Table Of ContentCareer Management for Chemists
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg GmbH
John Fetzer
Career Management
for Chemists
A Guide to Success in a Chemistry Career
Springer
Dr. John Fetzer
Fetzpahs Consulting
94564 Pinole
CA,USA
[email protected]
ISBN 978-3-642-05886-8 ISBN 978-3-662-06216-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-06216-6
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Preface
Preface
v
The writing of this book was a broad range of experiences. I started
out thinking it would be an expansion of my monthly essays in
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, just being more detailed
and writing more on topics. Instead, I soon realized that the topics
needed were many and more varied. Even within an area that I had
already covered in one of the published essays, I found through
thinking, reading, and discussing with other scientists that there
were more facets. Topics such as listening to communicate, ethics,
the dynamics of teams, and the cultural aspects of science became
topics of their own.
The topics are wide in scope and hopefully helpful in
many ways to the wide variety of scientists who read it for ideas.
Through working with the illustrator, Kevin Coffey of
Cartoonlandanimation.com, some of the ideas became visual and
not just concepts. This was an interesting exercise in itself as I
believe that there is a lot of aesthetic beauty in science anyway.
I am interested in any new topics or perspectives, if not for
some future second edition, then for new essay topics.
Good luck to each reader in finding steps towards success.
John Fetzer
Contents
Contents
VII
Acknowledgements XI
Introduction -The Career as a Long Trip
2 Technical Areas 11
2.1 Accepting Failure to Create Innovation in
Experimentation 13
2.2 Keeping Current - Always Learning 20
2.3 Specialist or Generalist? 26
2.4 Being a Part of the Scientific Community 32
241 General Remarks 32
2.4.2 Societies - Is it Advantageous to Belong to
Professional Societies? 33
243 Being Involved in Societies 34
2-4.4 Conferences - Is it Advantageous to Attend
and Present at Conferences? 35
245 Journals and other Publications
- Is it Advantageous to Publish Papers? 38
246 Reviewing for Journals 40
247 Advisory Boards and Editorships 41
2.5 Thinking - Curiosity and Wonder 43
2.6 Thinking - Skepticism 48
2.7 Diversifying 53
2.8 Parochial Science - Possessiveness and
Boundaries 6o
Contents
2.9 The Tools (Part 1) - Tools and Mechanics
of Research: Putting Together Your
Toolbox 63
2.10 The Tools (Part 2) - Handy Tools,
But Not Always Needed 77
3 Non-technical Areas 87
VIII
3.1 Communicating 89
3.1.1 The General Common Points 89
3.1.2 Eloquence - Speaking Easily the First
Time 92
3.1.3 Writing a Paper - The Basic Mechanics
Help 99
3·1.4 Writing with Style m
3.1.5 Listening 117
3.2 Networking - Becoming an Integral Part
of Your Field 121
3·3 Collaborative Research 129
3-4 Diversity in Science - Being Open
Minded 138
3·5 Using a Mentor 142
3.6 Being a Mentor 147
3·7 Behaviors 154
3.7.1 Personalities and Styles in Dealing
with Others 154
3.7.2 Dealing with Those on the Dark Side
- Difficult and Worse People 159
3·7·3 Ethics - The Right Things To Do 170
3.8 Teams, Teamwork, and Leadership 175
3·9 Balancing Professional and Private Time 187
Contents
4 Career Changes 191
4.1 The Rewards of Working in Industry
- Starting and Choosing a Direction from
Graduate School to an Industrial Career 193
Industry Versus Academia - The Merits
of an Industrial Career in Contrast
to One in Academia 197
IX
4·3 Resume and Curriculum Vitae
- Getting the message Across 202
4-4 The Grass is Greener - A Comparison
Between Workplaces 210
4.5 Changing Hats- Supervising and
Managing 223
4.6 Personal Skills and Assessments 234
4·7 Degree of Difficulty- Non-advanced Degree
Chemists 242
4.8 Pursuit of Non-traditional Careers
in Chemistry - Chemists Without Lab
Coats 248
5 Bibliography 261
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
XI
Many people helped in forming this book. Besides the many people
I worked with over the years who helped create my experiences
and ideas, there are those who I spoke with on career development
for research chemists for this book. Christina Dyllick, editor of
Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, let me create the essays
that generated the book. In that phase, two of the journal's editors,
Sylvia Daunert and Philippe Garrigues, came up with several good
ideas for essays. Douglas Lane, Jocelyn Hellou, Kathleen Kilway,
Linda Osbourne, Richard Mathies, Wilton Biggs, and Stephen Wise
gave especially useful and extensive comments and ideas.
I would also like to thank the illustrator, Kevin Coffey. It
was very nice exchanging ideas and seeing some of the writing
turned into visuals. I hope you, the readers, enjoy them, too.
