How can you assess potential investments in your scientific career like professional coaching or online courses? Such investments could catapult you forward in your career leading to huge benefits like pay raises, promotions, or more interesting projects. Or they could be a huge waste of money. To make the right decisions you need an analytical…
How can you plan your career as a scientist while technology is changing what it means to be a scientist? What will scientists even do in the future? As the lines between technology and biology blur, computers will undoubtedly relieve scientists of some of their duties. Will you be empowered by sophisticated artificial intelligences or…
As a scientist, should you get an MBA degree? The answer will be different for every individual scientist. It will even be different at different points in a single scientist’s career. Nevertheless, there are some common pros and cons to consider. This post isn’t meant to convince you one way or the other; rather, it…
Think less, act more is a recipe for success in the world of science. Action is valued more than thought. If you pause and consider it, this is incredibly obvious. No one was ever promoted, published, or otherwise rewarded for simply thinking. Rather, they had to experiment, write, meet, present, or take some other kind…
Introduction As a scientist, you need a team of independent advisors—a community of scientists—to help you navigate a complex professional landscape. Let me explain why and propose a solution. You possess the skills to do or learn to do almost anything, and that predisposition towards independence and self-determination can be detrimental to your career. Our…
To create truly transformative impact in the world, a scientist must systematically innovate over decades in areas overlooked by others. How can you model yourself after this ideal? You could study Nobel Prize winners, but you’ll risk getting stuck in the scientific details and miss the general themes. Better to examine a non-scientist and capture…
I’d like to present a review of the 2023 biography Elon Musk by Walter Isaacson, including an analysis of what scientists should learn from Elon Musk. Setting the stage Scientists are trained to dream small. Of course, there are good reasons for this reductionism. Our collective scientific knowledge has advanced to the point where the…
Developing a practice of lifelong learning as an established scientist is essential to your continued professional development and happiness. By the time you become an industry scientist, you may have spent 25 years or more on your education and training. But you’re not done learning. To the contrary, if you want to excel, you need…
You and everyone else thinks they should be promoted. As a scientist, you were likely never taught specific strategies to navigate and excel in the corporate world. So how do you set yourself apart and get that promotion you deserve? In this article, we’ll outline strategies to get you promoted in service of your long…
Hey scientist, why don’t you have a professional career coach? You’ve probably never thought you needed one. You’ve likely never heard another scientist rave about how a career coach for scientists transformed their professional life. Maybe you think you have a pretty good mentor and a strong support structure in your peers, family, and friends….