Writing research statements again...

I don't mind writing or talking about my science, I do love it. What is difficult for me is having to compress in a couple of pages: What I've done, why it's important, and what I'd like to do, all in a very enthusiastic but at the same time realistic way, and of course conveying the message that I'm a very centered/independent scientist with lots of potential.

The nice part is stopping for a moment to think about one's career, the steps that took me where I am and what is it that drives me. The not-so-nice part is reading what I write in the eyes of a reviewer. I do hope I get to the interviews part, I am sure I can do so much better in person (not that I am a super charming miss universe, but I really think my enthusiasm and knowledge show very well face to face).

Labels: jobs, science

I have been looking for jobs this week, again I know, and it couldn't be more depressing ! Is it me or are there more jobs in undergraduate colleges and so? This kind of option is definitely a career decision, at least it looks like you can do a lot less research than in research-oriented institutions. On the other hand, there are so many that you can pick where you want to live - as opposed to where you have to.

This whole new stage came because I attended a seminar by some kind of consultant, in principle they charge you to teach you how to write resumes, applications, how to behave at interviews, etc. I might go to a short one on one with this guy to see if the full thing is going to be worth it, it is not cheap I tell you ! (What is funny is that the guy says he would give the advice for free but he has noticed that people pay more attention when they are charged a little something - turns out this little something is $125 per hour !. For that price he can have 300% of my focus, or at least compared to what I would like to pay.

Labels: jobs, science

Checking out places to apply for a postdoc or position? Well, welcome to anxiety-land. When you are in a small field, there are very few positions. When you are in a large one, you have too much competition. When you are in between fields, as myself, nobody wants you because you are from the other side of the fence. Not to mention that most jobs (postdoc at least) you get by social networking, so looking at those ads in Physics today is in fact depressing. I am still months away from the ending of my current job, but I wanted to have an early start and ended up with the looking-for-a-job blues. And those rumor mills? Funny when you are not job-hunting, let me tell you. I already applied for a position which I am not going to get, apparently, because now the institution is freezing any new hires. We'll see. 
Anyway, not a good day for blogging positive thoughts I suppose. 

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Posted by fercook to Science at 8/29/2006 10:38:18 AM

Labels: jobs, science

I am writing a research interests statement to apply for a job. I didn't know it was so difficult ! I got these nice pointers from Penn U
Also, a very good resource for job hunting from Science magazine.

Posted by fercook to Science at 5/02/2006 08:20:57 AM

Labels: jobs, science