Looking to Add New Tools to your Career Development Kit? Consider Podcasts
By Jenne Relucio
The blogosphere is full of career development professionals who freely share opinions, how-to tips, and other valuable advice. One way they also use to get their messages across is through podcasting. Podcasts (or casts, as some call them) obviously offer their subscribers great flexibility, allowing listeners to listen or view their favorite casts on demand.
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While a lot of career development podcasts target the general jobhunter market, there are a few directed towards scientists transitioning into non-traditional careers. A good example is the Naturejobs Podcast feed. I’ve recently subscribed to their feed and found casts from previous Source Event Career Fairs . Now on its 3rd year, The Source Event is designed for bench scientists intending to pursue careers in industry, consultancy, scientific publishing, non-profit organizations, or academia. |
At these career fairs, panelists of industry experts who made the jump from bench to business addressed grad students and post-docs on how they could also make that critical transition. Granted that these casts are from events specifically for scientists pursuing careers in the UK and Europe, the information from these podcasts definitely translate across the geographical board. I also like the fact that Naturejobs kept these casts relatively short (10-30 mins) and gave clear taglines describing the audio contents of each cast. Some that definitely captured my interest include:
Alternative Careers for Scientists
Thinking of changing career path? Find out how to transfer your skills from the lab bench to the world of business. This podcast, recorded at the 2008 Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona, features advice
from scientists now working in policy, consultancy and publishing.
From Academia to Industry
Pfizer’s Anthony Harrison on the transferable skills that could help you move from university-based PhD to pharma.
Laying down the Law
An insider’s guide to getting ahead in the competitive field of patent law. Chartered Patent Attorney George Schlich opens the door on investigating inventions.
*These casts are available on the Naturejobs website and on iTunes.
I expect that more episodes will soon be available from their 2009 Source Events which will take place in London and Berlin. In the meantime, happy listening!
Jenne, nice job! These sound great.