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Keeping your skills current

Journeymen ScientistsSuzy Rigby

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Journeymen Scientists run bank of experienced locum scientists providing short term placements for local life science companies

We also run LABREADY courses aimed at bridging the gap between academia and industry and upskilling/refreshing basic lab skills after a career break.

Who we are

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• Introduction• Scientific Skills• Keeping up to date• Stay connected• Help when returning to work• Summary

Introduction

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You take a break from your career not from being a scientist

Key message

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• Basic Scientific training• Numeracy• Logical thinking• Problem solving• Scientific writing• Basic fundamentals

• Additional training• Specific techniques• Instruments

Skills

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• Maintain your professional memberships• Keeps you in a network• Society Publications will provide overviews

of new technologies and also updates on commercial activities within the industry

• Could provide support and advice as you decide to move back into employment

• Biochemical Society’s Stay Connected bursaries

• The internet is a easy resource to tap into• Journal subscriptions

Keeping up to date

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• Stay connected or connect with people with whom you were professionally associated

• Use LinkedIn to maintain your presence • This keeps you networked and, to a certain extent,

visible when you are looking for employment change your status to seeking

• Join groups that post discussions about your area of interest

• Follow companies that may be of interest

Keep your network

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• WellcomeTrust• “Getting back into research after a career break”• Research career re-entry fellowships

• Other grants and fellowships• Sanger Institute, Daphne Jackson fellowships,

British Heart Foundation, Institutional Awards, Dorothy Hodgkins fellowships

• Women returners network• Upskilling or reskilling courses

• Journeymen Scientists LabReady course for basic scientific skills

• Local network organisations or local enterprise partnerships may have networking events or courses e.g. D2N2 Growth Hub – look for your local one

When you decide to return

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• Maintain your confidence• Your skills are still relevant• Rigour of scientific approach and

fundamental understanding is more valuable to employers than knowing how to use a specific equipment

• Demonstrating that you have been keeping up with the literature and can discuss advances is a great place to start

Remember Your skills

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“Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time”

Desiderata Max Erhmann

Final word