Beyond The Bench: Stemulating Career Conversations

What do you do when you feel as though you are not longer growing in your role?  You've not burned out; but rather, you've become bored.  What do you do when you just don't feel like doing anything, because it is too mundane?   

As an ecologist, Dr. Claire Horner-Deving had an interest in studying relationships, identifying strength of interactions and understanding how communities work together.  While she liked the science, she realized that she didn't love it.  So what did she do?  She parlayed the skills and principles  learned as an ecologist and applied them to building programs focused on supporting underrepresented groups in STEM fields. One of her programs is the NINDS NIH funded BRAINS- Broadening the Representation of Academic Investigators in NeuroScience  Follow her on Twitter to learn more! @chornerdevine

What do you do after you have rested, relaxed and renewed?  You RESET!  This week's episode challenges you along your career pathway to be a 'cation'.  Be positive in your outlook regardless of the stage of your career, or what you aspire to achieve.  Know what it is that you want, so that when someone asks, "how may I help you", you will be able to respond with a clear and concise answer.  Listen to feedback because that is how your truly make forward progress.

Resting, relaxing and renewing are all critical to your ability to be productive and successful.  That's just what I did over the past month. Now we are back and ready to kick off SEASON THREE of STEMulating conversations!  

Dr. Erika Shugart is a trailblazer of pursuing 'alternative' careers in STEM.  Exposure to science in her formative years influenced her desire to pursue a PhD; however, she quickly realized that her interests and skillset extended beyond the boundaries of a research laboratory.  Listen to this conversation and learn about her scientific journey beginning in Oak Ridge, TN to her current role as Chief Executive Officer of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB)  

Science communication comes in many different forms, so it should come as no surprise that Dr. Theanne Griffith, a PhD neuroscientist, is also a children's literary author of STEM inspired series of chapter books.  In this episode, Theanne shares the steps she took to landing a deal with Random House publishing.  She also emphasizes how her scientific training has influenced her fiction writing and how the fiction writing helps with her technical writing.  You can learn more about her upcoming chapter book series, The Maker's Maze, by visiting her website at theannegriffith.com  Be sure to follow her on Twitter @doctheagrif

Dr. Garry Cooper has blazed a career path in the span of 10 years than most will do in a lifetime.  In the span of a decade, he earned a PhD in neuroscience, did a postdoc, worked at two different Big Four management consulting firms, co-founded and launched a successful company of which he is the CEO and still finds time to serve as an adjunct professor. How does he do it?  In everything aspect of his life, he has a guiding principle of "know your breakup point, and when it is reached, then it's time to walk away. This #STEMulatingconvo covers his journey from the PhD to his day to day work at Rheaply, an asset management platform that plays a critical role in the circular economy by facilitating collaboration among scientists and entities conducting  scientific research. Also mentioned in this episode: The Rheaply Website Clip of Garry's March for Science Keynote in Grant Park Email:  Garry Twitter @garrycooperjr Twitter: @Rheaplyinc IG: @Rheaply

When a previous guest of the show wants to start a podcast to share his experiences on leadership and leadership development, you bring him back on.  Latane Brackett's (Episodes 64 and 39) transparent, honest and humorous approach to leadership is something that we can all benefit.  Listen in to this special edition episode to find out what Can I Just Tell the Truth is all about.    

Dr. Kristala Prather Jones knew before she entered graduate school that working in industry would be critical to her success as a research professor.  She understood then that impacting students as individuals was her passion, and walks in that purpose each day as the Arthur D. Little Professor of Chemical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  After listening to the episode, you can learn more about her research at Prather Research Group    

Tokiwa Smith loves math and science and wanted to share her passion of STEM with others, so she created SEM Link, a nonprofit that promotes student achievement and career exploration in math and science while increasing student exposure to the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) communities.  

Dr. John Harkless has always loved science, so it come as a surprise that this P-Chemist is all about communication, storytelling and being inventive in ways that he didn't know that he can be.  He has taken this philosophy with him in every job he has had, so it is no surprise that he has engaging approach to teaching P-Chem. Check out Dr. Harkless'sYouTube Dhannel to view some of the student videos explaining their chosen P-Chem topic as well as G-Chem tutorials.   Follow him on Twitter @JHarklessPhD

January is not the only month for someone to celebrate a NEW YEAR.  This episode is a conversation with myself as I share my journey beyond the bench!

Chemists who stay at a single organization their entire career are a rarity.  Latrease Garrison started her career as an intern writing obituaries for C&EN and is now the Executive Vice President of Education at the American Chemical Society.  It was an interesting, fun, and STEMulaitng conversation! Follow Latrease on Twitter  @MrsGfromVA American Chemical Society

Her career journey has gone from a SLAC with no undergraduate research experience to managing technology transfer projects within the Federal government.  This week's conversation with Dr. Merissa Baxter reveals another exciting path for STEM trained PhDs who are interested in areas of scientific communication.  Follow her on Twitter @DrM_Baxter

Dr. Elizabeth Wayne credits Mississippi School for Math and Science for providing the solid foundation which has led to her becoming an award-winning biomedical engineer, TED Fellow, speaker, and advocate for women in higher education. Listen in as she shares her journey beyond the bench and plants seeds for several STEMulating conversation.  She is also the co-host of the show PhDivas Podcast phdivaspodcast.wordpress.com Follow her on Twitter @LizWaynePhD @PhDivaspodcast    

Two quotes this week to Motivate, Energize and Affirm the Leader in You!  Entropia2019

You never know where your career will lead you, particularly if you choose to pursue biotech roles.  The rewards can be as fulfilling as the risks are frustrating. When Melanie entered a PhD program in bioscience at The Scripps Research Institute, she had no idea that her career path would lead her to a formal project management role; however, that's exactly what happened, and she is enjoying it.  Through this journey she has learned that it's not just about your degree, but to go where your interests take you.   Be sure to follow her on Twitter @melanie_nelson   Also mentioned on the show:   Melanie's blog: http://beyondmanaging.com/   Navigating the Path to Industry   Melanie welcomes questions and comments about project management, time management or whatever else may be on your mind after listing to this episode.  melanie@beyondmanaging.com    

Choosing a career as a professor means more than research. In this week's episode the Chem Diva, Dr. Malika Jeffries-El, shares a range of views on a variety of topics on her experiences as a successful African American female chemist navigating the scientific academic landscape. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @Chem_Diva

What happens to a dream deferred?

All of us could use coaching at some point in our career. There is a common misconception that coaching is only for high level management or those people who are experiencing performance issues on the job. However, people who utilize coaching as a tool for growth and development often realize significantly greater success and fulfillment in their career. If you are not sure if coaching is for you, see how many of the the items below you can identify! Congratulations to Dr. Renetta Garrison Tull, SC14: Living Life Online, on her appointment as the inaugural Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at UC-Davis Coaching FAQ