Skill Building

Andrea
H.

Great program!

We increasingly see job postings that call for well-rounded candidates.  I think this trend is here to stay, especially with the growth of interdisciplinary or cross-functional positions both in academia and industry.  I actually think this is a good thing, since this trend facilitates mor...


Kate
Sleeth

The Perceptions about Ph.D’s

At a seminar by Dr. Peter S. Fiske, he touched the subject of the public’s perceptions of individuals with Ph.D’s to great hilarity.  If you were to ask an average person on the street what someone with a Ph.D looks like, they would probably describe a geek; glasses, pocket protector, pocke...


Ping
Xiao

QUALITY

Quality is the life of industry, especially for healthcare related enterprises. We need to satisfy not only the customer, but also the government. If you want to work for industry, no matter what kind of work you do, you have to put quality in your mind first. Furthermore, if you work for an interna...


Stephanie
Yeung

How to Present Stylishly

No, this is not a VOGUE article that advises you on your work wardrobe. One of the things that graduate school can do better is prepare students to be effective presenters. In my early phase of transiting into marketing functions, one of the biggest adjustments was my presentation style. Looking bac...


Andrea
H.

Adjusting to a new norm

The official transition from academia to industry had been incredibly enlightening.  I definitely appreciate those summer internships that we all completed at various pharma and tech companies (working on our “lab tans,” while our friends enjoyed the summer lifeguarding and developing real ...


Mandy
Kendrick

What’s your elevator conversation?

“Mandy, I still remember the first time we got to know each other,” my friend said during a four-hour road trip a couple of weeks ago.  “We were riding a bus to New York City, and I really wanted to get to know you and to understand what you work on, but all I could figure out was that th...


Stephanie
Yeung

Don’t Be A Monkey. Be A Sheep Pig.

Recently I watched the Oscar-winning movie Babe for the first time (I know. What took me so long, right!?). It is an awesomely inspiring film where a pig raised by sheep dogs resists his destiny of being humans’ dinner and is determined to become a sheep pig (a pig that herds sheep). Along the way...


Stephanie
Yeung

Learn the Lingo – Transition From Research To Business

In a previous post, I mentioned that my journey away from the bench evolved from my daily walk by the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley to my joining their Management of Technology Program to learn about commercialization. In one of my classes there, a Haas professor who used to be a NASA scien...


Maida
Taylor

Playing Well with Others: Lessons learned from an MD in the Pharmaceutical Industry?

The lessons I learned transitioning into Industry are simple, and similar advice can be found at any career-counseling site in postings about office ethics and etiquette.   1.    Listen first, ask questions next, render your opinion last.


Kate
Sleeth

WIST 2011 – Fail Forward: Embracing Risk

On Saturday the 14th of May I attended the Women in Science and Technology conference held at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla.  There were four workshop sessions, and I wish to share a few thoughts from those sessions over my next few blogs.  The first session I atten...