In Brief

Career Workshops: "Careers Away from the Bench" and "Interviewing Skills"
Brianna Blaser, project director of outreach for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Science Careers, will give two workshops: "Careers Away From the Bench" on Tuesday, October 26, from 1:30 to 3 PM, and "Interviewing Skills" on Wednesday, October 27, from 10 to 11:30 AM.

In "Careers Away From the Bench," which will be held in the California campus's Beckman Building Keck Amphitheater and streamed via teleconference to the Florida campus's Room B158, Blaser will lead a workshop that asks the question: could you be missing out on an exciting and rewarding career outside of academic or industrial research? Increasingly, Ph.D.-level scientists are becoming aware of other career opportunities beyond bench research. In this workshop, participants will consider what their own career path in these so-called "nontraditional" areas might look like. The discussion will include the types of alternative careers available, how to parlay your current skills and values into a new area, ways to research career options, and how to develop the skills you might need.

In "Interviewing Skills," which will be held in the California campus's Beckman Building Keck Amphitheater, Blaser will address how to best present yourself to employers during every step of the interviewing process, from initial phone interviews to preparing for the big day to following up with your interviewers. Attendees will learn about what employers want to see from job applicants and what job applicants should ask about during an interview. After the workshop, you'll be prepared to ensure your job interview is a great conversation with a potential employer.

Both events are sponsored by the Society of Fellows (SOF) and the Office of Career and Postdoctoral Services.

Open Enrollment Begins
Open Enrollment begins on Monday, October 25 and runs through Friday, November 5, at 5 PM Pacific time. This is the annual opportunity for participants to make changes to their Scripps Research benefit selections and, if eligible, enroll or re-enroll in the Healthcare and/or Dependent Care Spending Accounts for the 2011 plan year. Open Enrollment materials were e-mailed out to all participants on October 11. The Open Enrollment information booklet can be viewed at http://www.scripps.edu/hr/benefits/open_enrollment/information.html.

Changes to the benefit plans for next year are minimal, but include the following: child dependents up to age 26 will be eligible for medical and vision coverage regardless of student status, lifetime limits on the total payouts for the PPO Plans will be eliminated, and pre-existing limitations for covered children under the age of 19 will be lifted. These and other important changes were outlined in the News&Views article "Open Enrollment News". In addition, informative Open Enrollment meetings will take place on both campuses over the next few weeks; see the Open Enrollment Calendar of Events for California and Florida.

ONLINE ACCESSIBILITY AND TRAVEL DURING OPEN ENROLLMENT
The online system is accessible from any computer with Internet access whether it is a work, home, or other computer. Even if you're traveling during Open Enrollment, if you have Internet access you'll be able to log on to review and make changes to your benefits. However, if you will be traveling during the two weeks of Open Enrollment and will not have Internet access, please be sure to contact Human Resources to make arrangements to complete a hard copy enrollment form. If you do not make changes through the online system between October 25 and November 5 or make arrangements in advance to complete a hard copy, you will not be allowed to make any changes to your benefits (including enrolling in the health care and dependent care spending accounts) for the 2011 plan year unless you have a qualified status change at a later date. There will be computer kiosks available for use in Human Resources for anyone who does not have Internet access at work or at home.

Participants with questions regarding Open Enrollment should contact Benefits Administration at x4-8487 or benefits@scripps.edu.

For information on the California Benefit Fair which will be held Wednesday, October 27, from 10 AM to 1 PM in the Immunology galleria go to http://www.scripps.edu/hr/benefits/forms/Benefit_Fair_Flyer_2010.pdf

Got Manuscripts?
Do you need to have your fellowship application or manuscript reviewed? Editors are ready to look over your drafts!

The Career & Postdoctoral Services Office coordinates a volunteer peer editing service, the Scripps Research Council of Scientific Editors, to help Scripps Research postdocs and graduate students on both campuses write high quality papers and fellowships. This program is a result of feedback from graduate students, faculty, and postdocs during the institute's reaccreditation process.

The Career & Postdoctoral Services Office matches requests for editing based on reviewer expertise and availability. To have your manuscript or fellowship reviewed:

1. Send an email to rwheeler@scripps.edu with your name, position (postdoc/grad student), department, lab, scientific area, and brief description of your submission.
2. Attach your document to the email.
3. The Career & Postdoc Office will attempt to match your request to an available reviewer with similar scientific and/or proposal expertise.
4. The editor will contact you to discuss your document (generally within one week).

The Scripps Research Council of Scientific Editors is intended to supplement, not supplant, the scientific communication mentoring that trainees receive from their advisors, by formalizing an additional review option benefiting both the volunteer peer reviewers and the researchers who use the service. There is no charge for the service and the program duration is indefinite.

Send comments to: mikaono[at]scripps.edu

Meeting of the Minds
This month's student-faculty retreat at Lake Arrowhead offered posters, presentations, prizes and continued the tradition of promoting intellectual exchange and career development for graduate students in The Scripps Research Kellogg School of Science and Technology. Here, Florida student Luis Tuesta explains his research.

How to Lead a Lab
A two-day symposium for postdocs and junior faculty offered guidance on career and lab management earlier this month. Organized jointly by Scripps Research, Sanford-Burnham, and UCSD, the symposium featured talks like this one on time management by Scripps Research Cell Biology Chair Sandra Schmid.