Non-Academic Careers

I’m helping a post-doc in our lab take over the career development seminars for my program.  Our program really offers no support to students looking at options outside academia, and many of the investigators actively discourage trainees from pursuing other opportunities.   We are trying to help fill this gap by bringing in speakers from a variety of non-academic scientific careers to share a bit about what it is they do, how they got there, and give everyone some other career opportunities for down the road.
I’ve spent the past year or so conducting informational interviews with everyone and anyone who will sit down and talk to me about what they do, but unfortunately, I’m averaging only about a 10% success rate in regards to emails sent to actual phone conversations had.  I recently sent out another wave of emails to those in the area who were willing to talk to me about possibly coming in for a general career chat with others in my department, but I’m looking for more people and more careers to explore.
So, this is where you come in.  Throw those ideas at me – no matter how off the beaten path.  Once you have that Ph.D. in biomedical sciences, what can you do with it?  Super duper extra bonus points (and cookies sent in the mail) if you have an actual contact in the greater Washington area who might be willing to come talk to a bunch of senior graduate students and post-docs!

Roasted Beets with Sautéed Beet Greens

I avoided beets for a very long time, because I dislike both pickled beets and borscht.  Much like brussels sprouts, beets once again prove my theory that there is a delicious way to consume any vegetable – you just have to know how to prepare it to your liking.  My favorite use for beets?  Roast the beets until the sugars start to caramelize, and serve over sautéed garlicky beet greens.  Delicious!

Roasted Beets with Sautéed Beet Greens
a Sugar Scientist original kitchen protocol

Ingredients:

• one bunch beets, well cleaned
• one medium onion, diced
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Scrub beets to remove all dirt, and rinse beet greens well.  Chop off greens where leaves end and remove remaining ‘stems’ from the beet root.
3. Quarter each beet and toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Roast beets in a baking dish covered with aluminum foil for 30 minutes, then remove foil and continue to cook uncovered at 400F for another 20 minutes until beets can be easily pierced with a knife.
4. Remove from oven and allow beets to cool.  Drain remaining beet-infused olive oil from baking pan and pour into a skillet over medium-low heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is translucent.  Tear the beet greens into 2 to 3 inch pieces and add to the skillet.  Sautee until greens are wilted.
5. If desired, peel beets once they have cooled enough to handle.  The beet skin should easily rub right off, but the skin is perfectly edible and adds a nice texture.
6. Serve roasted beets over beet greens, topped with salt and pepper to taste.
   

Bad Decisions (with a view)

I am at that awkward age in life where I am too old to stay up drinking Friday night and not pay the consequences when I have to be in lab early Saturday morning, but still too young and immature to turn down the invitation to spend the night playing flip cup on a friend’s roof.

Rehearse after me:

“Thank you for the invitation, but I have to be in lab by 7am Saturday, so I must decline.”
“Thank you for the invitation, but I have to be in lab by 7am Saturday, so I must decline.”
“Thank you for the invitation, but I have to be in lab by 7am Saturday, so I must decline.”
“Thank you for the invitation, but I have to be in lab by 7am Saturday, so I must decline.”

But really, who could pass up good beer, great friends, and a perfectly chilly fall night with this lovely view of the city I am fortunate to call home?

The Plague

I've been rather sick the past 12 days with the "lab plague", which started as a cold, added on pinkeye picked up from a labmate (quick! decontaminate the microscope eyepiece!), and has settled in my lungs as a nice case of pneumonia.  I've been on antibiotics (both eyedrops and oral) for several days now, so fortunately the pinkeye is clearing up, and with the help of an inhaler, I can almost breathe without feeling like I am being stabbed in the chest (of course, courtesy of the antibiotics, I now feel like I'm being stabbed in the stomach... six of one, half dozen of the other).

I've been in and out of the lab, trying to balance healing with productivity, in hopes that resting up will kick this plague once and for all so I can head up to Boston later this week for some time in the city and spending Yom Kippur with family and friends.  Husband is in the middle of his fellowship interviews, and since there seems to be a good chance he will wind up in Boston, I am tagging along to confirm that I'd be willing to head to Boston for the next stage of my life if when I graduate.

My statcounter tells me that there are a number of individuals in the greater Boston area who read my blog, so send me your recommendations!  I've been to Boston several times before, but Husband has only been for medical school and residency (and now fellowship) interviews, so what should we do?  Send me your favorite things to do and restaurant recommendations, por favor!  Any particularly great neighborhoods to check out should I be moving in that general direction (looking for a nice balance of somewhere in walking distance to things we need, bars, restaurants, etc., but not filled with noisy undergrads)?  We'll be staying a few blocks away from Mass General, so extra bonus points for things within walking distance that I can do on my own during Husband's interviews... provided I am not still stuck in bed feeling like death.

1001 Days Later

1001 days ago (approximately 2.75 years), I set out on a 101 in 1001 journey – 101 goals I wanted to accomplish in the next 1001 days.  I started on January 1, 2009, which brought me all the way to September 29, 2011 – a date that seemed quite far away.  Even though I didn’t purposely set it up in this fashion, I loved the symmetry – starting on the new year according to the Gregorian calendar, and ending on  Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year.  There were tasks I was positive I’d accomplish, some which I hoped to, and others which I thought might be a long shot, but I was confident I’d tackle my way through most of the list.

Fail.

Big, fat, monstrous, depressing, huge fail.

Every single one of the goals I was most interested in accomplishing related to my professional career and life with Husband, and I didn’t meet a single one.  Zero.  Zip.  Zilch.  Nada.  1001 days ago, I could not possibly wrap my head around the idea that I would still be in graduate school.  There was no way I would still be one of those terrifying seventh year  graduate students.  I figured I’d certainly have killed myself before getting to this point.

My program requires the acceptance of a first author paper prior to obtaining permission to write.  Because I have not yet accomplished this,  I haven’t even been able to attempt the following off my 101 in 1001 list:

1.    Learn to love science again.
6.    Submit a paper as first author and have paper accepted.
8.    Successfully defend thesis – become Disgruntled Julie, Ph.D.
9.    Regardless of when I defend, return to D.C. for graduation ceremonies.
10. Figure out what I want to do post graduate school.
12. Find a job in desired field in Philadelphia area.
20. Move to Philadelphia to live with Husband.
21. Buy a house or condo.
22. Buy/lease/inherit (from Husband) a car if we are not living in a public transportation friendly neighborhood.
23. Find a synagogue we like and become members.
24. Actually drag Husband to services at said synagogue.
25. Establish long-term primary care physician in Philadelphia.
26. Make new friends in Philadelphia.
27. Host major holiday dinner at our new abode in Philadelphia.
101. Be happy with whom I am and the direction my life is taken.

Sure, there are many other things on the list that I did accomplish… but they were the cherry on top of the goals that really mattered.  These aforementioned list of un-accomplishable tasks – that’s the entire rest of the sundae.  The cherry may be lovely, but it’s merely an accoutrement.  A sundae without a cherry is still delicious.  A sundae without the ice cream, caramel sauce, hot fudge, whipped cream, and sprinkles is… well… just plain depressing.  If I order a sundae and get only a cherry, you better believe I’m going to ask for a refund.  That pretty much sums up how I’ve felt about the past 2.75 years of my life – this isn’t what I ordered, so I’d like a refund, please.