PNAS: Jennifer Saam, Medical Science Liason

(This post is part of the new round of interviews of non-academic scientists, giving the responses of Jennifer Saam, who translates between different departments at a medical diagnostic laboratory. The goal is to provide some additional information for science students thinking about their fiuture careers, describing options beyond the assumed default Ph.D.–post-doc–academic-job track.) 1) What… Continue reading PNAS: Jennifer Saam, Medical Science Liason

PNAS: Adam DeConinck, High-Performance Computing Systems Engineer

(This post is part of the new round of interviews of non-academic scientists, giving the responses of Adam DeConinck, who works at a company providing supercomputing resources. The goal is to provide some additional information for science students thinking about their fiuture careers, describing options beyond the assumed default Ph.D.–post-doc–academic-job track.) 1) What is your… Continue reading PNAS: Adam DeConinck, High-Performance Computing Systems Engineer

PNAS: Matthew Schlecht, Freelance Translator

(This post is part of the new round of interviews of non-academic scientists, giving the responses of Matthew Schlecht, a chemist by training who runs his own technical translation service, Word Alchemy Translation. The goal is to provide some additional information for science students thinking about their fiuture careers, describing options beyond the assumed default… Continue reading PNAS: Matthew Schlecht, Freelance Translator

PNAS: Richard Lobinske, Hazardous Waste Manager

(This post is part of the new round of interviews of non-academic scientists, giving the responses of Richard Lobinske, a Hazardous Waste Manager (meaning he handles chemicals, such as these decades-old pesticides, not particularly noxious low-level employees). The goal is to provide some additional information for science students thinking about their fiuture careers, describing options… Continue reading PNAS: Richard Lobinske, Hazardous Waste Manager

PNAS: Darren Anderson, Start-Up Chief Technology Officer

(This post is part of the new round of interviews of non-academic scientists, giving the responses of Darren Anderson, the Chief Technology Officer for Vive Nano. The goal is to provide some additional information for science students thinking about their future careers, describing options beyond the assumed default Ph.D.–post-doc–academic-job track.) 1) What is your non-academic… Continue reading PNAS: Darren Anderson, Start-Up Chief Technology Officer

PNAS: Will Hendrick, (Former) Biomedical Technician

(This post is part of the new round of interviews of non-academic scientists, giving the responses of Will Hendrick, who worked as a lab tech before returning to school. (This may seem like an odd inclusion, but there are people who do this sort of thing forever, so I think it’s valid.) The goal is… Continue reading PNAS: Will Hendrick, (Former) Biomedical Technician

PNAS: Amy Young, Saponifier

(This post is part of the new round of interviews of non-academic scientists, giving the responses of Amy Young, who runs her own soap-making business. The goal is to provide some additional information for science students thinking about their fiuture careers, describing options beyond the assumed default Ph.D.–post-doc–academic-job track.) 1) What is your non-academic job?… Continue reading PNAS: Amy Young, Saponifier

Return of the Project for Non-Academic Science

In keeping with this week’s unofficial theme of wibbling about academia, there’s an article at The Nation about the evils of graduate school that’s prompted some discussion. Sean says more or less what I would, though maybe a little more nicely than I would. I wouldn’t bother to comment further, except this spurred Sean to… Continue reading Return of the Project for Non-Academic Science

PNAS: Julie Myers-Irvin, Scientist Administrator

(On July 16, 2009, I asked for volunteers with science degrees and non-academic jobs who would be willing to be interviewed about their careers paths, with the goal of providing young scientists with more information about career options beyond the pursuit of a tenure-track faculty job that is too often assumed as a default. This… Continue reading PNAS: Julie Myers-Irvin, Scientist Administrator

PNAS: Ethan Allen, Education Program Manager

(On July 16, 2009, I asked for volunteers with science degrees and non-academic jobs who would be willing to be interviewed about their careers paths, with the goal of providing young scientists with more information about career options beyond the pursuit of a tenure-track faculty job that is too often assumed as a default. This… Continue reading PNAS: Ethan Allen, Education Program Manager