Bio Job Blog : Bio Jobs : Biotechnology Jobs : Biopharmaceutical Jobs : Bioscience, Biotech Jobs : Bio Job Blog : Biocareer : Bio-Business Training, Biotechnology Training : Jobs in Biology : Internships in Biology : Internships in Biotechnology

I started BioJobBlog in 2007 primarily as a means for me to express myself about life science careers and issue and challenges confronting the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical devices industry. That said, I never thought that BioJobBlog would ever amount to much; it was simply a vehicle for me to rant and rave about things that were important to me! It is a daunting challenge to begin a blog with no readers and then realize that 5 years later over 2.0 million unique readers have visited to read my thoughts and ideas about a wide breadth of topics.

I want to thank the readers who continue to visit BioJobBlog. And, I hope that what I have written over the past five years has either helped or induced you to think about issues in the life sciences industry. While I have no plans to stop blogging; my schedule is becoming increasingly challenging and I can no longer post articles as frequently as I have in the past. Nevertheless, I will continue do what I can to keep the content at BioJobBlog interesting, fresh and thought-provoking. 

Please feel free to contact me with ideas, thoughts or comments about the blog (or anything else for that matter). 

Thanks for supporting BioJobBlog!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!

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Ome Ogbru, Pharm. D, CEO and Founder of Rxeconsult, a new networking site for healthcare consulting and jobs, asked me if I would be interested in being interviewed about the companies and websites that I started.  Of course I could not refuse.  So here goes:

RxEconsult: What is BioInsights and why did you develop BioInsights?

BioJobBlogger:  BioInsights founded in 1998 was originally a bioscience training and education company.  The goal of the company was to help life scientists get the training that they need to get jobs at life sciences companies. Today, BioInsights, Inc is more of a career development company that provides individualized career development guidance and counseling for life scientists. This is because the life sciences job market has changed considerably since 1998 and jobs are harder to come by. However, we still offer bioscience training in drug development, regulatory affairs and biomanufacturing. Additionally, BioInsights also offer medical communications consulting services.

RxEconsult: How do you distinguish BioInsights from other Medical Communications companies? 

BioJobBlogger: Unlike traditional medical communications companies, BioInsights offers writing services that heavily focus on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter and various blogging platforms.  We also offer medical writing, copywriter and website content development services.

RxEconsult: What are the main challenges in your business and how are you addressing them?

BioJobBlogger: Training and career development services are not high priorities for job candidates or life sciences companies until a scientist is looking for a job or a company needs to hire new employees.  Consequently, it is difficult to convince both companies and jobseekers to be proactive and engage us early in the process. We are beginning to address this problem by turning to various social media platforms to get the word out about our services. Paradoxically, the recent economic downturn has been good for our business activities!

RxEconsult: What attracted you to social media and blogging? How can professionals make a living or develop their career by blogging?

BioJobBlogger:  I enjoy writing and always have had a strong desire to share my ideas and opinions with others. Blogging seemed like a natural extension of what I like to do. So, about 6 years ago I launched BioJobBlog (www.biojobblog.com) which is focused on life sciences career development topics as well as opinion pieces and reports on the goings on in the life sciences industry. While blogging is exciting and extremely cathartic, it is difficult to make a living as a blogger. The days of individual bloggers selling their blogs for millions to large media outlets are over.   That said, blogging is useful in establishing yourself as a subject matter expert which can sometimes lead to paid opportunities.  At its peak last year, I was averaging between 65,000-70,000 unique visitors per month @ BioJobBlog.

I built traffic to the levels I mentioned by blogging 4-5 times per day and staying abreast of late breaking events in the life sciences industry.  I was able to maintain that pace for a couple of years but because I blog for free, I could not sustain the pace any longer. The original goal was to reach 100,000 unique visitors per month and then try to sell the blog or form an alliance with a media outlet. Obviously, that did not happen.  I am now happy to log between 30,000-45,000 unique visitors per month by blogging three times per week or whenever the urge strikes me.

As far as revenue is concerned, it has not been much.  It costs me about $2400 per year in hosting and management fees and I have been blogging for over 5 years.  In that timespan, I may have made several thousand dollars but not enough to break even or turn a profit.  Blogging is truly a personal medium that is driven more by desire and the need to be heard rather than a profitable enterprise; unless of course you can get a major media outlet and blog for them.  That is really my dream job right now!

RxEconsult: What are the top social media practices that professionals should use for developing their career?

BioJobBlogger: I think that LinkedIn, Twitter and a personal blog can really help in terms of career development for life scientists.  However, all of these platforms require daily monitoring and care. Sadly, most life sciences professional spend most of their time in the laboratory and fail to realize that career development is vital and cannot be ignored if one wants to find a job!

RxEconsult: What healthcare gaps can social media address? 

BioJobBlogger:  I believe that social media can be used in real time for adverse event reporting and educational outreach activities. Unfortunately, most drug makers view social media as means to bolster sales or look for specialized employees.  That said, these are early days for life sciences companies and social media and it will interesting to see how social media evolves in the life sciences industry.

RxEconsult: Why are biopharmaceutical companies struggling with leveraging social media and how can they best use social media? How can BioInsights help them?

BioJobBlogger:  The life sciences industry is very conservative and adverse to change.  Social media is clearly a game changing phenomenon and most life sciences companies don’t know what to make of it yet.  Over the past three years or so, more and more life sciences companies have experimented with various social media platforms and are beginning to realize their potential for their businesses.  

BioInsights can help companies navigate the social media jungle because of our experience using social media platforms and also developing life sciences websites and blog content.

RxEconsult: What feedback have you received and how are your websites performing?

BioJobBlogger: I recently redesigned the BioInsights website and traffic has been down. Most of my focus is on two other BioInsights web assets---BioJobBlog and BioCrowd (www.biocrowd.com) an online networking community for bioprofessionals.  

I frequently get comments @BioJobBlog about its content and how helpful it is to jobseekers and other bioprofessionals. BioCrowd was launched about three years ago and we are still growing the community. At present, joining BioCrowd is primarily through invitation only.  We are embarking on a mass membership drive early next spring.  At present there are 4,200 BioCrowd members.

RxEconsult: If you wrote a book about how to develop and run a business what pearls would you include?

BioJobBlogger: No matter how good the idea is, it is all about marketing! Good ideas with insufficient marketing power can easily fail whereas bad ideas with mega-advertising can succeed.  As a scientist myself, I failed to realize how important marketing and advertising are! In hindsight, I would have invested much more money and effort in marketing my business rather developing content and building sleek looking websites!

RxEconsult:BioJobBlogger, thank you for sharing your views and discussing your ventures. Hopefully, you can return to give us an update. I wish you success and I hope you find that dream job!

 To comment on this article or ask questions  join the RxEconsult community, a free business network for healthcare consulting, jobs, and more.

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Over the past five years or so there has been a proliferation of blogs that cover the life sciences industry. While I visit some of them frequently, e.g., Pharmalot, EyeonFDA and PharmaLive,.

I am sure that there are others out there that may be useful. To that end, I came across a blog post on the Health and Life website that listed the top 10 essential pharma news blogs. 

#1 Pharmalot

How can we describe the value Pharmalot provides?

Visiting Pharmalot is something we do daily – we can give no blog or resource a higher compliment.  Ed Silverman has the experience to cut through the news and provide readers with the most important tidbits along with pertinent thoughts.

And for those interested in Pharma, the daily email can be quite valuable.

#2 PharmaGossip

Pharmagossip is recognized for horribly accurate, sharp and incisive analysis.  You can feel the author’s passion and concern for upholding ethical standards in almost any post.

Just don’t read before going to sleep or before discussions on whether man is inherently good or bad.

Pharmagossip is a blog that can change how you think about things while keeping up with important pharma news.

#3 In the Pipeline

What’s wrong with dioxygen difluoride and how accurate are HER2 receptor tests?

Derek Lowe does an excellent job of analyzing drugs, especially those that are in the pipeline and being developed.  He’s the kind of guy who points out flaws in a medication a month before clinical trials reveal it’s a dud.

You can wait for the news to be public knowledge.  Or you can read his blog.

#4 The IN VIVO Blog

When the FDA asks ten nephrologists to review a medication and they all decline, the In Vivo Blog catches it.  This blog is well known for accuracy, quality and overall being an extremely useful read for those trying to keep up with the fast-moving pharmaceutical industry.

Best of all, they have a good sense of humor.

#5 Pharma Marketing Blog

Pharma Marketing blog gives you the expert analysis of John Mack, a man who knows a lot about the marketing tactics Pharma companies use – and constantly learns new things and shares his insight with readers.

Is Pfizer running a bait and switch with its Facebook fan page?  Is Allegran running an inappropriate advertising campaign for Botox?

Find out about these and other issues in marketing related to pharmaceuticals by reading what John Mack has to say.

#6 Drug Discovery Opinion

For people who care about pharmaceuticals, the Drug Discovery Opinion is gold waiting to be discovered.

This blog provides analysis of the technical issues that have tremendous implications for drug discovery, efficacy and marketability.  It explains the fundamental science that drives pharmacology.

Its authors have almost unmatchable credentials. Great read and quite useful.

#7 Pharma Strategy Blog

Which Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor shows the most promise?  What’s going on with Avastin and ovarian cancer?

To get the answer to these, and other important questions, Pharma Strategy Blog is excellently informative.  To get a sense of the value of its posts consider this.

Sally Church, the blog’s author, was responsible for helping launch Gleevec. 

Her expertise and talent shows clearly in her posts.  Pharma Strategy blog is top notch and it gives readers insider knowledge.

#8 The MacGuffin

Not a blog for the light of heart, The MacGuffin is infamous for no-holds barred criticism and analysis.

They see things other people don’t.  And they deliver their thoughts in a combination of colloquial and scientific talk. They might deliver a knock-out analysis of a medication and follow up with an inappropriate photo of a celebrity.

Cocky and clever.  Make sure to check out their analysis of schizophrenia.

#9 Pharma Conduct

This blog keeps an eye on the conduct of pharmaceuticals and the healthcare business.  It is mainly written by Eric Milgram, Ph.D. who has more than 10 years of pharmaceutical experience.

It is an investigative blog that is unafraid to expose corruption.  The formal, analytical training Eric underwent to learn chemical analysis shows through in the high caliber of his posts.

#10 The Science Business

Well written, useful and insightful.  Not as willing to take risks and focus on emerging issues as some others on this list, this blog makes the list because it provides extremely high quality writing on health care issues.

Sadly, BioJobBlog did not make the list. I guess I just have to work a little harder.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

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As a blogger and an occasional Twitter user (believe me I would tweet more if I didn’t have to work for a living), I have often wondered how much of an impact that the links I post have on readers and followers. While there is little doubt that the posted links persist into perpetuity, it was not clear how long people continued to click or follow the links after they were posted. That is; until now!

According to new research by Bit.ly, the URL shortening service, most links shared online don’t live very long. The longevity of different links was determined by calculating the “half-life” (the point at which a link received half of its total online clicks) of links posted on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, e-mail or chat clients.  

After analyzing 1,000 popular links on Bit.ly, it was determined that the average half-life of a link on Twitter was 2.8 hours. Links posted to Facebook lasted slightly longer at 3.2 whereas the longevity for e-mail and chat links was 3.4 hours. Interestingly, the average half-life of YouTube links was 7.4 hours and that of news-related links was a mealy five minutes! 

The conclusion—people spend way too much time watching videos on YouTube and pay little attention to current events. Duh, like I didn’t already know that!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Link Following.....

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Some of you may have noticed that I have not been uploading new posts as frequently as I have in the past.  I have been blogging @BioJobBlog for the past five years and quite frankly I need a little break. Traffic at the site is typically lower during the summer months so I decided to ratchet back a bit and think about the future direction of the blog.  That said, I will be writing new posts from time to time but will not be back to full time blogging until after Labor Day.

Those of you who may be interested in guest blogging please contact me and we may be able to work something out.  Also, any persons interested in advertising @ BioJobBlog ought to contact me for pricing.

I want to thank those of you who have helped to make the blog a success by reading it!  At present, BioJobBlog averages between 60,000 to 65,000 unique hits per month! I hope to continue to grow its readership in the future. To that end, I welcome any ideas, suggestions, kudos, kvetches etc to help me to reach that goal.

Until next time... 

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting

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William Hooper author of the HealthTechTopia blog which focuses on biomedicine and healthcare informatics compiled a top 25 list of the best biomedicine blogs on the web. 

While BioJobBlog failed to make the list, BioCrowd was listed at number 14. This is what the HealthTechTopia blog had to say about BioCrowd, the online networking site created by Vincent Racaniello and me.

“So where can you get blog entries from tons of biomedicine enthusiasts? With a stop here. The site was built to help bioscience professionals build relationships, exchange ideas, find jobs, and identify exciting new career opportunities.”

Best Blogs on Biomedicine by an Individual

These experts in biomedicine take it on at all angles.

1. Biotech/ Biomedical
   Join Dr. Theresa Phillips as she uses her experience to provide her readers with tools, tips, strategies, and information about the industry. She has a broad background in a number of different areas of biotechnology and biomedical research, including having worked for two biotech companies in the environmental remediation industry. Must reads include a career in biotech and six approaches to phytoremediation.
2. Terry Etherton Blog on Biotechnology
   Dr. Etherton is a Distinguished Professor of Animal Nutrition and Head of the Department of Dairy and Animal Science at Penn State University. His research specialty is the area of endocrine regulation of animal growth and nutrient metabolism. Genetically modified crops and cloned livestock are the latest blog topics.
3. Eye on DNA
   Dr. Hsien-Hsien Lei is a PhD-trained epidemiologist and biotech consultant, as well as a Stanford and JohnHopkinsUniversity graduate. One of her focuses is on how both genome and internet technology are going to change the world. Popular articles include DNA toys and “100 Facts About DNA.”
4. Gary Rabin
   He is the Chairman of Advanced Cell Technology. They are a biotechnology company that specializes in the development of cellular therapies for the treatment of rare and common diseases that impact millions of people worldwide. The blog often lists their accomplishments as well as related items in biotech.
5. Building Confidence
   Blogger Russ Altman is also a professor at StanfordUniversity. His writings are a way to share commentary on issues related to his professional expertise, which is biomedical informatics, genetics, medicine, and bioengineering. He also has a quick tutorial on the subject of bioinformatics.
6. Gene Expression
   Razib Khan’s degrees are in biochemistry and biology. He has blogged about genetics since 2002, previously worked in software development, and is an Unz Foundation Junior Fellow. A standout choice for often integrating pop culture and news items into bio-learning.
7. Biotech Blog
   Yali Friedman lives in Washington, DC and is the author of “Building Biotechnology” and other books. He is also the founder of DrugPatentWatch and chief editor of the “Journal of Commercial Biotechnology.” Check out his blog for thoughts and news on the commercial, legal, political, and scientific aspects of biotech.
8. Expression Patterns
   Proving again that biomedicine isn’t just for men is Eva Amsen. She recently moved from research to editing and from biochemistry to developmental biology. In addition to science, she also blogs about the arts.
9. Public Rambling
   What sounds like a blog for the latest commentary on the latest scandal is actually a scientific one. Pedro Beltrao stops here to write about what he thinks on bioinformatics, science, and technology. Omics was the topic of a recent post.
10. Science Roll
    Bertalan Meskó graduated from the University of Debrecen, Medical School and Health Science Center in 2009 and started PhD studies in the field of personalized genomics. His blog is now a journey through genetics and medicine. Biomedicine in the news and his reaction are often the topic of posts.

Best Blogs on Biomedicine by a Group

Check out these groups and sites for a collective view of biomedicine and related areas.

11. The Daily Scan
    Part of Genome Web, there are several blogs on biomedicine to choose from. They include entries on cancer and informatics. The main site has more for those interested in biomedicine such as news, careers, and a magazine.
12. ISAAA
    Click here for the official blog from the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications. They have a newsfeed that is constantly updated and divided by crop biotech, biofuels supplement, and more. There are also other learning resources offered.
13. Fierce Biotech
    Get just the news with a visit here. Several stories a day are on all the advancements and announcements in the field. You can also choose by biomarkers, events, whitepapers, and much more.
14. BioCrowd
    So where can you get blog entries from tons of biomedicine enthusiasts? With a stop here. The site was built to help bioscience professionals build relationships, exchange ideas, find jobs, and identify exciting new career opportunities.
15. Growers for Biotechnology
    Their mission is to promote and facilitate the research, development and acceptance of biotechnology in agriculture. The news stream has the latest in developments in biology for food. You can also get other biotech info such as why growers use biotech and reports.
16. BMC Biotechnology
    This is an open access journal publishing original peer-reviewed articles on the manipulation of biological macromolecules or organisms. Use in experimental procedures, cellular, and tissue engineering, as well as in the pharmaceutical, agricultural biotechnology, and allied industries are also shared. Current featured articles are on glucosinolate engineering and cytokine inhibition.
17. Biotechnology Journal
    Can’t make it to the library to read the latest issue or shell out a subscription fee? Then click here to get many issues offering free articles as a PDF. There are also other biomedicine items available.
18. Colorado Bioscience Association
    The CBSA is a not-for-profit corporation providing services and support for Colorado’s growing biosciences industry. Their blog contains news releases, links to articles, and other related information of interest. Maggie Chamberlin Holben of their marketing department has more.
19. Biomedicine on Display
    This is the blog of Medical Museion, University of Copenhagen. They focus on the display of visual and material culture in museums, laboratories, and clinics with a goal of promoting contemporary biomedicine. Materialism was the subject of the latest post.
20. BioSpace
    Finally, stop here to get items on life, science, and the community with the biologist in mind. Top breaking news and featured stories are often included. You can also search by biotech, medical, clinical research, and academic entries.

Best Blogs on Specific Biomedicine

Learn more about a specific area of biomedicine below.

21. The Spittoon
    Get the writings from the pro’s at 23 and Me here. They specialize in using saliva to analyze the nearly one million locations in a person’s genome. Readers of the blog are given a deeper understanding of DNA and related areas.
22. Genetic Future
    So how will all this biomedicine and such affect us in the future? That is the very question that genome researcher Daniel MacArthur strives to answer. Part of Wired Blogs, he focuses on the fast moving world of human genetics and why companies will sell you info on your own DNA.
23. OnBioVC
    But can all this biomedicine talk be used to turn a profit? With a visit to this blog, the answer can be “yes.” They specialize in reporting on bioscience venture capital data.
24. Blog,Bioethics.net
    As with any science, ethics is going to come into play. Get a blog especially for the ethics surrounding biology here. The editors of “The American Journal of Bioethics” use it to inform and discuss more on the subject with the public.
25. Bioethics Discussion Blog
    Because one view on anything ethical isn’t enough, click here. Dr. Maurice Bernstein is a physician and medical school teacher who moderates the discussion. With entries dating back to 2004, make time for tons of bioethics.

No matter if you are a student studying for a PhD or just a fan of science, there is loads to learn on the above 25 best blogs on biomedicine.

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One of the more popular seminars that I present at national meetings is “Interviewing Tips and Insights.” The material that I present has been gleaned from over 25 years of interviewing for jobs. And, not surprisingly, many interview mistakes and guffaws that I point out to participant were made by me during actual job interviews. 

As part of the presentation, I put together a list entitled “The Top 10 Interview Questions That You Hate To Answer.” The list is composed entirely of questions that I have been asked during job interviews. I review the list and offer suggestions about crafting answers to those seemingly mindless and irrelevant questions. However, it is important to note, that while they may seem mindless and meaningless to you, they do offer insights into a person’s personality, ability to think on their feet and problem solving abilities. Consequently, it is vital to consider some the questions that you may be asked and to craft potential answers to them before your next face-to-face.  

To that end, I found a YouTube video produced by Careerbuilder.com that offers examples of frequently-asked interview questions and how NOT to answer them. While the video is hilarious (and a bit over-the-top at times) it offers some good insights and ideas on how to better prepare yourself for those difficult-to-answer interview questions.

 Until next time..

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

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About a month ago, BioJobBlog in association with the JobJob Health Job Board launched the BioJobCenter; an automated job board designed to help persons looking for employment in the life sciences industry. While the site has been well received, we decided to create a widget for BioJobBlog that features the types of job openings that exist @ the BioJobCenter. The widget will allow readers to apply and search for jobs directly from the BioJobBlog website.

The widget is located in the upper left hand side of the BioJobBlog sidebar (in case you haven’t noticed). Job seekers who click on a job title are taken to the BioJobCenter where they can directly apply for the job (after you join the site). Refreshing the BioJobBlog page will display a new list of job openings! If you are looking for specific jobs in specific locations you can search for more jobs by surfing over to the BioJobCenter and conducting a formal job search there. 

In other news, JobJobHealth recently released an iPhone app that allows users to conduct job searches on their phones. The app (JobJobHealth) is available in the iTunes store!

Check it out!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Many of you may know that I started BioJobBlog four years ago. To date, I have posted close to 1300 articles and over 1.5 million people have visited the blog. While the fact that between 65,000-70,000 unique users visit the blog monthly is emotionally gratifying and rewarding, I have been self funding the venture since its inception and my operating expenses have sadly gone up!  This, coupled with my oldest son starting college next fall (and my other son two years from now), I have come to the conclusion that I can’t afford to spend as much time on the blog as I would like. Put simply, I need to focus on paying jobs (not BioJobBlog) that help to pay the mortgage and defray the cost of supporting my family.

To that end, today, I want to formally announce that BioJobBlog is now accepting paid advertising on the site! If you look at the side bar there are (3)-125 x 125 pixel ads and (1)-120 x 240 pixel ads that are available. These ads are part of the OpenX ad network and I hope that the modest revenue generated from the ads will allow me to continue to invest the time and energy necessary to create the content for BioJobBlog.

I haven’t established firm pricing yet but it will be competitive and the first person to advertise will get a guaranteed deal. Contact me for additional information and pricing.

To be clear, the advertising will not affect the content or the point of view on any future posts. Despite my socialist leanings, the bottom line is that putting a kid through college these days costs an exorbitant amount of money. That said, abolishing tenure makes a lot more sense now than it ever has in the past!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Advertising (@BioJobBlog)

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Facebook has over 500 million users and Twitter has close to 175 million who write 95 million tweets daily. Conventionally wisdom suggests that using either of the platforms to advertise or brand a product or service would be a no brainer. However, my experience with paid ads on Facebook (I haven’t tried Twitter yet) suggests that the ROI on using social media to advertise may not be that substantial. There is no question that using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, GroupOn  to build brand awareness or create a buzz about a product or service or to share coupons is extremely useful. But for straight up advertising and click through rates—not so much!!!

I will be the first to admit that I know little about marketing and advertising (although I did take an advertising class as a microbiology major @Cornell). However, the sheer number of users on Facebook and LinkedIn, suggested that I may be able to grow membership @ BioCrowd and promote readership @ BioJobBlog by advertising on these platforms. To that end,  I invested several hundred dollars into advertising campaigns on both platforms. Unfortunately neither campaign had any noticeable effects on enrollment at BioCrowd or readership at BioJobBlog. I attributed the lack of success of these campaigns to my woeful understanding of the arcane disciplines of marketing and advertising —I am a scientist, after all! 

Imagine my surprise (and delight) when I read an article in a local newspaper entitled “More and More Executives Using Social Media to Promote Business” which described several business owner’s experiences with advertising on social media that were identical to mine! Like me, they thought that advertising on Facebook and other social media platforms was so obvious that they couldn’t pass on the opportunity. Also, like me, they were extremely disappointed with the results. For example, a Princeton, NJ-based clothes retailer (which caters to college students) invested $500 on a Facebook ad. While the ad, that offered 20 percent discounts on clothing, received 1 million page views, not a single one translated into a sale! Others described similar experiences. I guess the old saying “misery loves company” may be apt here.

Although some still consider social media to be a passing fan, I strongly disagree. I think that social media is clearly here to stay and has become an essential way in which we communicate with one another. That said, because social media is only about six years old, it may be too soon to determine whether or not advertising on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media platforms can translate into a reasonable ROI. I guess only time (and money) will tell!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

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Medical/science writing is increasingly becoming popular among PhD life scientists are having trouble finding traditional laboratory-based, research jobs. The transition from laboratory research to writing is not an onerous one; especially if you like to write.

As many of you may know, I am a freelance medical/science writer who entered the field about 10 years ago.  Because most freelancers work from home offices, the lack of communication with others can be overwhelming at times. Consequently, many of us subscribe to e-mail-based listservs which allow us to stay in touch with other writers and frreelancers. Most of these medical writing listservs are run and maintained by the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA). In order to access and participate at the listservs, you must be an AMWA member which costs $145 or more per year.

While the AMWA forums are very popular, AMWA officials assiduously monitors them and at times, restricts some of the content that can be posted. For example, members of the 'freelance business only listserv' are strictly prohibited from posting jobs or alerting others to potential freelance opportunities. AMWA officials contends that these posts are inappropriate and disruptive. However, the real reason for the prohibition may be that AWMA operates a separate, fee-based service that allows freelancers to hawk their services.  In other words, allowing  users to mention freelancing gigs or job opportunities on 'freelance business only' listserv, could potentially jeopardize an additional AMWA revenue stream.

Occasionally, freelancers like me break the rules (go figure) and mention "hot" jobs or employers who may be looking for writers. I do this because, as a freelancer, I am painfully aware that my success as a freelancer is contingent upon my ability to maintain a regular, ongoing stream of freelance gigs. Unfortunately, the AMWA officers who monitor the listservs (many of whom are not freelancers), don’t understand this. Consequently, repeat offenders-- like me--have been threatened with financial sanctions and possible expulsion from the listserv.

Because I don't like feeling oppressed and being told what to do, I decided to create my own forum where freelancers can freely exchange information, post jobs, alert others about potential gigs and jobs and generally have an open and ongoing discussion about medical and science writing.  To that end I launched the BioWriters Forum about two weeks ago. The forum is hosted by BioInsights, Inc and is sponsored by BioJobBlog and BioCrowd. The forum is free but membership is required in order to participate. Please check it out and join if you like.

For those of you who decide to join, please feel free to send me any ideas, thoughts, suggestions, kudos, kvetches etc, that you may have.  Enjoy!

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Freelancing!!!!!!!!!

Employers

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The fourth BioConference Live: Clinical Diagnostics meeting will be taking place on October 20-21, 2010.   This online-only, live, interactive virtual event will cover new technologies, best practices and other pertinent topics for Clinical Diagnostics professionals. Registration is free and all interested persons can attend!  The conference is accredited by the ASCLS American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science and Professional Acknowledgment for Continuing Education (P.A.C.E.).

Therapeutic areas to be covered include: Infectious Diseases, Cancer, Diabetes, Allergy & Immunology, Cardiology, Point of Care, Automation, Molecular Diagnostics, Hematology, Laboratory Testing, Stem Cells, Protein Arrays, and Clinical Chemistry.

Some of the featured speakers include:

1. Alan Wu Ph.D., Chief of Clinical Chemistry & Toxicology & Prof. Laboratory Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital and University of California, San Francisco
2. Steven Burrill, CEO Burrill & Company
3. David Persing M.D. Ph.D., Chief Medical and Technology Officer, Cepheid
4. Peter Gilligan Ph.D., Professor of Microbiology-Immunology UNC Hospitals
5. Thomas Goodwin Ph.D., Project Scientist (NxPCM) and Director Disease Modeling & Tissue Analogues Laboratory NASA
6. Steven Binder, Director Technology Development Bio-Rad Laboratories
7. Brad Karon M.D., Ph.D., FCAP, FACB, Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Laboratory Medicine Mayo Clinic
8. Alex Rai Ph.D., Director, Specialty Laboratory, Chief Scientific Officer, Center for Advanced Laboratory Medicine, Columbia University
9. Robert Fitzgerald Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of California San Diego

Login will take place on October 20th and 21st between 9 AM and 6 PM EST.

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Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Learning!!!!!!!!

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I started writing BioJobBlog about three years ago mainly to express my personal views on a variety of topics ranging from science education and career development to happenings in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. At the time, blogging was a relatively new phenomenon (especially in the life sciences space) and I had no idea whether or not anybody would really care about what I thought or had to say. 

Apparently, some people do—last week the number of visitors to BioJobBlog quietly surpassed the 1,000,000 unique visitor mark. I say quietly because I had been assiduously watching my stats (like most bloggers) over the past few months to craft a post as soon as I surpassed the mark. Ironically, I inadvertently took my “eye off the ball” and unknowingly passed the mark earlier this week by about 15,000 page views. Go figure.

I want to thank everybody who reads BioJobBlog and finds my post useful. I know that at times I can be vitriolic and pedantic; but I am who I am and I guess you have to take the bad with the good—or not!

For those of you who may not know, BioJobBlog is self-funded (I have no sponsors or paid advertisers). Because of this, I get to say what I want, when I want and how I want to say it. Hopefully, my financial situation will remain stable so that I can continue to self finance the blog and “tell it the way it is” (or at least how I SEE it).

Finally, I want to thank the readers who send me comments and notes about my posts and the blog in general. Generally, they are helpful, incisive and thought provoking and provide fodder for new posts. With this in mind, if anyone is interested in appearing as a guest blogger at BioJobBlog, please don’t hesitate to contact me! While blogging is often fun and even addictive, it can become extremely tedious and  labor intensive at times.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Reading!!!!!!!!!!

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Emily Johnston of Medicareer sent me a message last night to inform me that BioJobBlog made its top 50 biotech blog list. While I don’t know much about Medicareer (nor does BioJobBlog have a business or financial relationship with the organization) this is a first for the blog and it is quite an honor to be included on the list. I guess spending hundreds of hours over the past three years writing blog posts is actually beginning to pay off!

A quick perusal of the list reveals some very interesting and useful biotechnology blogs that are worth reading. And, surprisingly, there are a couple of blogs on the list that I previously didn’t know about.

Hat tip to Medicareer!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Blogging

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Cliff Mintz, BioCrowd co-founder and the mastermind behind BioJobBlog, is featured today in an online article at the Science Careers website entitled “Life After Rejection.” The piece was expertly crafted by Siri Carpenter, PhD a free lance science writer based in Madison, Wisconsin— coincidentally, the institution that awarded me my PhD. 

Being denied tenure as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology was one of the most devastating events in my professional life. It literally took me over 10 year to come to terms with the implications of the decision. But, I am here to tell you (and in the article) that there IS life after being denied tenure; and in many ways, it is quite liberating. My tenure denial empowered me to explore careers that were previously closed to me as an academician and perhaps, more importantly, to find out who I am and what I really wanted to do with the rest of my life!

Don't get me wrong; it still bugs me that I wasn’t awarded tenure—mostly because being refused tenure implies that you “weren’t smart enough” to make it in academia. Not surprisingly, the “not-being-smart-enough label” doesn’t do much for a person’s self esteem and, many who are denied tenure (including me) tend to view themselves as abject failures in the eyes of their colleagues and friends.

However, looking back, being denied tenure was probably one of the best things that had ever happened to me. Truth be told, I would have been a lousy academic. I am too social and entrepreneurial to have flourished in a system that is rigid, parochial and not conducive to change.  That said, if I sound bitter and a bit envious of those who were granted tenure, you are correct!  After all, who wouldn’t be envious of  people who come and go as they please, don’t have to answer to a boss and are guaranteed a job for life; regardless of their social skills, academic performance or contribution to education?

The point that I want to make is that being denied tenure is an emotionally devastating and traumatic event that nobody ought to experience. However,  if  you should to find yourself in the uncomfortable position of being denied tenure, please remember to continue to believe in yourself, don't give up and, as corny as it may sound, "follow the advice of your heart" when making your next career move!

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!

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Losing a job is a BIG deal whether you were layed off, fired or right-sized out of it. Not only do you have to worry about health insurance, bills and paying rent or making a mortgage payment, you must also deal with a myriad of self esteem and emotional issues that frequently arise after losing a job. While there are many articles and books that describe how to functionally conduct a job search after being layed off, there are only a handful that discuss how to cope with the stress and negative emotions that frequently accompany job loss.

Many people who lose their jobs frequently experience emotions like anger, desperation, hopelessness and even depression. These feelings must be acknowledged and then addressed and managed because they not particularly useful when looking for a new job. Further, when left unattended, these feelings can exact both a financial and an emotional toll on the unemployed.

In this Sunday’s New York Times, Phyllis Korkki, who writes “The Search” column describes how to manage the negative emotions and financial problems commonly associated with losing a job. She also provides tips on how to minimize “the pain” and accentuate the positive after experiencing a job loss.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!

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Many readers have contacted me about advertising on BioJobBlog. To accommodate those requests, I will be offering side bar ads no wider than 196 pixels to interested parties. Please contact me regarding the ad rates.

When I first started BioJobBlog I had no intention of advertising to generate revenue. Unfortunately, blog maintenance costs and the economy have taken its toll on me. I will try to continue to deliver interesting, relevant and uncompromising content to you despite the modest advertising revenue I hope to capture.

Thanks for reading my blog!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting sic Advertising???

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Ever wonder how a drug makes it from the bench to the marketplace and what types of jobs are required to support the process? I created a PowerPoint presentation that describes the activities and the jobs required at each stage of the development process. I also listed the degree requirements that are necessary to secure various jobs from drug discovery through commercialization.

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Earlier this month, Vincent Racaniello and I launched a new social network called BioCrowd. Vincent and I created BioCrowd because we believe that social media has a critical role to play in the evolution of the life sciences and existing 'science social networks' were difficult to navigate or too broad to adequately meet the needs of the bioscience community.

Our objectives are  to promote scientific and business interactions between BioCrowd members and offer advice to members who may be seeking to advance their careers or find jobs. To that end, we decided to create a monthly podcast that will keep network members apprised of all of the comings and goings at BioCrowd.

Please send us your feedback on our very first podcast.  Also, feel free to suggest topics that you would like discussed on future podcasts! 

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Listening!!!!!!!!! 

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Do you ever wonder how popular twitter is or how many followers the average twitter has? Well wonder no more. You can find answers to these questions and more by reading ‘State of the Twittersphere (Hubspot Edition)’ that was recently posted on Tech Crunch.

I started tweeting in earnest about two months ago and I am convinced that Twitter and other microblogging platforms are the next generation of social media tools. So, move over LinkedIn, Facebook and My Space because the Twitterverse is expanding.

BTW, you can follow BioJobBlog on twitter @ BioJobBlog.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Tweeting!!!!!

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I want to let my readers know that a beta-version of BioCrowd is ready for review. For those of you who may not know about BioCrowd, it is a social network for life sciences students and professionals that was created by Vincent Racaniello a Professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and me. 

The reason we started BioCrowd was that Vincent and I both perceived a need for undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to more effectively network with established scientists and life sciences professionals to further advance their careers or find jobs. The social interactivity of Facebook and the business connectivity of LinkedIn are what led to the creation of BioCrowd.

We are looking for a few brave women and men who want to help to beta-test BioCrowd before we launch.  If you are interested, please visit us at www.biocrowd.com and drop us a line.   For those of you who don't want to participate at the moment, but want to learn about our progress, you can follow us on Twitter and FriendFeed ,

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!

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I finally started using Twitter a couple of months ago and I think it is pretty cool. That said, I am still a neophyte and I have yet to master the intricacies and nuances of Twitter speak (why are tweets not called twits?—it was a rhetorical question).

I found an informative post entitled 'My Twittonary-Every Twitter Term and Tool I Can Find' on the Sitemasher blog that helps to clarify the Twitter lexicon and provides insights in the latest twittering tools.

BTW, you can follow me on Twitter at BioJobBlog and BioCrowd.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Twittering (or should that be tweeting?????)

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 Because I am trying to become a social network maven (and I wanted to be cool), joining Twitter was a no- brainer.  I have used Twitter for over two months now and I still haven’t figured out why people use it. I frequently post Twits or Tweets (whatever they are called) and I rarely get any responses, even when I direct the questions to some of my followers. Would somebody out there be so kind as to tell me what I am doing wrong or how to use Twitter correctly?

BTW, my new Twitter nick is: BioJobBlog—please follow me and make a social networking neophyte very happy!

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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The summer is drawing to a close, it is Labor Day and I decided it was time for a break.  Despite the title of this post, I am not really on a fishing trip.  Instead, my wife and I decided to take the family on a "moosing " trip in Maine.  Moose have a special place in my family mostly because of my daughter's affection for  moose toys, you know what I am talking about.

While she has an extensive moose collection, she has never seen a moose in the wild. That said, we decided to take a trip to Maine (the land of moose)  after reading about a moose cruise offered by a resort located on Moosehead Lake in northwest Maine.  Although the ten hour car ride was a bit of a schlep, a trip to Maine is always worth the effort.

I am happy to report that we spotted several moose on the cruise including an extremely large bull moose with incredible antlers, a female and two calves.  Although I have seen many moose in my time, there is something very special about seeing moose in the wild with the entire family in tow.  The only family members who didn't share the experience were Sandy (the Havanese being cared for by friends in NJ) and Moose (yes, that is his name) our rescue dog of indeterminate breeding who had to stay back in the log cabin overlooking Moosehead Lake.

I promise to make it back to NJ to continue blogging about jobs, career development and biotech news.  Also, please remember that Vincent Racaniello and I are launching our bioscience social network BioCrowd in mid to late September.  So, if you want to be part of the BioCrowd, please join today!

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