By Robbin Koenig

Heather Shapiro was a featured speaker at the 2017 Scientista Symposium. She has a B.S. from Duke University in Statistical Science and Computer Science. Currently, Heather is a technical evangelist at Microsoft Corp. in New York City, working with the software development community. A brief Q & A reveals that Heather is far from the stereotypical “geek.”

By Robbin Koenig

Do you have a flair for graphics and design? Do you have a gift for the printed word? Are you interested in a career path that requires strengths in both right brain and left brain functions?

By Lidiya Angelova

I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve had the opportunity to meet scientists from all parts of the world, and I’ve made a few observations: people from the US and Asia tend not to spend much time on communicating during coffee and lunch breaks; but Africans, Australians and South Americans are more like the Europeans, who treat meals more socially.

By Lauren Koenig
 
It often seems there’s no longer any traditional path for pursuing a career outside medicine or law. The average individual is expected to hold about 12 jobs before the age of 48, and this number is drastically rising as job and tenure prospects change.

By Lidiya Angelova-Duleva
 
The 2016 US presidential election is over, and as it has many other women and scientists, it has left me shaken. I will never forget what it was like to watch it happen: sheer disbelief. I didn’t understand: Why would people prefer a president who doesn’t accept women as equals? Will people ever accept that a woman can be leader of the United States? I felt lost. I felt violated. I mourned—not because the president will be from “that” party or because the female candidate didn't win; I was devastated because the new president contradicts all the ideals for which we have been fighting for so long: that women have equal worth and that we can be whoever and whatever we want to be.

By Gabrielle-Ann Torre and Amanda G. Riojas

Ideas are critical to science.
 
Incidentally, science is also a male-dominated field.
 
The complexity of gender roles in the workforce means that even in the most progressive settings, many factors can prevent ideas by women from achieving their deserved recognition. For instance, women are more frequently interrupted and less likely to demand credit for their ideas than men. In many STEM jobs, ideas are the major currency: success in science is measured by the novelty and value of our ideas and how these are presented.

By Gabrielle-Ann Torre

Congrats, you’ve made it—you’re presenting your research to an audience. The audience might be a crew of hungry grad students or a committee of stern scientists. They might be novices or experts in your field. Whoever the crowd, presenting science is hard, but the most challenging part for many scientists is responding to the questions that follow.
 
In addition to practicing your presentation and responses to pre-empted questions, below are some tips to put your best answers forward.

By Lauren Koenig

No one likes to advertise their failures.
 
From an evolutionary perspective, this makes total sense. Whether you're looking for a job or starting a new relationship, you need to signal your trustworthiness as a potential candidate. Perception is everything.

Name: Anonymous
 
Field: Formerly marine biology; currently regulatory toxicology
 
Job/position: Government Scientist
 
How long have you been working in this field? 15 years
 
What kind of story would you like to share? Achievement Story

Name: Kim Reuter
 
Field: Conservation Biology
 
Job/position: Natural Capital Accounting Director, Conservation International
 
How long have you been working in this field? 4 years
 
What kind of story would you like to share? Life struggle story