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Career Insights: How People Choose What to Do Next |
Traditionally, most biologists have followed a somewhat linear career path, where graduate school led to a postdoctoral fellowship, which then led to a tenure-track position doing research in an academic setting. A biologists’ path on the tenure-track also seemed straightforward: an assistant professor became an associate professor (mostly accompanied by tenure) and, one day, a full professor. The only question appeared to be whether to pursue one’s career in a basic science department, a medical school or a research institute. This is, of course, an over-simplification of the career choices open to biologists in the past, and it falls short in describing what we do today. This mythical portrayal of a biologist does, however, illustrate the fact that most of us know scientists who are currently engaged in academic research; it is relatively straightforward to find someone who is willing to help us weigh the pros and cons when we are making the decision that would take us along a similar career path. However, these days many people at various points in their career are facing an array of choices and decisions beyond this traditional academic research career track. These decisions are often not straightforward and it is not always obvious how to go about making the right choice. In an effort to highlight the fact that many people have faced these decisions and weighed the various options, we approached a number of biologists who have gone through this process and made interesting career choices, and we asked them to write a short piece describing their jobs and the considerations that went into their career decisions. We are featuring these articles in an ASBMB Today column called Career Insights, and they will also be preserved on the website for future reference. ASBMB Today Articles
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