Career Design

General category for career related posts. This is posted on home page.

Forbes published a great article by Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd last November. In the article, he gives nine tips for communicating science to non-scientists. This list is also excellent advice for any scientist or engineer who wants to be more effective working in industry. If you are a scientist or engineer who […]

How to accelerate your technical career in industry

15 Jun, 2017 in Career Design / Productivity at Work tagged career coach / communication / Engineers / leadership / productivity / Scientists by David

We’ve all heard that first impressions are critical, and the general consensus is that you have less than 30 seconds to make that impression. Unfortunately, many of us with technical backgrounds don’t put enough thought into what we say in that 30 seconds. As scientists and engineers we are trained […]

You have 30 seconds. Start with why.

8 Jun, 2017 in Career Design / Job Search Advice / Networking Skills tagged first impression / genuine networking / networking / start with why by David

I talk about networking quite a bit, because it’s critical to building a rewarding career. Building real relationships that you maintain through your entire career will bring tremendous value. These relationships start with a first impression, and much of the time the first impression is based on that ubiquitous icebreaker […]

So, what do you do?

22 Mar, 2017 in Career Design / Interview skills / Networking Skills tagged Career / Engineers / jobs / networking / Scientist by David

People often ask me: “Should I look for a job at a big company or a small company?” This is an important question, as people tend to be wired to fit one better than the other. Here’s one big difference to help you decide how you are wired: […]

Big company vs small company. Where do I fit best?

22 Mar, 2017 in Career Design / Job Search Advice tagged Career / Engineers / jobs / Scientist by David

No, really. It’s true. Let me illustrate this with a story: Earlier this week I was at a local networking event. I was talking with a few guys I know about to startup one of them had launched. This guy was developing specialty cameras for precision measurement in a variety […]

Finding a job is like dating…

25 Feb, 2017 in Career Design / Job Search Advice / Networking Skills tagged Career / dating / finding a job / genuine networking / job search / jobs / networking by David

People often ask me why I enjoy working with students and early career professionals as much as I do. I tell them that it’s so unbelievably rewarding to share what I’ve learned with people who are just embarking on the amazing career path I’ve been walking for the last two […]

Five reasons why giving back is awesome

28 Jan, 2017 in Career Design / Job Search Advice / Networking Skills tagged Career / giving / networking by David

If you are a physicist looking to build a career in industry, it can be hard to know what types of jobs to look for. Here are five great industry jobs for a physicist: System engineer Reliability engineer Project manager Engineering manager Process development engineer That’s right, they all have […]

5 great industry jobs for a physicist:

28 Aug, 2016 in Career Design / Job Search Advice tagged Career / jobs / Physics Jobs / Scientist by David

Many early career scientists and engineers wanting to build a career in industry approach it with some trepidation because they worry that their experience working an a university research lab won’t be seen as relevant to a hiring manager who needs people to design hardware for sale. This is a […]

Tell better stories with the same facts

30 Jul, 2016 in Career Design / Interview skills / Networking Skills tagged interview skills / jobs / networking / stories by David

I’ve been very surprised how rare good data analysis skills are in industry, even among those trained in technical disciplines. Scientists are groomed to perform in-depth data analysis well because it is a critical part of figuring out how nature works, and this is the fundamental goal of science. This […]

Good data analysis skills are rare

30 Jun, 2016 in Career Design / Job Search Advice / Productivity at Work by David

Three types of jobs

29 May, 2016 in Career Design / Job Search Advice tagged Career / jobs by David

One very important piece of advice given to me by Ashok Balakrishnan is that in industry you have to learn to figure out quickly what really matters and what doesn’t. As he relayed when I interviewed him for my book, “Turning Science into Things People Need“: “(In industry) there are […]