Category Archives: Careers

In which we leave our mark – or not

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

I like to watch eddies that form underneath waterfalls in a cascade, the ones you see in creeks of glacial run-off rushing down the sides of mountains. The milky-green water, and everything trapped in it, seems desperate to get from … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science | 23 Comments

In which science careers get a fair hearing

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Once again I revisit the question broached by Science is Vital in our recent report Careering Out of Control? A Crisis in UK Science Careers. Last week I participated in a round table discussion about this very issue co-hosted by … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Policy, science funding, Science is Vital, The profession of science | 24 Comments

In which I embark on one last hurrah

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

So, there is life after a high-throughput screen after all. As the dust settles after publication of my big screen in the Journal of Cell Biology, I’ve been thinking back on the last four years of my lab life and … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Scientific thinking | 13 Comments

In which we lay hands on an oil tanker

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Many of you have probably heard about the Science Careers campaign that we at Science Is Vital are currently running – which is also the reason I have not blogged for a few weeks. I’m a little in shock right … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Policy, science funding, Science is Vital, The profession of science | 9 Comments

In which I question the 24/7 lab mentality

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Is there a strong correlation between the number of hours you are physically present in a lab and the pace and success of your project? The furore over Nature’s 24/7 lab feature, published a few weeks ago, is still sending … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Nostalgia, Scientific thinking, The profession of science | 47 Comments

In which I seek the evidence – and ideas

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

A post I initially wrote about the consequences of putting arbitrary sell-by dates on post-docs seeking fellowships has been rebutted by my esteemed OT colleague Athene Donald. It’s an interesting post and I encourage people to have a look at … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, science funding, Scientific thinking, The profession of science | 50 Comments

In which my heart goes out to Postdoc B

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

What a difference a few words make. Compare this: With this: A modest difference, you might think. But your average postdoctoral stint in the life sciences is probably something like 3-4 years. So the difference between 8 and 12+ years … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Staring into the abyss, The profession of science, Women in science | 42 Comments

In which I find acceptance

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

A happy ending – just the way I like them. Can I go collapse now?

Posted in Careers, The profession of science | 28 Comments

In which I can put it off no longer

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Summer has slipped away from London, as it seems to do every year around this time – the air has an autumnal coolness and raindrops patter against lab windows. We Londoners work around this, as we do around so many … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, The profession of science | 20 Comments

In which I surface briefly

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Jennifer Rohn

Greetings, Earthlings: just emerging from my self-imposed laboratory exile for a quick update. I do still exist, and my radio silence can be explained by the fact that I’m in the home stretch of my resubmission. For those of you … Continue reading →

Posted in Careers, Scientific method, The profession of science | 21 Comments