The 25 Most Meaningful Jobs That Pay Well

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/efkk45elhld/no-11-pharmacist/

9 Habits Of Productive People

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ilyapozin/2013/08/14/9-habits-of-productive-people/

“Many people feel that their brains function best in the morning, and that morning is when they are most creative and productive,”

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eihm45eehlf/take-advantage-of-your-cleared-head/

How to Be a Leader in Your Field

http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/leader.html

(1) Pick an issue. You need an issue that the profession as a whole is not really thinking about, but which is going to be the center of attention in five years. 

(2) Having chosen your issue, start a project to study it. 

(3) Find relevant people and talk to them. First do your library work so you know any conventional wisdom that's out there. Then talk to some working professionals who are facing the issue, especially if they have spoken publicly about an aspect of it.

(4) Pull together what you've heard. Nobody is expecting you to solve the problems. Real working professionals do have to solve problems, of course, but right now the emphasis is more on questions than answers. 

(5) Circulate the result. Send copies to the people who helped you. Call it a draft or interim report if you want.

(6) Build on your work. Get invited to speak at meetings.


Leadership is process, and the whole point is that you're not figuring out all the answers yourself.

Another good way to start a brain trust is to organize a speaker series. Fearlessly assess your intellectual strengths and weaknesses, and then make professional friends whose intellectual strengths complement your own.

To succeed in your career, you need more than the skills that you got in school -- you need to be the world expert in something. Knowledge is global, it's growing exponentially, and nobody can pack all of the necessary knowledge into their head. So everyone's going to specialize. 

Best Places to Work Academia, 2012

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/32392/title/Best-Places-to-Work-Academia--2012/

 Sage Bionetworks, Seattle Washington
Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences 

Academic pay lagging

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v493/n7433/full/nj7433-567c.html?WT.ec_id=NATURE-20130124 
 
Early-career scientists with full-time jobs in US academia earn an average of US$58,000 annually, less than those in industry, non-profit or government, says a report from the US National Science Foundation (NSF). Industry pays the most: $100,000 per year in early career, and $130,000 for those 10 years past their PhDs. Academics who got a doctorate a decade ago or more earn$93,000 a year on average. Daniel Foley, a statistician for the NSF in Arlington, Virginia, says that the data underscore the need to train researchers for work outside academia.

8 Ways to get the best internship

http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2013/01/15/8-ways-to-get-the-best-internship?WT.ec_id=NATUREjobs-20130117

15 Jan 2013 | 14:35 GMT | Posted by Catherine de Lange | Category: Internship, Postgraduate,Undergraduate

Competition for internships is as fierce as ever. Follow these top tips from Naturejobs and other industry experts to boost your chances.

 

1. Start early
2. Take a proactive approach to find a placement.
3. Question their motives
4. Know your rights
5. Get someone else to pay for it
6. Don’t rely on good grades
7.  Talk about your work experience, not just your academic achievements, even if it’s working in a shop or waiting on tables.
8. Make sure your university is in touch with the right companies in the industry sectors that interest you.

The Six Lessons I Live By

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20121002115428-204263538-the-six-lessons-i-live-by?trk=eml-mktg-top12-a-1220-p7

Lessons on entrepreneurship.

The Perfect Job Interview in 8 Simple Steps

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20121121171031-20017018-the-perfect-job-interview-in-8-simple-steps?trk=eml-mktg-top12-a-1220-p5

Ask the Expert: Ace the interview, no bragging required

http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2012/11/15/ace-the-interview-no-bragging-required?WT.ec_id=NATUREjobs-20121206

15 Nov 2012 | 21:38 GMT | Posted by Catherine de Lange | Category: Ask the expert, Blog
 
■ Identify your key messages beforehand in case the interview goes off track. Prepare these messages by researching the needs of the organization and the role for which you have applied. If you go to the interview with clear information about the key points you need to make, you’ll be able to redirect a scattered interview. With your strengths in mind, you can select the messages and examples that are most likely to convey to the employer that you are the best candidate to meet his or her needs.

 You say: For each of the things they ask for in the job description, think of examples of what you have done that match that before you go to the interview. It’s not bragging, it’s just showing you can do the job! 

Systems Analyst

problem solver
person that communicates business problems to software developers
requirements gathering - business requirements vs technical requirements
systems design and implementation
continuous testing, updating documentation
draw flowcharts, ER diagrams
systems development life cycle
project scope
deals with software and hardware
prepare financial reports

http://programmers.stackexchange.com/questions/22983/is-it-easy-for-a-developer-to-become-a-system-business-analysts?rq=1

Institute for Systems Analysis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swO4j05Bi-Q&list=UUrhD6R3KJM8bAhWvuGWr85A&index=17&feature=plcp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEZKftiSRbE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwUVeow0MyA&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScVvNuuHg2M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDOFAatCRak

http://jobs.phsa.ca/ca/vancouver/information-technology/jobid2890543-systems-analyst-_-designer-(community)-jobs

Systems Analyst / Designer (Community)

Reference # 18062 & 18063

Regular Full-Time

Wage: $34.36 per hour

555 W 12^th Ave

Vancouver, BC

Within the context of the Information Management/Information Systems (IMIS) shared services initiative between Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and Providence Health Care (PHC), this is a professional level job responsible for maintaining the functioning of Community clinical information system(s) within a multi-site environment. The Systems Analyst/Designer is responsible for system maintenance, enhancement, evaluation, and design with a focus to meet Community client business needs, identifying and planning for the impact(s) of change on client departments.  Prepares detailed specifications, including flowcharts showing Community system linkage, data movement and resource requirements, from which complete programs will be written.  Participates on project teams and undertakes tasks as assigned.  Works with vendors to ensure service levels meet corporate standards; tests and evaluates software in order to recommend products that will meet current and future needs.  Provides user support, training and consultation as well as other user liaison services.  Provides input into the development of policies and procedures for designated Community healthcare information systems.

Example of Duties & Responsibilities

• Develops and maintains application programs by creating logic specifications, coding, testing, evaluating and documenting programs in accordance with established standards; ensures adequate file space is maintained by identifying and archiving data according to established procedures; ensures security measures are in place by verifying and monitoring user security assignments and liaising with co-workers responsible for maintaining systems security. 


• Ensures errors/deficiencies are corrected as required by responding to the user complaint or Help Desk report, analyzing/troubleshooting the problem, taking corrective action and testing to ensure the system meets optimum efficiency, managing client expectations and providing the required documentation. 


• Develops system design of approved projects or enhancements to a system by identifying information components involved, detailing data flow, determining the nature of changes required to interface with existing systems and developing, writing comprehensive system and operating documentation and preparing system design documents for user sign-off. 


• Determines or participates in the determination of healthcare business needs and technology requirements by methods such as interviewing department management and staff, participating in planning committees, assessing information and defining/documenting user requirements, conducting feasibility/advisability studies on proposed plans, and leading the data and process modeling activities. 


• Develops project plan and implementation schedules by developing system proposals and compiling project work plans, monitoring and controlling project plans and initiating action where required. 


• Provides information technology direction to project team members by participating in the client's planning committee as required, producing Requests for Proposals (RFP) documentation to be sent to vendors, assessing cost/benefit and feasibility/advisability of various technological and software packages, preparing cost/benefit recommendations for acquisitions and keeping informed of new developments in the industry.

Qualifications

Education & Experience

• Graduation from a recognized degree or diploma program in Computer Science or Health Information Sciences, three years' recent related experience or an equivalent combination of education, training and experience.  

Knowledge & Abilities

• Ability to plan, organize, problem solve and prioritize work.
• Ability to work in a networked environment.
• Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to deal with others effectively.
• Ability to work in a healthcare environment.
• Physical ability to carry out the duties of the position.
• Ability to write programs in a variety of programming languages.
• Ability to utilize effectively related hardware and software.

 

We invite you to apply by clicking the "Apply Online Now" button where you can register for the first time or enter your Username and Password in order to re-access your profile on our system.

How to make the most of transferable skills

Career toolkit: Ask the Expert

http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/career_toolkit/ask_the_expert?WT.ec_id=NATUREjobs-20121018

I am looking for an academic position and am facing an unusual situation: I am waiting for an answer from my first-choice employer, but have received an offer from a less-attractive research centre.


http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2012/10/08/how-to-make-the-most-of-transferable-skills?WT.ec_id=NATUREjobs-20121018

Mental health: Under a cloud

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v490/n7419/full/nj7419-299a.html?WT.ec_id=NATURE-2012-10-11

Depression is rife among graduate students and postdocs. Universities are working to get them the help they need.

She developed a crippling fear of presenting her research. “Doing a PhD is such a personal thing, one that you've invested so much time in, that any criticism can feel like a direct reflection of yourself,” says Lauren.

But she did something that many postgraduates do not: she got help. With counselling and medication, Lauren — a pseudonym that she uses on a blog detailing her experience (see go.nature.com/4ta9fo) — is entering the final year of her PhD. Hers is one of more than 50 stories highlighted on the website Students Against Depression, funded by the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust in Thatcham, UK. “The website aims to raise awareness that depression isn't a personal failing or weakness; it's a serious condition that requires treatment,” says psychologist Denise Meyer, the website's project manager.

“Getting help,” she says, “is a sign of strength, not weakness.”

Resume's and CVs

http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7410-241a?WT.ec_id=NATUREjobs-20120816

 Ultimately, say careers advisers, applicants need to suss out potential employers' expectations for format, language and other uncertainties by reading the advert, checking with mentors, reaching out to contacts who work for the employer and asking the employer themselves. The most brilliant research accomplishments can't work in an applicant's favour if the CV or résumé goes unread, as Sharon Milgram, director of the Office of Intramural Training and Education at the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, points out. “Don't blow your chances,” she says, “by not giving me what I want.”

 In all countries, it is likely that the first viewer of an industrial application will not be a scientist, so an applicant's résumé (in the United States) or CV (in the United Kingdom and EU) should be peppered liberally with words and phrases mined from the advert. A computer will almost certainly do the initial screen to weed out non-viable candidates and assign ratings; applicants shouldn't risk their submission being deleted just because it didn't contain the appropriate keywords. “Give them every reason to screen you in instead of screening you out,” says Tringali, who adds that résumés and CVs for industry should not be overly technical.

On hiring and supervising

Notes from Phil Bourne's (Ten Simple Rules) ISMB 2012 talk ...

- Beware of bureaucracy. When you're hiring someone, their start date depends on when they finish (usually as a function of their supervisor). There's also some lag about getting visa's etc.
- Getting the right people is everything. He recommends doing a thorough background check on the person by contacting their references and asking questions like where they rank in their lab, ask for criticisms about the person, etc.
- Try to get someone who's got funding already. Because you're expected to be self-sustaining once your starting package money runs out.
- Pick someone who stands out.
- Be nice. Always try to respond to e-mails even if the answer is no. You might depend on them in the future.

As for supervising:
- Treat everyone equally but also supervise individualy because everyone is different.
- An article he suggested, "Good to Great" by Jim Collins

Good to Great

http://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/good-to-great.html

by Jim Collins

October 2001

Start with 1,435 good companies. Examine their performance over 40 years. Find the 11 companies that became great. Now here's how you can do it too. Lessons on eggs, flywheels, hedgehogs, buses, and other essentials of business that can help you transform your company.

Turning point: Jim Hoch

http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7402-283a?WT.ec_id=NATUREjobs-20120621

Molecular biologist describes how he has held onto a grant for more than 30 years.

In April, Jim Hoch, a molecular biologist at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California, celebrated the ninth renewal of the grant supporting his study of bacterial signalling proteins. Here, he reflects on how his efforts to unravel sporulation led to a three-decade US National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant — one of the longest-running at Scripps.

How have NIH requirements changed?

Proposals used to be more than 20 pages long, and the study sections that review grants lasted for three days. Now, proposals are 12 pages, study sections last one day and half of the applications, the less-impressive ones, are not even discussed. There is a lesson here. Applications of 12 pages need to be clear and concise to make them understandable outside the field. Most importantly, they need to be exciting to read. A proposal needs to have clearly articulated goals that transmit your excitement.

Turning point: Rachel O'Reilly

http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7401-149a?WT.ec_id=NATUREjobs-20120607

You spent some time working alone before collaborating with other researchers. Why?

You have to be able to develop the technology and the methods yourself first, so that you can then go on to make a contribution as a collaborator. That is probably harder for younger people. You can get approached to collaborate while you are still developing ideas and methods, and then end up unable to produce what you need for the collaboration to work. I held off for a few years to actually make sure I could say, 'Yes, we can make that; yes, we can do that'.

What has been your most difficult challenge?

Having grants and papers rejected are probably the things I've found hardest. You have to be able to accept failure. I still feel that when I am talking about my research ideas I am baring part of my soul. It is a very personal thing. I have learned to realize that a rejection may be the result of not communicating my ideas effectively, and not because I am a failure. I try to use negative criticism as constructively as possible.

Postgraduate options: Academia misses the mark

http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj7399-535a?WT.ec_id=NATUREjobs-20120607

Many faculty members still don't realize that only a tiny fraction of US postgraduates land a tenure-track academic research position, says Patrick Brandt, director of science, training and diversity at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Brandt, a former biochemist, has also initiated several career-advice programmes, including one in which former researchers talk about their non-academic careers. “We are ethically bound to provide broad-spectrum career guidance to rising biomedical scientists,” he says.

Soh says that those who are in a position to influence students are showing subtle, but encouraging, signs of a shift away from the pro-academia bias. “It's not a tidal wave,” she says. “But more questions are being asked and there is more momentum building.”

Professional master's degree

http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v30/n4/full/nbt.2180.html?WT.ec_id=NATUREjobs-20120419


Many PhDs are finding out the hard way how challenging it is to obtain that first position out of the academic laboratory. The skills learned as a PhD student or postdoctoral scientist do not always translate into industry and are often not enough to impress employers. All things being equal, employers will always hire the PhD with additional business administration training.

The reality is now setting in for many PhDs that they need additional training. Professional master's degrees have a proven record of benefitting individuals trained in science, reorienting their career towards nontraditional fields. The monetary and time investment that goes into obtaining a professional master's degree, although significant, is in the end worthwhile.

Why you should consider being a jerk What you can learn from the jerks at work

Having an opinion and taking credit for your own (not other people's) ideas can make you stand out at work. Being assertive and speaking out when you have something to say can make you look like a leader.

Just remember there is a fine line between being assertive and being pushy, and the aggressive loudmouth on the team who nobody likes generally doesn't last too long. So learn from the jerks, but don't become one.

http://www.workopolis.com/content/advice/article/2178-what-you-can-learn-from-the-jerks-at-work?CID=721:19L:14946