You have your education in plant science – what now?
A telling statistic is that five years after receiving a PhD in the United States, only about 1 of 6 recipients has a traditional faculty position. Some of the other 5 may still be seeking such a position, but many of them are gainfully employed in industry, law, venture capital, journalism, teaching, advocacy, or government service.
Because of these many career options and the prognosis that academic jobs will remain in short supply, the Boyce Thompson institute believes that doctoral candidates should be supplied with the multiple skills required for scientific success in the Digital Age. In particular, BTI’s Postgraduate Society encourages graduate students and postdoctoral fellows to learn about alternative career paths, teach community college courses, create communications for public dissemination, and assist with social media. Many BTI postgraduates also learn mentoring skills through participation in the various activities of BTI’s Center for Plant Science Teaching and Learning.
The mission of the BTI Postgraduate Society (PGS)
Our mission is to promote professional development, foster a sense of community, facilitate communication and ensure the representation of postdoctoral associates, graduate students, and technicians at BTI.
The PGS carries out its mission by providing opportunities for the BTI community to interact scientifically and socially and by organizing events that specifically contribute to the professional development of young scientists. Events you can help fund include a distinguished lecture series and the Annual Symposium.
We invite top tier scientists from around the world to speak at BTI and the event is open to the entire BTI community as well as anyone interested in the invited speaker’s work. The Annual PGS Symposium provides the BTI community with an all day event that includes scientific seminars, a PGS poster session, and opportunities to socialize among attendees. This major event focuses on a specific theme each year and is open to all BTI members: students, postdoctoral researchers, scientific staff and faculty, and all support staff.
“BTI has provided me opportunities to work collaboratively with a wide range of scientists to accomplish the research goals of the Cilia lab. These have included collaborations with BTI scientists, especially Lukas Mueller’s and Frank Schroeder’s labs, as well as research groups at other institutions. This has helped me develop the communication skills necessary to effectively engage in research with specialists in a range of disciplines.” - John Ramsey, Research Specialist in the Cilia lab
“Working at BTI has had a hugely positive impact on my career success. I have improved my communication skills through my participation in the Monday Morning seminar series. Through funds provided by the Triad Foundation, I have been able to participate in collaborative projects with other labs at the Institute. These projects have allowed me to explore on innovative areas and techniques that I would not have had the opportunity to work with otherwise.” - Sarah Hind, Postdoctoral scientist in the Martin lab
Contributions are 100% tax deductible and are promptly acknowledged with an email.
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