How do I find a Mentor?

During your PhD and postdoc, it is always beneficial to have at least two mentors, one that is associated with your work (perhaps your academic advisor) and somebody who knows you but does not know the exact details of your work, especially for career development advice. Finding which type of mentor depends on what your career goals are. The first step in any career move is self assessment. Where do you want to be? Then find someone either within the department or university that you know and respect and can visit once in a while.

If you need to broaden your search, potential sources can be from mentornet, national postdoctoral association, networking opportunities from campus student and postdoc associations, Science career forum, professional society meetings such as AAAS. Contact a scientist in industry and send a short email asking for an informational interview with a link to your LinkedIn bio. Help organize a conference, volunteer to be on a panel. Attend workshops that will help strengthen your areas broadbase knowledge, communication skills, networking, project management.

Once you have found a mentor, set goals and expectations. Discuss what you want to get out the experience, the objectives, and divide the timeline into achieveable goals. An example of long-term goal is an academic career. Having just started a postdoc, the immediate short-term goals would be to design research projects towards high numbers of publications. If the long-term goal is industry, the projects should also include more collaborations.

You may want to write out the boundaries of the mentor/mentee relationship so that it remains constructive, predominantly work-focused, and keeps a professional relationship. NIH provides suggested mentoring guidelines. Work/life issues will always come up, and it should be up to the mentor/mentee on how they agree on handling them.

With my mentees, I exchange and agree on 1) expectations, 2) time per month, 3) they come up with an agenda, issue or question before the meeting or phone call, 4) they provide a list of 3 short term and 3 long term goals and how they think they will accomplish them. An example of an expectation list is: I can help you with career interests, skill development and setting goals, but not fundraising, getting a job or university applications.

Finding a mentor has become much easier since my days. Having said that, it is still up to you to find the mentor that you will "click" with who can help you with your career path. Also, if you plan well, you will have many mentors along the way. Even I, found my most recent mentor, at a recent conference at a networking luncheon. She was one of the speakers, I liked what she had to say, so I approached her with a question about my career path and followed up with an email so she would not forget about me. She was very accommodating and supportive. Due to this interaction, I have had several contacts with new opportunities.

Good luck with your search!

The Job...after Baby #2

Between the 2.5 years of my two children, I had a great integration of science and life. As Director of Application Science, I was responsible for sales, marketing, scientific collaborations, and customer relations. The miracles of webinars and conference calls made working from home with 2 kids possible. I had some babysitters in the home, but I still nursed and spent time with my babies. Throughout my several years at the start-up company, I had worn many hats. With the upcoming delivery of my second child, I worked until the week before I was due. Although I had proposed to find my replacement, my CEO again took care of it for me. I mostly trained the new Sales and Marketing guy, as I wanted to continue the other work from home.

After a few months of maternity leave, I came to the realization that I wanted to work as a Consultant basis, mostly on finding potential new partners. Some days were busier than others; I mostly spend time nurturing and helping my daughters develop into people of good character. I have gone through months on just being a Mom, especially while the kids were younger. For all those parents who are faced with taking care of newborns while trying to stay on top of science: don't worry too much. Your science career, publication record and network will not go anywhere. Taking the extra time for children is lovely. I would not trade it for the world! Just remember to keep reading, try to consult for your previous work, attend a conference when you can, try to sit on a scientific advisory board, stay in touch with your network, ask one of your mentors if you can review some of their papers, keep mentoring others.

As my children are finishing up the last lap of "primary" years, I find myself newly inspired to dive into more work. Some people who take time for children may be accused of "not being serious" about science. I find that unfortunate. Life is interwoven with work, children, parents, circumstance. Since I have taken this time, I feel more inspired. I am a professional multi-tasker. Yes, I have directed a conference call followed immediately by a nursing session and then tending to toddler while making dinner. I am more inspired to tell my story and help other graduate students. Perhaps even change the career direction myself. It's a life-long process. I am currently engaging in more mentorship roles and giving career development seminars at my alma mater. I am linking up students with colleagues who I think can help them. I find this work to be very rewarding.

In short, I would say the "job" right now with 2 kids in tow would be full-time Mom, part-time science & career consultant, part-time music student, composer and teacher, part-time artist (yes, I also attend a School of Art,)  full-time wife, and full-time at living life to its fullest.

Funny Kids

Boy (5 yrs) has on a puffy coat. He looks at Mom. He pulls in his arms with the zipper still intact. Turns the coat around. His zipper is now on his back and still together. His hoodie is at the bottom of his chin. He tucks his arms in again and rearranges his coat around and around. Again and again. Not frustrated, just entertaining himself.

Six kids all under 8 years old are seated around the dining table and are talking about how their Dads napped on the weekend.
"Who has a Dad that likes to nap?" I ask. All eight hands go up in the air.
"Who has a Dad that like to watch football?" asks a 5 yr-old. All hands go up in the air.
"Who has a Dad that watches football while he naps?" All hands shoot straight up accompanied by barrels of laughter.

"I don't get it. Why is it called 'kindergarten' when it is not a garden?"

Career Decisions

After the chaos of graduate education, postdoc training, finding the job, promotions to Director, babies, toddlerhood, I find myself at a time when I can take a breath. There was a point in my life when I had to decide a music training or a science education. Although it has been over 20 years since I made " the" decision, I realize that it was never a decision I had to make in saying farewell to music. It was a decision to somehow combine the two.

I say that because if you truly have a deep passion for something, it never goes away. I remember that even after some late nights in the lab, I would find the baby grand on campus somewhere and just play. Trust me, I know where to find these pianos on all of the campuses I have attended.

Even now, I find great joy in composing songs for my children's classes and personal milestones, teaching the art to our young generation; and after all these years, I have restarted my Royal Conservatory of Music training. I even attended a RCM Piano Teacher's Workshop and listened to a great master class taught by the Dean of Glenn Gould Music School. I am not sure if I will take the exams or pursue my music even more seriously. All I am sure of is that I am happy that I am still in it today.

I am happy I discovered the roads to scientific research and still maintained my musical creativity. I am not a professional concert pianist, nor am I a Nobel prize-winning scientist. I just feel lucky. Lucky I am having the chance to dabble in both. One of my biotech consulting leads actually came from my piano instructor. Funny. All this to say, maintain your interests, your passions, most people have two or three. With the pursuit of higher academia and building a family, many extra-curricular activities are likely to fall away. However, try to maintain those that help you unwind and appreciate...just being alive. You will love that you did.

Moms Returning to Work

To all those moms who stayed full-time at home after the babies came and whose kids are gone from 9-11:30 and 12:30 - 3:30. I know you have thought about it. Should I try to find outside work now? What do I do? I have been out of the loop for years! Where do even start? And if I do return, how am I going to set up a system so the kids are walked to and back from school, sometimes for lunch, and helped until I return? It would be great to be back for 3 pm. Is there such a job?

I have noticed our neighbourhood has a rich source of intellect, compassion, multi-tasking super Moms. They are the untapped resource of quite the brain power. I know a few who would love to return to some sort of "work" outside the home, but are contemplating the direction.

I think that this is very similar to a career transition (see Career Transitions, Jan 2012). The transition year when your child is going from half day school to a full day (with lunch at school or home) is a tough one for both child and Mom. Moms feels like there should be more time; but the stresses of friendships, bullying, social issues, academic development can be overwhelming some days! Baby is no longer baby with physical needs, but a growing child with psychological needs. The latter is more difficult, I would say. Along with this child transition, Mom may find a need to return to her career. I know a few Moms trying this. Some are returning to supply teaching, with a relative on stand-by to transport her own kids to and back from school. Some are making their second career attending full or part-time in teacher's college with kids in daycare or with nanny. Some are taking classes. Some are volunteering with their favorite organization, such as their child's previous daycare, school or swimming club. Some are setting up their own web businesses. All these activities will lead to some type of "work" outside the home eventually.

As for my science career, I have maintained my interests by attending conferences, consulting biotech projects, speaking at career symposiums, mentoring science students, and trying to give back by writing my stories. I am not quite sure when I will return to the regular 9-5; but I know whatever the future holds, I feel privileged to have met these Moms these past few years.

For those science moms who have stayed home for a few years for children, please read the link for some inspiring stories. It is possible!
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_magazine/previous_issues/articles/2009_10_30/caredit.a0900133

http://www.underthemicroscope.com/blog/tips-for-returning-to-science-after-time-away

Good luck, Moms!

"Integration" instead of "Balance"

Thanks to a colleague of mine, I now use the term "integration" of career and life instead of "balance." The term "balance" gave a connotation of barely maintaining the scales from tipping one way or another, almost an unachievable task. Hence, the term "integration." We weave a web of career, parenthood, community involvement, grandparent care, and other interests which are all connected together. One day, your child may be sick and your work does not receive enough attention. The next week, you may be at a conference and not see the kids at all. Even though it is merely a word, I feel more at ease with my life when using "integration."

Many moms that I speak to say the toughest question of all at this point in their lives is, "When do I find full-time outside work?" Some moms feel taking care of the well-being of 2 or 3 children is more that enough "work." Having said that, many would like to return to some career stimulation. A friend of mine says he loves to hire moms because they are so motivated, come in at 9 am, eat lunch for 20 minutes, leave at 3 and put in the most efficient time at the office. One mom re-entered the workforce while negotiating a contract for 9-3, PD days and holidays off, and a longer summer break. As some of my mom friends now have children entering full day school, their integration of life and work is slowly changing. Good luck to everybody!

Postdoctoral Feedback

My thoughts on postdoctoral "supervision" stem from the various experiences collected over the years, some are currently in academia. The postdoctoral experience for many is a time of excitement for new research but also a time for uncertainty, as the window to the "real" career is fast approaching. Some feel this is the time you should be committed to the lab all hours of the day and night, making those critical connections, giving those plenary session talks in lieu of your famous PI. It is also the time when most people are likely to have little children and a spouse. So, it is crucial that your hours in the lab away from family and in planning for the experiments are efficient and effective.

What is not mentioned with the lab environment or even your own PI is the feedback you should be receiving from your PI. As a postdoc, you should be an autonomous researcher. However, you do present your data in lab meetings and even if your PI is never in the lab, he/she does hear about your work. You may be publishing papers, reviewing grants, training grad students, presenting at conferences. What most postdocs do not hear or receive communication about is how they are doing in the lab with all of their work or their career development. You may attend career workshops and perhaps your job has already been lined up. However, just as a committee meeting or progress report helps out a grad student with their objectives and timelines, I think it is important to have a similar document for the postdoc with at least one other committee member.

I illustrate some real postdoc experiences below.

Postdoc 1 worked with a PI who was well known for her power publications. She worked long hours with a daily 25 minute commute to her home and husband. She had to keep looking at her watch if she left the lab for a meal break. I remember it was 7 pm one evening. She started an experiment to run and was leaving the lab to grab a bite to eat when her PI asked her "Where are you going?" When she explained she was hungry and was off to dinner, her PI gave her a "look" and shuffled away to her office. Intense. Since there really is no "check" system placed in the postdoc world, some people like my friend, feel "trapped" as they know the PI's recommendation letter may make or break the next career move. Several years later, this PI came under university investigation from several postdoc complaints.

Postdoc 2 also worked in high power lab, and he thought things were going well. He was reporting every week about his findings at his lab meetings. His supervisor did not express any negative comments. In fact, they had a jovial relationship. He thought he had found his niche in a specific area which he made collaborations with other departments and published several papers. Having said all this, he did not receive any career development guidance and one day in his third year, his PI asked for a private meeting. It was during this discussion that his PI talked about how he was not happy with his performance, and that he thought it was best for everyone if he left in 3 months. Postdoc 2 feels blindsided. "Since when?" he asks.
"Since the last quarter of year 1."
"How come you never told me?"
"I thought you would improve on your own."
"Well, if you never told me you were not happy, how am I supposed to know?"


In both of these instances, effective communication on both sides with an official progress and feedback system would have prevented all the headache for everyone involved. It was stories like these that inspired me to write a feedback form for the postdoc association. It was a one page document to be completed every 3-4 months with postdoc name, PI name and date. It included 1) experimental milestones achieved, 2) publication progress, 3) performance feedback for postdoc,  4) performance feedback for the PI,  5) career development, objectives review. The performance feedback would include questions like a) what did you appreciate about the performance of the postdoc (PI)? and b) what would like to see improved?

Having this type of progress report would provide written documentation to improve communications, enhance the postdoctoral experience, and improve the postdoctoral mentorship. Alongside the publications, the postdoc has a written record of the work that was accomplished, scientifically and otherwise. If issues do arise from this type of communication, a third party at the university (postdoctoral affairs) can step in to mediate a solution.

If you university or mentor has an official form like this, then awesome! However, most do not. It can be your first contribution to the lab. I am sure your new PI will have no issue with writing it up. You may space it out as you wish, but twice a year at the least sounds about right. It is always about two-way communication; and just like in a marriage, feedback for the postdoc-PI relationship is critical.

Resources:
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9831
http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/ 
http://www.med.umich.edu/postdoc/postdochandbook.pdf (see p19)