Biological Sciences Career Initiative

The Biological Sciences Career Initiative (BSCI) is a group run by graduate students for graduate students. It aims to provide career resources for Biological Sciences PhD students interested in diverse fields, as well as to foster a strong alumni network. BSCI was founded by 2 students, Jennifer D’Arcangelo and Chinweike Okegbe, in 2014. With the support of the Biological Sciences department, it has successfully hosted career panels, info sessions, and networking events to better prepare students for a diverse array of careers after graduation. Upcoming Events

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Career Resources

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Self-Exploration

• From the Columbia University Center for Career Education (CCE): Identify Your Skills, Interests, Values, and Personality Traits
• From the AAAS: myIDP

 

Career Exploration

General

• WetFeet has great introductions to industries including consulting, pharmaceuticals, and non-profits. It also has some useful resources for consulting especially. The resources are free for Columbia students, but you need to sign in with your UNI through the CCE website to download them: WetFeet portal
• Vault is another website that gives very broad overviews of different industries. Access Vault for free from the CCE website here.

 

Specific career paths, listed alphabetically:

Academia

Learn about the career path:

• How to choose a postdoc: Science
• How to get a job in academic science: Science
• Insight from Martin Chalfie: Secret to Getting the Postdoc you want  

Apply:

• Job postings on Nature: here

 

Biotech & Pharma

Learn about the career path:

• From the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists: here
• From the PhD Career Guide: here

 

Consulting

Learn about the career path:

• From ManagementConsulted.com: here
• From Oystir (also includes advice about how to break into consulting): here

Get experience:

• Volunteer for The Solution Lab
• Summer programs:
  • McKinsey’s Insight
  • Bridge to BCG
  • Connect to Clearview
  • AIC Bain
• Columbia Technology Ventures’ Fellows Program (not consulting, but develops skills useful for consulting)

Prepare to apply:

• Columbia Graduate Consulting Club has many case books and preparatory materials
• CaseInterview.com and ManagementConsulted.com have preparation advice for fit/case interviews, resume/cover letter writing, networking, etc.
• From CaseInterview.com:
  • Example frameworks
  • Case interview workshop videos
  • PrepLounge.com has cases, math practice, a job board, and more
  • Oystir.com has interview and McKinsey application tips
  • Books: Case In Point, Case Interview Secrets 

 

Data Science

Learn about the career path:

• From Springboard.com: here
• From Lifehacker.com: here

Get experience:

• Insight Data Science Fellows Program

 

Medical Communication

Learn about the career path:

• From American Medical Writers Association: here
• From Nature: here

 

Medical Science Liason

Learn about the career path:

• From Oystir: here

 

Nonprofit & Foundation work

Learn about the career path:

• From Science Magazine: here and here

 

Patent Law & Technology Transfer

Learn more about the career path:

• From Science Magazine: here
• From the PhD Career Guide: here
• From Rutgers iJOBS: here 

Get experience:

• Columbia Technology Ventures’ Fellows Program

 

Science Journalism

Learn about the career path:

• From Council for the Advancement of Science Writing: here
• From Nature: here

Get experience:

• Join NeuWrite

 

Science Outreach

Get experience:

• Columbia University Neuroscience Outreach
• Columbia Engineering Outreach Programs
• Other STEM outreach programs at Columbia: here
• Volunteer on the BioBus

 

Science Policy

Learn about the career path:

• From PhD Career Guide: here
• From the NIH: here 

Get experience:

• ASBMB Science Policy Fellowship Program

 

Teaching

Get experience:

• The Center for Teaching and Learning at Columbia has great resources available to graduate students including consultations, evaluations, and project development. They also host awesome events!
• Apply to be a Lead Teaching Fellow
• Apply to be a Teaching Observation Fellow
• Apply to attend the Innovative Teaching Summer Institute

 

Applying to jobs

• Cover Letter workshop
• Tips on navigating the terrain from job posting to job offer
• From the Columbia University Center for Career Education (CCE):
  • Resume Writing, Interviewing, LinkedIn, and more

 

Have a resource you want to share? Let us know!

 

Fellowship Opportunities