361 on average compared to US$99,011 in the US.

This regional discrepancy (in both academia and industry) is compounded by sector-specific differences in academia. Figures for academic neuroscientists in the US indicate an average salary of US$102,770, which is close to the average payment scale. Molecular biologists earn an average of US$77,970 and scientists working in drug discovery and development are more highly compensated – up to US$143,544.

Those working in academia make 30% less income in both Europe and the US compared to industry employees. Interestingly, researchers in the US working in specific areas in both academia and industry, such as genomics and biostatistics, had a 13% higher pay compared to the preceding year and compared to their colleagues in other disciplines. This indicates that employment in specific sectors with larger demand tends to be a ‘gold mine’ – that is, until the supply of new graduates reaches saturation. The vicious cycle continues because the demand for new graduates is being dictated by the amount of money (from research grants) available for paying them. This allows group leaders to recruit as much cheap labor as they want without considering the fact that not enough senior positions are available in the job market to keep these people employed in academia in the long run [3].

MEN ARE STILL PAID FAR MORE THAN WOMEN

Other fundamental factors affecting life scientists' salaries are age and experience, consisting of a leap in salary by up to 20% for every additional 5 years of experience. Remarkably, gender is still another dismaying aspect of salary inequality in the life sciences in the highly-developed countries of the 21st century. The survey revealed that European male scientists in high positions earn up to US$13,000 more than their female counterparts – a situation which is even worse in the US, where the discrepancy can reach up to US$28,000 [2].

Intellectual Freedom vs. Lifestyle

Looking at future compensation in the life sciences, we will probably continue to face a rather grim picture of ‘brain drain’ from academia to other institutions or to countries with a smaller salary gap [4]. Insufficient compensation and/or insecure job positions currently discourage scientists from staying in academia (only 6% of PhD students do stay) [5].

Promotion of progressive PhD programs that equip researchers with transferable skills that can be applied not only in academia but also in the wider job market is nowadays a pivotal part of German scientific training [6]. This increases the chances of circumventing the bottleneck problem of occupational demand due to educational ‘over-supply’ of researchers that ultimately leads to dwindling salaries in the academic life sciences.

Academic scientists at all levels have to face the reality that salaries in the future will most probably continue being unstable and less lucrative than in other sectors. It remains the individual decision of every scientist as to how to weigh academic intellectual freedom with monetary compensation.  

[1] Cyranoski et al., Nature, 2011
[2] http://bit.ly/1rZ8nGD
[3] http://bit.ly/1OZQ2IT 
[4] Jacobs, EMBO Rep, 2013
[5] http://bit.ly/20Ehktz
[6] Shen, Nature, 2013

by Meron Maricos, PhD Student AG Kettenmann
this article originally appeared 2015 in CNS Volume 8, Issue 4, Money on My Mind.