We all have points in our career at which we need to make a choice about what to do next.  This can happen at any stage – from deciding whether to go to graduate school or find a job in industry, through choosing a postdoctoral position, to deciding what type of position to apply for after completing our scientific training. There are many opportunities to find out all about the academic research career path during graduate school and postdoctoral training – all you have to do is keep your eyes open and talk to the people who are doing it – your mentors and the other researchers you meet along the way (in class, in the department, at meetings etc).  That being said, however, finding information about the other career paths that are available to those of us with a scientific background requires a more proactive approach. The internet is of course a valuable resource for researching just about everything and we have compiled a list of sites about career options to get you started.  This list is by no means comprehensive but should be viewed as a starting point for your research.  Finally, another idea is to find out who does what you’re thinking of doing and contacting them directly.  Most people are flattered by the interest and are happy to explain what they do and answer questions. 

General

http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development  Latest incarnation of Science’s
Next Wave.   Very good resource for all aspects of career development.

http://chronicle.com/jobs/ Interesting articles and forums on both academic and non-academic careers. 

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/4707/sci-careers.html  private site – a little out of date but with many good links.  It is well organized and provides a good starting point for thinking about and researching the various options.

http://www.phds.org/ Another private site with many links to interesting articles about scientific careers of all sorts.  Has a graduate student focus.

http://www.rileyguide.com/science.html This site is defined as a “directory of employment and career information sources and services on the Internet”, focusing on opportunities in the natural sciences.  The links seem to be up to date.

http://www.cpst.org/latestnews.cfm#newspos6  - A report of a workshop held on May 9, 2001 on Changing Career Paths in Science and Engineering

http://www.accessexcellence.org/RC/CC/  aimed at high school students but has some good information and testimonials.

Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Industry

http://www.bio.com/  Comprehensive site about the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Science/Medical writing

http://www.nasw.org/ National Association of Science Writers – includes resources, books and mailing lists.  Reading the lists can give you a good feel for what science writers do and an idea whether you would like to pursue this option.

http://www.amwa.org/default.asp?ID=1  American Medical Writers Association – includes information about membership, local chapters (which have nice events for networking), AMWA’s educational program in writing, and job opportunities

Intellectual Property Law

http://www.abanet.org/intelprop/careers.html  American Bar Association brochure about careers in Intellectual Property Law.

Technology Transfer

http://www.autm.net/aboutTT/aboutTT_faqs.cfm   FAQ about Technology Transfer from the Association of University Technology Managers.  The site also has a list of open positions.

There are also some interesting links in the FAQ section of the Technology Transfer Information Centre site, run by the US Department of Agriculture at http://www.nal.usda.gov/ttic/ttic.html

Science Policy

http://fellowships.aaas.org/ AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowships provide an opportunity for scientists and engineers to participate in and contribute to the federal policymaking process while learning firsthand about the intersection of science and policy.

*The ASBMB does not endorse or assume responsibility for the information posted on these web sites.