New Online Service Expands Job Search Options for Students, Postdocs

By Eric Sauter

Scripps Research Institute postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and alumni in California and Florida now have a new resource to use in their job searches. Thanks to a recent agreement with Bio Career Center, these individuals have access to an online jobs board designed to match those with advanced degrees in the life sciences with available openings in academia, industry, finance, government, and other areas.

Bio Career Center, an online service that launched in October 2007, currently has over 400 job listings. Additionally, the site provides assessment tools and career information, including articles written by science Ph.D.s who have transitioned to careers outside of research.

"One of the reasons the jobs board is attractive is that it exclusively features positions geared for advanced degree holders and postdocs in the life sciences," says Ryan Wheeler, manager of the Scripps Research Office of Postdoctoral Services. "Job seekers can post their resumes online or apply directly to open positions. In an increasingly competitive job market for science Ph.D.s, the new service can help our postdocs, students, and alumni explore options, connect with employers, and land rewarding positions after they finish their educational or training appointments at Scripps Research."

Scripps Research was one of the institutions Nick Folger, president and founder of Bio Career Center, approached as he was launching the venture. Folger recognized the need to match scientists with jobs both inside and outside of academia.

"Traditionally, life science Ph.D.s and M.D.s found career offers in academia," says Folger. "Although these jobs still exist, there are not enough to employ today's large candidate pool. This is why Bio Career Center posts jobs from many career paths, offering job alternatives in research, finance, business, law, and other areas. Through our career path-focused service, we connect highly qualified candidates with hiring employers."

Bio Career Center has partnered with a number of top institutions in the life sciences, including Stanford University, University of California (UC) Berkeley, CalTech, UC San Francisco, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Washington.

In addition to connecting graduate students and postdocs to online career services such as Bio Career Center, the Scripps Research Postdoctoral Services Office sponsors many professional development workshops and seminars, including the annual two-day San Diego Lab Management Course scheduled for February 1-2, 2008. For more information on the office's services, visit http://www.scripps.edu/services/postdocs.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

"The new service can help our postdocs, students, and alumni explore options, connect with employers, and land rewarding positions after they finish their educational or training appointments at Scripps Research."

—Ryan Wheeler