Career Development
iJOBS (interdisciplinary Job Opportunities for Biomedical Scientists)
The Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (PI Millonig) and Rutgers School of Engineering (PI Yarmush) are excited to announce that we have been awarded a 5 year NIH Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) grant. According to NIH, the purpose of this funding is, “to support bold and innovative approaches designed to broaden graduate and postdoctoral training, such that training programs reflect the range of career options that Ph.D. graduate students and postdoctoral fellows pursue and that are required for a robust biomedical, behavioral, social and clinical research enterprise.”
Rutgers’ program, entitled Interdisciplinary Job Opportunities for Biomedical Scientists (iJOBs), provides general professional and focused career training in five professional tracks: i) science and health policy, ii) business management, iii) intellectual property management, iv) clinical and regulatory sciences, and v) health and science data analysis. The program is designed to complement time spent outside of lab and to maintain research as the primary trainee focus, while offering programming to broaden trainee’s perspectives, experiences and knowledge to facilitate pursuit of non-academic careers. Elements include core professional skills training, site visits to partnering companies, didactic courses relevant to the 5 different career tracks, shadowing experiences and career placement support. The program commences in January 2015.
To navigate to the Rutgers iJOBS website and register, click here
To view the presentation from the iJOBS informational forum at GSBS Newark, click here
To view past events from iJOBS career panels with tips on how to make yourself marketable for jobs, click here-
Individual Development Plan (IDPs)
Graduate students in the Rutgers Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at New Jersey Medical School are required to complete Individual Development Plans (IDPs). The purpose of the Rutgers IDP is two-fold. 1) IDPs provide a structure to systematically identify training needs and competencies, establish tangible research goals, and take stock of annual progress. Thus, IDPs help trainees stay on track with their research, paper and grant writing, and skill development. 2) IDPs help educate trainees as to various career options, define career goals, and create an annual plan to attain those career goals. In both of these areas, IDPs can serve as a tool to facilitate communication between trainees and their mentors. Moreover, educational research has shown that IDPs increase productivity. -
Finally, NIH guidelines require that all NIH annual progress reports must include a section to describe how IDPs are used to identify and promote the career goals of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers associated with the award. Thus, these resources are also available to postdoctoral fellows at Rutgers University.
The development, implementation, and revision of IDPs require a series of steps to be conducted by the trainee and then discussed with the mentor, including the formation of an IDP committee consisting of the trainee, the PI, and a representative of the graduate school. In the first year of training, the Rutgers IDP document must be read in its entirety and the AAAS IDPcompleted. At the end of the second year of training, the Rutgers IDP document must be completed followed by a meeting of the IDP committee. For postdoctoral fellows, this meeting will include a professional from the projected career of interest. At the end of the third year, the AAAS IDP must be revised. At the end of the fourth year of training, the Rutgers IDP document must be completed again along with a meeting of the IDP committee, which for graduate students also now includes a professional from the projected career of interest. The trainee is welcome to have additional meetings as desired. Finally, every year, the trainee must submit a current CV. These documents and the completion of the requirements are monitored through a Rutgers Sakai site. The Rutgers IDP document is based on the UCSF IDP as well as the Kellogg School of Science and Technology at the Scripps Research Institute IDP and the AAAS IDP.
Rutgers IDP resources
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To view the Rutgers IDP document, click here
To enter the Rutgers IDP Sakai Site for instructions on completing and uploading your documents, click here
To access the recommended template for a CV, click here
Science Careers IDP
This website was developed in collaboration between AAAS/Science and the Borroughs Wellcome Fund. An individual development plan (IDP) helps you explore career possibilities and set goals to follow the career path that fits you best. There is no charge to use the site and you can return as often as you like to access the resources.
Click here for my IDP website -
EXAMPLES OF CAREER OPTIONS WITH A PhD
(from AAAS http://myidp.sciencecareers.org/ )
Clinical research management: clinical research project/trials manager or coordinator
Scientific/medical testing: testing specialist in an environmental, public health, genetics, or
forensic science setting, clinical diagnostician
Science education for non-scientists: education or public outreach specialist such as at a science
museum or scientific society
Support of science-related products: technical support specialist, product development scientist
or engineer
Drug/device approval and production: regulatory affairs professional, quality control specialist
Sales and marketing of science-related products: medical science liaison, technical sales
representative, marketing specialist.
Public health related careers: public health program analyst or evaluator, epidemiologist,
biostatistician, medical informaticist
Science policy: public affairs/government affairs staff at scientific societies, foundations,
government entities, or think tanks
Research staff in a research-intensive institution: staff scientist or research in academia or
government, lab manager, director of a multi-user research facility in an academic institution
Science writing: science, medical or technical writer or journalist, science editor, science publisher
Research in industry: discovery or preclinical researcher, manager of a research team of facility
Combined research and teaching careers: faculty at a liberal arts college or university whose job
includes both research and major teaching responsibilities
Research administration: research administrator in private or public research institutions,
government or academia, including compliance officers, grants and contracts officers, dean or
director of research programs
Clinical practice: clinician such as genetics counselor, therapist, physician
Intellectual property: patent agent, patent attorney, technology transfer specialist
Science education for K-12 schools: classroom teacher, curriculum developer, science specialist
Teaching-intensive careers in academia: a primarily teaching faculty position in a research
university, liberal arts college, community college
Business of science: management consultant, business development professional in a biotech
company, venture capitalist, market researcher, investment analyst
Principal investigator in a research-intensive institution: independent researcher at a medical
school, private research institution, government lab or university with minimal teaching
responsibilities
Entrepreneurship: starting your own business -
Skills Courses, Resources and Workshops:
BIO Links Program
BIO Links is a teaching K-12 outreach program which allows graduate students and postdocs the opportunity to volunteer in local public schools. BIO Links volunteers are paired with a science teacher from a local school and make a commitment to visit one class per week for nine weeks. Some past volunteers have decided to continue visiting the classrooms well beyond the nine week commitment.
Click here to visit the BIO Links website. -
Rutgers Career Services
Career Counseling—Graduate students can set up individual appointments with career counselors at three locations: Busch Campus Center, 46 College Avenue, and 56 College Avenue.Drop-in Hours—Graduate students can visit Career Services during drop-in hours for answers to quick questions or critiques of resumes, CVs, or cover letters. -
Workshops—Each semester, Career Services offers up to 10 programs specifically geared to graduate students’ interests and needs, including programs on resumes/CVs, the academic job search, higher ed careers in administration, networking, and interviewing. See the attachment for a list of fall events.
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Career Days—Career Services offer 10 on-campus career fairs each year plus the Big East Career Fair at Madison Square Garden in early March.
Click here to view the Rutgers Career services website -
Job Listings
A list of research and non-research job opportunities in the biological and biomedical sciences that is compiled by Rutgers GSBS.
Click here to see the Job ListingsPhD Career Guide
Developed by one of the graduate students at our sister school Rutgers GSBS at RWJMS, the PhD Career Guide outlines the career options available to PhDs, and more importantly, the information necessary to decide which career path would be most rewarding given your set of professional interests and career goals.
Click here to see the PhD Career guide site -
Science Careers Online
Science Careers is the careers component of Science that scientists rely on for career information and job postings. Both Science and Science Careers are produced by AAAS, the world’s largest nonprofit membership association for science-related professionals.
Click here to view the Science Careers Web site -
New York Academy of Sciences
GSBS at RWJMS students get free membership to the New York Academy of Sciences. You will receive an email with your membership information. Many programs, webinars and workshops are offered for graduate students and postdocs to enhance career development.
Click here to learn more about Science Alliance. -
The National Academies
Provides reports on career trends, employment information and science policy information.
Click here to browse the National Academies Web site -
Alumni Associations
The purposes of the Alumni Association of Rutgers Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences are to serve the interests of Graduate School alumni and students, to promote better understanding among alumni and students, to assist each other in the professional arena, to enhance and maintain the influence of the organization and its parent institution in the scientific community, and to reflect the sentiments and philosophies of its members to other institutions, the surrounding community, and the State of New Jersey. To learn more about the GSBS Alumni Association, click here.