In the continuous effort to become more of a well rounded and marketable employee, it is important to take time and reflect on how I can improve not only to increase my own level of expertise in my field, but be able to collaborate and benefit others in adjacent roles wherever I go to work. There is undoubtedly value in being able to communicate and collaborate outside of my field work, but doing so is a skill that is not particularly stressed or worked on while taking classes as an undergraduate. So the question is, how DOES an undergraduate looking to join the workforce develop these skills and habits prior to going in for an interview? I want to reflect here on what areas I can and should venture to improve upon for my own personal development, as well as a resource for each skill that can directly aid in that development.
I want to address first the three skills that I believe I can develop to broaden myself and my horizontal stroke to be more of a T shaped employee. I understand that being a T shaped employee is particularly valuable as compared to an I shaped, in that I shaped individuals do carry a lot of expertise but fail to apply this knowledge to other areas and goals outside of their direct line of focus. This tunnel vision is usually not a benefit to themselves or anyone else on their tam, or the teams working around them. I am someone who has a tendency to have this tunnel vision because I am so excited and passionate about exactly what I want to study, and anything outside of that tends to feel less applicable and a deviation from my long term goals to be an expert in my field. That being said, I am slowly coming around to the idea that being interdisciplinary and developing good communication skills is going to be important for a fulfilling career and being able to get one in the first place in this job market. So far my first skill I would like to develop is my interpersonal communication, as that is something I have always struggled with as an individual. I try to be empathetic to everyone and how they work, learn, and do things, but I still find myself having trouble instinctively having this insight when conversing with others. A way that I would be able to potentially increase this ability would be to go to an online resource such as:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LJhiXOlYl4. A second way in which I can improve my horizontal stroke would be to gain experience with a new lab, as I would need to interact with a new team and principal investigator on research outside of the field I have previously studied. A way to do this would be to look for new REU opportunities through a website such as :https://new.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/reu/search?f%5B0%5D=reu_research_area:25735.
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| Image from Indeed.com. The work of a microbiologist by training can be applied and expanded upon in other fields and labs but the experience to do so through and REU opportunity would be invaluable to becoming a more well rounded employee and scientist. |
Finally, I could also take a course or get a certification in order to increase my ability in another subject that I think could apply to my degree in an interdisciplinary manner. For instance, as a molecular biologist, I have some experience working in bioinformatics but it would probably be helpful to develop my technology skills in the realm of coding and computer science so that when working with individuals in that field I can partially understand how they work and what they would need from me. A certification I could pursue would be something akin to https://www.codecademy.com/.
On the other hand, three skills that I feel that could increase my value within my current field are easier to identify. For one, going to graduate school and pursuing a higher degree beyond my bachelor's would definitively increase my skills and knowledge of molecular biology and make me a more marketable employee in terms of expertise. A way to apply to graduate programs and research which one is right for me would be https://www.graduateschool.edu/ . Secondly, I could take more classes outside of the ones required for my bachelor's degree, including something like a certification specifically in bioinformatics since that is not a particular focus area that I am required to undergo but I know is critical for future research. A course I would be interested in taking that would help with my biological data analytics would be a certification in Python https://pythoninstitute.org/pcep. And lastly, to increase my level of expertise I would benefit from attending a conference to intermingle with peers in my field, as well as attend their talks to learn what the rest of the scientific community is doing outside of my lab, which is critical to conduct good science and apply their knowledge to projects I am working on. A conference I would like to attend would be https://asm.org/events/asm-microbe/home.
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| Image from the American Society of Microbiology. ASM Microbe is an international annual gathering that discusses the new and exciting research of microbiologists all over the world, with nearly infinite resources and opportunities to expand within in the field. |
The goal of this semester, which is to gain experiential learning through opportunities and connections here at ASU West campus, I believe will contribute to my development as a T shaped employee. This will happen by the direct interaction with principal investigators that are outside of my field, as I don't believe I would even be exposed to any of these individuals through my courser requirements. I hope to be able to sit in on lab meetings and have elevated conversations with other scientists about their research, and hopefully gain a new understanding but even more so a an appreciation for not only what they do but for what I do and why I want to do it. I think I have gotten very comfortable in the lab I have experience in for the last three and a half years, and so getting out of my comfort zone into a new environment would be healthy and broaden my horizontal stroke in ways I likely would not have considered before that experience.
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