Alternative Careers in Science, Second Edition: Leaving the Ivory Tower (Scientific Survival Skills) [Paperback]

Cynthia Robbins-Roth (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0125893760 | ISBN-13: 978-0125893763 | Publication Date: September 9, 2005 | Edition: 2

Many science students find themselves in the midst of graduate school or sitting at a lab bench, and realize that they hate lab work! Even worse is realizing that they may love science, but science (at least academic science) is not providing many job opportunities these days. What's a poor researcher to do !?
This book gives first-hand descriptions of the evolution of a band of hardy scientists out of the lab and into just about every career you can imagine. Researchers from every branch of science found their way into finance, public relations, consulting, business development, journalism, and more - and thrived there! Each author tells their personal story, including descriptions of their career path, a typical day, where to find information on their job, opportunities to career growth, and more. This is a must-read for every science major, and everyone who is looking for a way to break out of their career rut.

* An insider's look at the wide range of job opportunities for scientists yearning to leave the lab
* First-person stories from researchers who successfully made the leap from science into finance, journalism, law, public policy, and more.
* Tips on how to track down and get that job in a new industry
* Typical day scenarios for each career track
* List of resources (websites, associations, etc.) to help you in your search
* Completely revised, this latest edition includes six entirely new chapters

Editorial Reviews

Review

"After my Ph.D. I realized that although I enjoyed science, I felt that my skills might be better applied to enabling the application of science within a more commercial context. Reading the experiences of others in this book gave me the confidence to move into another area of work. After spending two years in university technology transfer, I now negotiate Strategic Alliances on behalf of Pfizer and use my scientific knowledge and experience on a day-to-day basis."
-Philip McGurk, Pfizer, California, U.S.A.

Book Description

You can do more with your science degree than you ever dreamed!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Academic Press; 2 edition (September 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0125893760
• ISBN-13: 978-0125893763
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #813,576 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars warning, November 4, 2007

By 

LW "LW" - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Alternative Careers in Science, Second Edition: Leaving the Ivory Tower (Scientific Survival Skills) (Paperback)

The case studies are entirely on people in the biotech sector. Good ideas, but not as useful for people outside of this field. Would have been more accurate to call the book "Alternative Careers in Biotech."

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars outdated already, May 30, 2006

By 

steve_oakland (Davis, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Alternative Careers in Science, Second Edition: Leaving the Ivory Tower (Scientific Survival Skills) (Paperback)

-- FIRST REVIEW, 2006 -- see 2009 update below

The work environment for scientists changes quickly, and the path to changing careers changes as well. This book has been written by people who changed careers YEARS ago -- when minimal skill sets were sufficient to change careers. Learning how to use a word-processor in the 1980s was apparently enough to land you a job in writing or law. Knowing a bit of biology and how to use a computer was enough to get you into the field bioinformatics. Not anymore! This book offers little advice for what a competitive job market is like today, how and where to find employment, and what skills to acquire to take the plunge from lab to a different career.

------- UPDATE: JUNE 2009 ---------

I've still been thinking about this book and how useless it is. What do I recommend instead? In the years since I've made my first review of "Alternative Careers in Science," I've become interested in business-thinking, for lack of a better word, and I've taken a few classes in entrepreneurship and read a few business books. I highly recommend "A Whole New Mind" by Daniel H. Pink in place of "Alternative Careers in Science." "A Whole New Mind" isn't about leaving academia, specifically, but it is a good book to get you prepared for a transition and think about other skill sets and contacts you would need to explore to leave academia. I haven't completed the career transition myself, but "A Whole New Mind" has me off to a good start.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great reference book!, May 4, 2007

By 

Lynn (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Alternative Careers in Science, Second Edition: Leaving the Ivory Tower (Scientific Survival Skills) (Paperback)

This book is a great source of information for graduate students and PhD's! I am currently a graduate student finishing up my thesis work in biomedical sciences. I decided that academia is not where I want to spend my future yet felt that I really did not know what other choices I had available that did not require yet another degree. There are far more career options available than I could have imagined on my own! I like that each career has a detailed description of a 'typical day' and what characteristics a person needs for each career. Also, each career alternative describes to varying degrees how we can start on those career paths. For the most part we can't expect to head our own venture capital firm or lead a business development team in a major pharmaceutical company after graduation. But we can certainly learn how best to go about getting to that stage at some point because the book describes what job skills are needed for each profession.

For those of us who like to do a little job searching in our spare time, a lot of chapters include websites where jobs are posted. This is a great source to find out what entry level positions are available for people looking to get out of the lab. Probably one of the most important things is I have learned from reading this book is that I have acquired a much bigger skill set than just how to do bench work. This book by no means informs us how to land the jobs we desire, but it is truely a great reference manual for those of us who are clueless about life outside of academia.