Setting Yourself Up For

Success

Practical Tips for a Successful

Graduate Career & Achieving
Your Long-Term Goals
What is “Success”?

ALBERT SCHWEITZER: Success is not

the key to happiness. Happiness is the
key to success. If you love what you
are doing, you will be successful.
What is “Success”?

HENRY DAVID THOREAU: I have

learned, that if one advances
confidently in the direction of his
dreams, and endeavors to live the life
he has imagined, he will meet with a
success unexpected in common hours.
What is “Success”?

G. K. CHESTERTON: I owe my success

to having listened respectfully to the
very best advice, and then going away
and doing the exact opposite.
Taking Charge of Your Career

Develop a “roadmap” for graduate

school

Ask yourself whether decisions will
lead you to your destination

Sit in the drivers seat
Your Own Personal Roadmap

What are your core values?

Where do you want to be in five years?
In ten?

What are your immediate-term and
short-term goals?
Mission Statement

To train independent and creative scientists

To mentor emerging scientists and young
people

To contribute new and important information
and ideas to my chosen field

To act with integrity, honesty, and fairness
Mission Statement (circa 1989)

To contribute new and important

information to my chosen field

To act with integrity, honesty, and
fairness

To become a tenured faculty member
at a top research institution
Where Do You Want to be in 5 or 10
Years?

Postdoc?

Entry level position in Industry?

Teaching at Four Year College?

Faculty Member at Research
Institution?

Scientist at Start-up Company?

Management? Sales?
What are the Basic Requirements
for Your Desired Position?

Ph.D.?

Postdoc?

Teaching Experience?

X Years Industrial Experience?

If you aren’t sure, ask your

advisor/mentor and check job
listings (http://www.cen-
chemjobs.org/)
RESEARCH SCIENTIST
Amgen Inc.
From the May 10, 2004 issue of Chemical & Engineering News
Salary:
Location:
Type:
Open
Thousand Oaks, California
Full Time - Experienced
RESEARCH SCIENTIST. Resp. for design & development of
practical synthesis of drug candidates to support drug discovery &
development. Utilizes modern spectroscopic analysis for isolating &
characterizing products, e.g. HPLC, MMR, UV, IR, & MS. Req Ph.D.
Organic Chemistry & 1 yr exp in job/1 yr exp as a Research Assoc.
Send ad & resume: Kyle Foster, Amgen Inc., One Amgen Center Dr.,
Thousand Oaks, CA 91320-1799 (jobsite). Include Ad# 02-557FV.
Research Scientist I/II -
Medicinal Chemistry
Roche Palo Alto
Open
Palo Alto, CA
Full Time - Entry Level
MULTIPLE POSITIONS AVAILABLE: In this position you will plan and execute the
synthesis of organic molecules for evaluation in drug discovery projects. You will use all
available resources in solving problems encountered in the synthesis of target organic
molecules, and evaluate the results from biological experiments to propose new targets
for chemical synthesis. Working in a team environment, you will participate on drug
discovery project teams, providing chemical expertise, and contributing to the design of
new drug targets. Effective communication of research results in both oral and written
form will be essential, as is the maintenance of a safe laboratory working environment
and compliance with environmental health and safety requirements. Other responsibilities
may include supervision of professional staff, including training, development, and
evaluation.

Requirements:
Ph.D./equivalent in Chemistry and 0-4 years of relevant experience, possibly including
post-doctoral experience. Experience in the synthesis of organic molecules, including
planning synthetic routes, conducting experiments, purifying products and analyzing
results is required. Knowledge of literature database searching and molecular modeling
experience is preferred.
VISITING ASSISTANT
PROFESSOR -- CHEMISTRY
Saint Michael's College
From the Apr 26, 2004 issue of Chemical & Engineering News
Open
Colchester, Vermont
Full Time - Experienced
VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR -- CHEMISTRY The Department of Chemistry and
Physics at Saint Michael's College, a residential, Catholic, liberal arts college, is seeking
to fill a one year visiting assistant professor position in chemistry beginning August 2004.
A Ph.D. in chemistry and prior teaching experience are required. Teaching
responsibilities will be general chemistry lecture and three general chemistry labs each
semester. The individual will be stepping into an established general chemistry lab
sequence and will work with the department's lab coordinator who normally teaches two
of the five general chemistry labs each semester. The department anticipates filling a
tenure track position for the 2005-2006 academic year. To view information about the
existing general chemistry sequence refer to the following websites:
http://academics.smcvt.edu/chemistry/CHEM_103/CHEM_103/chemistry_103_Index.htm
, http://academics.smcvt.edu/chemistry/CHEM_107/chemistry_107_Index.htm.
Applicants should submit a letter of application, a curriculum vitae, official transcripts, and
three reference letters to: Chair, Chemistry Search Committee, c/o Office of Human
Resources, Saint Michael's College, One Winooski Park, Colchester, Vermont, 05439.
The application deadline is May 21, 2004. EOE
Unstated Requirements

Example: most research departments

expect postdoctoral research

Contact someone in the type of position that
you are interested in to find out whether
your application would be competitive (& if
not, what you should do to make it
competitive)

Ask your advisor if he/she thinks you are
qualified for the position
What are the Success Criteria
for Your Desired Position?

Communication skills

Knowledge base

Leadership/supervisory skills

Organization and efficiency

Working relationships

Creativity

Independence
Defining Immediate-Term
Goals (6 months – 1 year)

Experiments needed to put together

your next paper or a poster

Obtaining preliminary results on a new
project to determine feasibility

Preparing for qualifying exam

Developing research proposals for
academic job applications
Defining Short-Term Goals (1
week - 1)

Completing an experiment

Preparing or ordering starting materials for
the next experiment

Preparing figures for the paper you are
writing

If you find it hard to get organized, make a

daily or weekly to-do list and check off
tasks as you complete them
Making The Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for
Postdocs and New Faculty (www.hhmi.org/labmanagement)
 Setting Priorities
Not Important Important

Not •Most email •Ongoing

experiments
Urgent •Lab pool for •Keeping a good notebook
basketball •Preparing poster for ACS
meeting
Urgent •Instant messenger •A lab fire
•Ringing telephone •Preparing for tomorrow’s
group meeting
Making The Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for
Postdocs and New Faculty (www.hhmi.org/labmanagement)
Focus on Important/Not-
Urgent Quadrant

Plan ahead & know your deadlines

Set aside blocks of time for specific
tasks

Break large tasks into smaller tasks

Delegate tasks

Complete tasks on time

Making The Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for

Postdocs and New Faculty (www.hhmi.org/labmanagement)
Project Management

Take ownership for your project

Develop a statement of work

Meet with advisor to discuss and
revise

Develop work breakdown structure
and timeline for key events/milestones

Meet with advisor to discuss and
revise
Developing a Statement of
Work

Purpose. This section should include:

Background: Why the project was initiated
and by whom, what happens if it’d not done,
and what else relates to it.

Scope of work: What you will do – a brief
statement describing the major work to be
performed.

Strategy: How you plan to perform the work.

Making The Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for

Postdocs and New Faculty (www.hhmi.org/labmanagement)
Developing a Statement of
Work
Objectives. Objectives are the end results to
be achieved by the project. Each objective
should include:

Statement: A description of the desired
outcome when the project is done.

Measures: Indicators to assess how well
you have achieved the desired outcome.

Specifications: Target values of the
measures that define successful results.
Making The Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for
Postdocs and New Faculty (www.hhmi.org/labmanagement)
Work Breakdown Structure
 Start with broad work assignments, break
them down into tasks, and divide these
tasks into discrete subtasks
 What level of detail is necessary?

Can you come up with a reasonable estimate of
the resources required for this work

Can you come up with a reasonable estimate of
the time required to do this work?

Would someone else reading this task
understand it well enough to complete it?
Making The Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for
Postdocs and New Faculty (www.hhmi.org/labmanagement)
Good communication with your
advisor is essential

Make your long-term goals clear

Propose and discuss strategies for
research

Schedule individual meetings for
regular feedback
How to be Mentored Well

Foresight: Start early to think about your
future.

Proactivity: Don’t expect to be taken care of.

Probing: Ask tough questions. Find out the
experiences of others with this potential
mentor.

Respect: Be polite. Make and keep
appointments. Stay focused. Don’t
overstay your welcome.
Making The Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for
Postdocs and New Faculty (www.hhmi.org/labmanagement)
How to be Mentored Well

Gratitude: Everyone likes to be

thanked

Reciprocation: Repay your mentor
indirectly by helping others.

Humility: Be willing to accept critical
feedback so that you are open to
learning new ways of thinking about
and doing science.
Making The Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for
Postdocs and New Faculty (www.hhmi.org/labmanagement)
Acknowlegements

Gerhard Closs /Piotr Piotrowiak

(University of Chicago, Rutgers
University)

Jim Collman (Stanford University)

Jeremy Berg (Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine, NIH)

My colleagues and students at
Northwestern University
References
Making The Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific
Management for Postdocs and New Faculty
(www.hhmi.org/labmanagement)
Barker, Kathy. At the Bench: A Laboratory Navigator. Cold
Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Press, 1998.
Barker, Kathy. At the Helm: A Laboratory Navigator. Cold Spring
Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Press, 2002.
Covey, S. R., Merrill, A. R., Merrill, R. R. First Things First: To
Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy. Free Press, 1996.