So I left #postdoc, and I left #adjunct and went into #industry. There are two things I wish I knew when making this transition, and I hope it may help you...
...I didn’t know what buzzwords to put on my resume to make it reflect, in #industry terms, my skills. For #STEM academics, I’ve learned that a lot of what we do includes systems engineering, and project management...
...now this may be obvious to some of you, esp the E part of #stem, but I didn’t know this. I recommend looking up buzzwords for sys eng and project management...
...for example, I did some work on testing code that had been written to search for #GravitationalWaves. My resume became stronger when I said “algorithm interoperability assessment”...
...and I think a lot of us don’t realize how much a grad thesis requires established project management skills. Use these buzzwords...
...if you don’t know how to do this, use twitter! Reach out! Ask around your dept if anyone knows ppl who have left for industry and ask if they can help with resume. Most have lots of “lessons learned” (another buzzword) to help...
...I found the transition to industry engineering not difficult. Lots of good, tricky problems to solve. I felt challenged just as much as academia. The struggle was the resume reflecting my interests properly. Hope this helps!
The other thing I learned about going into #industry is salary negotiations. This one is tricky, but I hope some of my advice helps...
...industry knows what #postdocs make, and they know they can short change you. There are lots of websites that can help with what salary you should be earning...
...don’t short change your PhD, that should earn you a lot more. Also in the US there are federal protections for you asking others about their salary. If someone from the company is helping you get hired, and your comfortable, as them...
(ask* them). It sounds weird, but I really screwed myself in not knowing what I should earn, and the woman who was hiring me for the team said she wished I had asked her. The salary part was done higher at the company...
...salary is a tricky one, but you deserve the right amount. A PhD deserves the right salary. Good luck to all, and let me know if you need help (@drerinmac)
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Here's a thread on basic tips to help improve your next science figure! 📝 (ie common mistakes I see). It'll cover: 1) Contrast (color value) ⬛️⬜️ 2) Color (it’s a tool, not decoration!) 🌈 3) Fonts 🔤 4) Image Resolution 📷 5) Spacing / margins 📐 6) By request! 💡
1a) Ahh contrast.. my favorite topic! If we lived in a world of black & white, contrast would actually be less of an issue (because we'd notice it immediately). Color variation can trick you into thinking something is legible!
1b) Left image - looks decent, but dark on dark elements getting hard to read. Right image - if converted to black and white (great trick to check contrast btw) becomes almost illegible and purple dots disappear. Bad for color blind and if figure is ultimately printed in B&W!
(1/6) This was a fun piece I illustrated with @NatGeo on the neuroanatomy of the common octopus 🐙 Seems relatively simple but (as many of you can attest) a lot of good storytelling is stripping AWAY info as opposed to adding.. (here's a peak at the process work below)
(2/6) First sketch that was proposed to me for the story. I was immediately hooked since I am fascinated with octopi 😍🐙
(3/6) Most of the work in science illustration actually goes into background research, coordinating w/ world experts (sometimes means emailing across 5 different timezones - Greenland, Australia, Canada, US, Europe...). Most times we have to go with the best 'theory' out there 🤔
Our team is a mix of scientists of many different skill sets and backgrounds. Some of us are great at tweeting, some of us are great at fixing cars, and some of us can cook a curry that makes you cry with happiness after a long windy day in the field.
What binds is together is our dedication to studying the workings of the Solar System by studying out of this world landmarks on Earth. #NASAFieldWork
Some of us are looking at ice and life in preparation for sending robots to Europa. That brought our Team Ice to The glacier covered volcano Kverkfjöll.
So a few people have been asking about general word finding difficulties and temporary episodes of language loss. Firstly, let me just say that I am not a medical doctor. 1/2
An increase in word finding difficulties can occur with age.
Temporary episodes of language loss may be called 'aphasia' by some but the cause is temporary - diff to someone who has a brain injury that changes the brain permanently (even tho they may recover to some extent). 2/2
@rudetuesday@MoiraR @tessisrelated
I hope the information in this thread helps.
Aphasia is caused by an acquired brain injury, most commonly #stroke. Around 1/3 of people with left hemisphere stroke can have aphasia. Over time, the severity of the aphasia and type may change but many people live with aphasia.
Here are a couple of YouTube clips that talk more about #aphasia, posting them again here for ease of reference:
This award-winning video by @shireeheath explains aphasia from a child's perspective: