Professional Documents
Culture Documents
W. FERNANDES
J. CHAM
SHOULD I STAY OR
SHOULD I GO?
Do you have a nagging feeling that academic research might not be the place
for you? Listening to your intuition and trying your hand at new things could
place you in your dream career. Kendall Powell tests the water.
LEE FRASER
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lead clinical-development scientist
SUNITA JONES
Manchester, UK
Hospital research facilitator
How did you end up as a
research administrator at
a hospital?
During the second year
of my postdoc, my career plans began to take
shape and I realized that bench work was not
for me. Interacting with people and helping to
get things done was more fulfilling. I had started
on the administrative path at Stanford after
my postdoc when someone recommended
MHAIRI DUPR
Oxford, UK
Doctoral candidate in plant science
KATY HINMAN
Atlanta, Georgia
Executive director, Georgia Interfaith Power and Light
What is Interfaith Power
and Light?
It is a non-profit
organization that works
with congregations and faith communities on
environmental issues, with a particular focus on
energy. We do a lot of practical education about
energy efficiency. Right now, we are making our
compact fluorescent light-bulb kits to distribute
during the Chanukah and Christmas holidays.
How did you end up working at the interface of
science and religion?
After I finished my doctorate, I became
really interested in why people werent more
784
PETE BERQUIST
Williamsburg, Virginia
Research assistant, National Park Service employee, adjunct professor
You were encouraged by
your masters supervisor
to stay on and get a PhD in
geology. What made you
decide against it?
Overall, graduate school was a great experience.
I loved doing research and teaching, but both of
these took so much time. One conversation
I had with a friend stuck with me. He asked:
Are you working too hard? And I said: I dont
know, how do you tell? His response was
telling, he said: Well, are you having fun? I felt
as though there were other parts of life that I
was missing.
STACEY IVANCHUK
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Training to be a patent agent
Why did you leave
academic science for
patent work?
Seven years after
starting my doctorate, I was struggling to
finish it. I had two potential manuscripts,
but nothing that was going to point me in
the direction of being a professor. I have
a lot of friends who are lawyers, familiar
with intellectual-property law, and they
suggested that maybe I was burnt out on
the lab and needed a new perspective.
They said, Its still science, but coming at
it from a different angle.
What advice do you have for others?
You need to get out of the lab and see
785