Navigating the intersections of your life and career

Many important life factors affect our career advancement and choices either continuously or sporadically.

In this section

• Financial resources for professional development

• International resources

• Dual-career resources

• Traditionally underrepresented groups in the sciences

• Balancing and integrating life+career

• Additional sources of support and resources at UMMS

Financial resources for professional development

• The Graduate Student Body Committee offers funds for student professional development activities. Watch your email for announcements of application deadlines.
• Stay in MA funding (for graduate students only) to attend events of technology and business organizations in the region to further your professional development

International resources

• UMMS Immigration Services
• Literacy Volunterers of Greater Worcester
• Brief explanation of the US education system (for more details about teaching in the US see the book "Teaching American Students: a guide for international faculty and teaching assistants in colleges and universities" in the library collection)

Dual-career resources

• Higher Education Recruitment Consortium (HERC) dual career job search tool
• Appointments to discuss strategies for your dual career job search

Traditionally underrepresented groups in the sciences

• UMMS Diversity and Inclusion
• GSBS Diversity Interest Group & Allies (Faculty advisor: Dr. Brian Lewis)
• UMMS SACNAS Chapter & Allies (Faculty advisor: Teresita Padilla-Benavides)
• Keystone Symposia Fellows Program
• National Research Mentoring Network
• Minority Postdoc web portal

Women

• UMass Medical School Women's Faculty Committee - Facebook group
• NEW! AWIS (Association of Women in Science) Worcester Area Affiliate Group 
• The Advancing Postdoc Women Clearinghouse has information about mentoring, career and professional development, and childcare resources available through 46 professional associations and societies
• CareerWISE online coaching, resources, and research to help women in science and engineering (WISE)
• HerStories videos chronicle successful women in science and engineering who have completed their doctoral degrees and progressed into STEM careers, organized by the Common Concern topics (Advisor Issues, Balance, Climate, and Delays).
• The Pregnant Scholar provides an online toolkit for students, postdocs, faculty, and administrators with details on how Title IX protections apply to maternity leave, etc.

Ethnic minorities

• SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Hispanics/Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) Summer Leadership Institute (PhD degree required)

LGBTQ

• Queer @ UMass (QMASS)
• List of local, regional, and national LGBTQ resources from the UMMS Employee Assistance Program
• National Organization of Gay and Lesbian Scientists and Technical Professionals
• Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (oSTEM)
• Equality Maps (including employment legislation and discrimination)
• Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index

Individuals with disabilities

• Accommodations at UMMS
• Job Accommodation Network

Balancing & integrating life+career

• Confidential, free appointments available for students and postdocs
• A PhD survival story from ASBMBToday
• Perspectives on seeing your PhD through to the end from ASBMBToday
• Bruce Alberts on lessons he learned by initially failing his thesis defense from Nature
• For families
  • NIAID offers research supplements to hire a mid-senior level technician to assist primary caregivers who must be away from the lab to help a sick family member.
  • Lab life while raising kids article in Nature
  • On Parenting and Postdoc-ing article from ASCB COMPASS blog
  • National Postoc Association's Family-Friendly Resources
  • Child care resources from UMMS Employee Assistance Program
  • Elder care resources from UMMS Employee Assistance Program

• Six dimensions of wellness
• Mindfulness resources, practice groups and events from the UMMS Center for Mindfulness and their online community portal CFM Home
• Video of Dr. Joanne Kamen's tips and tricks of balancing work and personal life for PhD-trained scientists

Additional sources of support & resources at UMMS

• The cBCD offers confidential appointments to discuss topics related to your career development
• For students: Student counseling services & GSBS Office of Academic Affairs
• For postdocs: Employee assistance program & GSBS Office for Postdoctoral Scholars
• UMMS Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society
• Getting and staying healthy
  • UMMS Farmer's Market Tuesdays, 1-5 p.m., Summer thru Fall
  • Massachusetts Local Food Cooperative (with UMMS pickup site)
  • Work-life & Wellness at UMMS
  • UMMS' Dr. Sherry Pagoto's blog FUDiet