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“The lifestyle of a postdoc just didn’t appeal to me," Alex Marini, Senior Manager in Risk Management, National Bank of Canada says, "and I knew then that perhaps this wasn’t the direction that I wanted to go.”

Not only does Barroso find her research fascinating, she also finds it easy to grab the interest of her family and friends when she explains what she does--a rare quality in a scientific job.

"If you want to have a safe job--a job for life--then clinical molecular genetics is it, no doubt about it." - Maximilian Muenke

A combination of techniques—from computation to medicinal chemistry—helps scientists pick better drug targets, often because of gaining a better understanding of how diseases work. Those improvements help patients and job hunters. Instead of reducing the opportunities in this field, the increasing specificity of the drug discovery business keeps spawning new opportunities in academia and industry.

For scientists considering careers in the life science industry, the choice between biotech and pharma has sometimes been a difficult one. However, as both industries change, the question may be moot.

The 2007 version of Science
’s annual survey of Top Employers features a tight race for first place among three companies. It also reveals the key ingredient for all successful employers: a commitment to innovative thinking throughout the product pipeline, from the laboratory to the clinic or marketplace.

[Working in product management] was intellectually stimulating but not emotionally engaging. What did engage me was baseball statistics.

Even if you're dealing with the world's biggest jerk, he's likely to be the jerk
in charge.

Intellectually smart people sometimes analyze so much that they delay taking any action while creating for themselves a great deal of mental work and anxiety.

When scientists transfer their "just the facts" CV style into their industry applications and résumés, that's just plain wrong.

Professional science master's degrees, like the Master of Business Administration degree on which they are modeled, are designed as terminal credentials for people seeking science-based careers outside of academe.

Leaving academia, like leaving a burning building, tends to work better with a little foresight.

Recruiters work in a Wild West atmosphere. Few laws govern their conduct and their relationships with candidates.

"Real-world experience trumps classroom learning, and future employers don't care if the experience was paid or volunteer."

"Teamwork is the business-world equivalent of 'plays well with others' in kindergarten."--Judy Heyboer

Tremendous strides have been made in eradicating infectious disease scourges such as smallpox and polio that once killed and crippled millions; still, about 15 million deaths—or about one third of all deaths annually—result from infectious diseases worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Of those, nearly half involve children under the age of 5 years, predominantly in poorer countries. The ongoing hefty death toll, the pharmaceutical industry’s increasing interest in the research and development of vaccines, and plentiful funding from multiple sources all combine to provide a range of opportunities for postdocs and graduate students in vaccine research. The field is high growth and, perhaps more important, the fruits of this work promise to have a real impact on the health of the world’s population.