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How to Get a Job in a Government Lab

H. N. ChengJune 2, 2014

11th National Graduate Research

Polymer Conference

“The key is not the will to win…everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important” (Bobby Knight)

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• What does the future hold for us?

• Preparation for the future job market

– Skills and knowledge

– Planning and strategy

– Understand the jobs in question

• Methods to get a government job

• Summary

Outline

Trends and Challenges

• Fewer chemistry jobs in the United States– Large corporations decrease emphasis on research

• Chemistry enterprise globalized– Job loss, Out-sourcing

• Chemical product commoditization

• Persistent negative public perception towards chemicals and the chemical industry

• Disciplinary boundaries blurred - Multidisciplinarity

• Budget deficits and demands on government finances, which constrain investment in science and engineering

• Polymer science is still OK. Industrial base is still healthy

3

Employment in the chemical industry (BLS data)

HNC-5Source: ACS Starting Salaries Surveys

Changing Size of Employers:Employment of Chemistry Grads in Industry, by Size of Company:

1990-2003

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90 92 94 96 98 00 02Small Employer Large Employer*Small Companies=Less than 500 employees

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Job Trends in the U.S.

• Small businesses are increasingly hiring more people. – Small businesses (those with less than 500 employees) hired

almost as many new grads as the large companies.

• Biotech and Pharma are popular until recently– Among the manufacturing-related jobs, 50% of the ACS members

younger than 40 are currently working in biotech or pharma

• Scientific and engineering services sector is growing

• Economic activity and growth in Asia Pacific– Rapid increase in R&D and personnel with advanced degrees– Rapid growth in Asian economy

% Breakdown of ACS members by categories

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Degree Level Bachelor’s Master’s PhD TotalBy Gender

Men 63.6 64.2 73.3 70.2

Women 36.4 35.8 26.7 29.8By Employer

Industry 82.9 68.4 44.1 54.3Government 7.7 7.6 7.6 7.6Academia 8.2 21.8 46.8 36.5Self-employed 1.2 2.1 1.5 1.6

By Race

American Indian 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2Asian 4.0 8.4 12.0 10.1Black 3.5 2.2 2.3 2.5

White 89.6 86.8 83.8 85.3

Other 2.7 2.3 1.7 1.9By Ethnicity

Hispanic 4.2 3.3 3.7 3.7

Data taken from 2013 ACS Employment and Salary Survey

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Steps towards getting a successful job

1. Acquisition of skills and knowledge

2. Planning and strategy

3. Get the Job

- Talent and ability- Training- Social skills- Work attitude

- Self assessment- Focus on target- Grow and change- Excel in your field

- Scope & nature of government jobs- Job openings - Interview skills- Resume writing- ACS resources

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1. Skills and knowledge

• Talent and ability– Memory, speed and retention of learning, problem

solving skills, creativity

• Training– Education, knowledge, experience

• Social skills– Communication, networking, street-smartness

• Work Attitude

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2. Planning and Strategy

• Do a self-assessment (“Know thyself”)• Focus on your target

– Pick technology area

– Pick job function

• Grow and change – Be flexible. Be aware of environmental changes

– Keep learning

• Find an area where you can excel

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2a. Self-Assessment

1. Your gift or lack thereof- creativity - leadership- salesmanship - technical expertise- level of energy - manual dexterity

2. Your philosophy of life- workaholic or laid back- overachieving or underachieving- independence or teamwork- adventure or security

3. Your personality- intuitor, thinker, feeler, senser- people-oriented or task-oriented

4. Your handicaps- Handicaps and possible remedies

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2b. Pick the job type

• Basic Research– National Labs

• Applied Research– ARPA-E, FDA, USDA, EPA, etc.

• Defense related research• Lab support (support scientist, technician)• Non-laboratory jobs

– Administrative, policy, patent, human resources, regulatory, international.

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2b. Pick the technology area

PolymerChemistry

PolymerEngineering

PolymerPhysics

Medicine

Nanotechnology

Biotechnology

Biology

Energy Food & Nutrition

MaterialsComputerSimulation

Electronics

Environment

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2c. Grow and Change

• Be aware of environmental changes– Is my field getting mature?– Am I tired of doing the same thing?– Are there new things I can get into?

• Be adaptable

• Always learn new things– Examples are energy, environment, nanotech, biotech, pharma

• Be open-minded to new opportunities

– Perhaps move to new assignments? New responsibilities?

• Use networking to find out new opportunities

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2d. Excel in your area

• Pick your target area carefully– Pick a technology (or specialty) area

– Pick the agency

• Be the best in your chosen area, e.g., – Best in your agency

– Best in your discipline, sub-discipline, or a sub-field

– Respected among your professional peers.

• Work hard and produce results• Discreetly let others know of your expertise

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Steps towards getting a successful job

1. Acquisition of skills and knowledge

2. Planning and strategy

3. Get the Job

- Talent and ability- Training- Social skills- Work attitude

- Self assessment- Focus on target- Grow and change- Excel in your field

- Scope & nature of government jobs- Job openings - Interview skills- Resume writing- ACS resources

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Government Jobs – good or bad?

• Advantages– For government employees, you get pension and reasonably

good medical insurance– Job security is better than industry– Increasingly researchers are working in teams

• Learn from one another. Collaborate

– Government jobs can be a good transition to academia and industrial jobs

• Disadvantages– Government pay is usually less than industry

• Comparable or slightly better than academia

– Advancement is limited– Mobility is also limited

• Impact on chain of command and field of research

– Limited manpower (in most cases)

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Diversity of Government Jobs

• Different types – Federal, State, Local• Different job status: employees, contractors, postdocs,

and/or temporary workers – Salaries and benefits can vary depending on the contracting

firms, the terms of contracts, and the nature of work– Usually U.S. citizenship is required for employees

• Location varies– Some are consolidated, others are spread out

• Rules and culture can vary a lot– Some labs are research intensive, some are more service-

oriented– The culture can differ at different locations in the same agency

• Different views on participating in professional societies

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Where are the Government jobs?

• Two Federal Labs are well known: NIH and NIST• A list of 39 Federally Funded Research and Development Centers

(FFRDCs) is available at the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federally_funded_research_and_development_centers

– Examples are Department of Energy national laboratories (e.g., Lawrence Berkeley, Lawrence Livermore, Sandia, Los Alamos, Brookhaven, Argonne, and Oak Ridge

• Numerous government agencies operate their own research laboratories. – Examples are DOD, NASA, Department of Homeland Security,

Department of Agriculture (USDA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and intelligence agencies.

• There are many non-laboratory jobs for science majors– A good example is the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO)– Other government jobs may involve policy, administration, human

resources, regulation, etc.

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Finding a Government Job

• Watch for public announcements– Qualified Federal jobs must be posted: www.usajobs.gov – State and local governments have different websites and can be

searched separately

• Go through the “temporary” route– Many labs hire postdocs or contractors. Many of them got hired.

• Establish a track record– Occasionally there is a need for a specific skill. If you have the

skill and are successful in academia or industry, you have a better chance of getting it.

• Network– Very important! You need to be known!

This is a screen capture of www.usajobs.gov. A prospective job seeker can enter specific job parameters (degree level, discipline, grade/salary level, citizenship requirement) and search for available job openings.

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Finding a Government Job

• Watch for public announcements– Qualified Federal jobs must be posted: www.usajobs.gov – State and local governments have different websites and can be

searched separately

• Go through the “temporary” route– Many labs hire postdocs or contractors. Later on, some of them

may get hired as permanent employees.

• Establish a track record– Occasionally there is a need for specific skills. If you have the

skills and are successful in academia or industry, you have a better chance of getting the job.

• Network– Very important! You need to be known!

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Other Methods for Job Search

• Here are some better methods– Be the very best in a field

– Work for a right professor in a right field

– Work in governmental high priority area

– Collaborate with government labs

– Networking with the right people

• Here are some traditional methods– Looking at Want Ads

• E.g., back pages of Chem & Eng News

– Sending out resumes (1/500)

– Filling out an application form

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Resources at the ACS

• Website: acs.org/careers

• Employment services– Career Fair, Virtual Career Fair

• Personalized career assistance– Career consultants, mock interviews, resume review

• Workshops and presentations• Preparing a Resume, interview Strategies

• Charting a Career Path

• Career related publications

• Webinars

• Salary and Surveys– Salary Comparator

• Networking– ACS Network, social media, meetings, socials

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The ACS Polymer Chemistry Division (POLY) website has a special webpage dedicated to Jobs:http://www.polyacs.org/14.htmlThe screen capture is shown above. (You need to be an ACS member to access the page.)

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Finding a job is like shooting ducks

• Your need to have good shooting skills– Acquisition of skills and knowledge

• You need to pick a duck (or a group of ducks)– Choose a lab, but be flexible to change if needed

• The duck is moving. You need to aim the gun at where the duck is going– Follow the trends in your chosen field or lab

• If you miss, try again– Few people get all the jobs that they apply for

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Summary

• The job market is changing and will continue to change – Chemistry is increasingly globalized and multidisciplinary

– Polymer Science is still a good field, with good industrial support

• To prepare for the future job market, you need – To acquire suitable skills and knowledge

– To plan and strategize

– To understand the scope and the nature of the jobs in question

• Several routes to a government job– Watch for open posting

– Consider the temporary route

– Establish a track record

– Network

• Above all, don’t be complacent. Keep working and learning.