"The health care revolution is having profound effects on the nation's academic medical centers, creating threats and opportunities for researchers. While secure positions in academia may be harder to come by, the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are flourishing. As one who has traveled the halls of academe and industry, I can attest to the viability of such transitions as well as the quality of opportunity in both sectors. This book will provide an excellent tool for scientists and scientists-in-training to better understand industry and the nature of research outside the Ivory Tower."
--RALPH SNYDERMAN, M.D., James B. Duke Professor of Medicine, Chancellor for Health Affairs, Dean, School of Medicine, and CEO, Duke University Medical Center & Health System
"
Alternative Careers in Science is a first-class guide for graduate students and postdoctorates who are considering careers outside the lab. The authors provide vivid, first-hand accounts of the situations leading to their 'alternative' careers. They also describe the day-to-day activities in their new jobs, discussing both the rewards and the difficulties in several different employment settings. Perhaps more than anything else, this book demonstrates that scientists can find challenges and fulfillment outside the lab. I wish that someone had published this kind of guide 15 years ago when I was considering my own transition to a non-research career."
--WALTER SCHAFFER, Ph.D., NIH Research Training Officer responsible for the extramural research training and career development programs
"This book is a must-read for anyone pursuing a degree in science. The detailed and honest case studies provide precisely the kind of career guidance that scientists-in-training desperately need, but cannot find at most colleges and universities."
--KEVIN AYELSWORTH, Ph.D., Founder of the Young Scientists' Network and Co-author of Rethinking Science as a Career
"...this book features the stories of 23 people who have moved from the traditional career path of research science to a host of different careers. Some are just starting out, others have had successful careers for years. Their advice is candid, often witty, and absolutely dead on. And to top it off, the book has a great index at the back."
--Peter Fiske in SCIENCE'S NEXT WAVE
"
Alternative Careers is essential reading, not only for young scientists but also for their mentors and advisors responsible for influencing career options. It provides sound and down-to-earth advice to young professionals at the right time--in graduate school. I certainly would have benefited from such advice when I was a graduate student."
--JALEH DAIE, Ph.D., Professor at UW-Madison and President of AWIS
"What makes this book so refreshing is that it presents the ACTUAL VOICES of real scientists who have found fulfilling and challenging careers outside of research science. Each of their stories is different but the message is clear: scientists have a range of valuable skills that can find application practically anywhere! Every chapter in this book contains valuable career advice and pointers. Career change is difficult for anyone, but for scientists it can be particularly challenging and frustrating. This book is the first that provides real stories of success. If you are changing careers or only considering other options this book has valuable advice on every page."
--PETER S. FISKE, Ph.D., Author of
To Boldly Go: A Practical Career Guide for Scientists"
Alternative Careers is an inspiring and entertaining addition to the careers literature. It fills a need for discussion of careers for those trained in science. I will gladly recommend that this book be added to the expanding information provided by our newly established career center. While this book could be helpful to anyone finishing an undergraduate or graduate academic program, the careers described are particularly appropriate for those trained in scientific methodology. The chapters are very personal, and describe not just 'how I got my job,' but 'what my job is now and what I like about it.' Hopefully, this book will inspire and encourage scientists to expand their concepts of successful careers."
--PATRICIA BRESNAHAN, Ph.D., Postdoctoral Fellow, Co-founder, UCSF Postdoctoral Scholars Association
"
Alternative Careers in Science: Leaving the Ivory Tower is a concise description of the many options available to those interested in science and wondering if there is a way to earn a living while satisfying their curiosity. The writing style is personal enough to be interesting to the public and concise enough to appeal to scientists. The job descriptions include prerequisites, daily activities, and future opportunities. It provides inspiration for anyone, from high school students to underemployed Ph.D.s, considering a scientific career. It should be in every career center and public library so that job seekers will be inspired to think farther than the industrial job listings they came for."
--KATHERINE L. MOORE, Ph.D., Bay Area Bioscience Center
"This book provides a glimpse of what it is like to have made it, to have successfully applied one's Ph.D. to a rewarding non-research career. It is at once an essential guidebook for those who would contemplate such a path and a chronicle of science-related jobs and their practitioners of general interest. From technical writing to regulatory affairs and from business development to patents, the broadest horizons of the scientific profession are explored. I would recommend it to anyone studying science or just interested in finding what it is that scientists can do."
--ROBERT H. RICH, Ph.D., Program Associate, AAAS Research Competitiveness Program and Staff Liaison, AAAS Task Force on Careers for Young Scientists
"...this timely book could be of value for frustrated graduate students and postdoctoral fellows or for those who have decided that laboratory research is not fulfilling... disillusioned bench scientists may find it comforting to read how some of their peers parlayed their science background in unique and profitable ways."
--DOODY'S PUBLISHING REVIEWS
"...packed with good advice and essential information presented in an organized and highly readable format that will benefit even those of us well past our in-training stage. If you've been dreaming of another career, now's the time to start turning that dream into reality-and this book can help."
--ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN GEOSCIENTISTS newsletter
In
Alternative Careers in Science: Leaving the Ivory Toweryou will meet scientists who evolved into Wall Street analysts, science policy gurus, patent agents, journalists, consultants, biopharmaceutical company executives, entrepreneurs, executive search specialists, public relations experts, and top-flight sales reps. You'll never think that science is a one-way street again!
Each chapter covers a different career track and includes:
* Basic job description, qualifications, responsibilities, and expectations
* Typical day scenario
* Why a graduate degree in science gives you an edge
* Outlines skills important to career track - creative, critical, computer, interpersonal
* Training phases and requirements
* Existing steps in the promotion ladder and salary ranges
* Career opportunities stemming from each position
