Hello fellow NMR enthusiasts,
It's time to plan for the AMMRL meeting at the ENC in Miami. In talking with Rich Shoemaker, Karen Ann Smith and Josh Kurutz, a couple suggestions were made. Small discussion groups have worked well for us to share information and suggestions. Some suggested topics include:
Cryoprobes/cold probes,
Magnet moves,
Maintaining last century's spectrometers,
The aftermath of stimulus money: managing new instrumentation with existing staff
And other topics are welcome.
To my knowledge, we have not discussed a couple career related issues: qualifications and career paths. To this end, I would like to pose a couple questions and request any comments and feedback. If there is interest, I would like us to address these topics at the AMMRL meeting.
Qualifications:
Speaking from the academic side, different departments have different NMR needs. A biochemistry dept or a chemistry department with emphasis on protein science will undoubtedly require an NMR Facility staff with expertise in running multi-dimensional protein NMR experiments (and software for structure determination). Chem depts with emphasis on small molecule synthesis will require expertise with, well, small molecule NMR, 1D's homonuclear 2Ds and 1H-13C 2Ds. Larger departments or university wide service centers may require both small molecule and protein experience as well as solids (particularly if there is an engineering school on campus). Knowledge of hardware is another story and that can vary across the board depending on electronics expertise on campus. Experience working in a facility seems to be a plus- many of our NMR TAs go on to jobs in NMR Facilities. What other attributes help a job candidate stand out? What do you look for when hiring a staff member in your facility? What attributes are required for a successful career as a facility director? (And what does "successful" mean?)
My colleagues outside of academic institutions face their own requirements. I'm tempted to make the analogy between chemical industry and traditional chemistry departments (and between the pharma industry and biochemistry departments) and conclude specific experience matters. Do those of you in industry emphasize different traits than academic institutions do when hiring NMR staff? With presumably different needs to justify service contracts, is there less of a need for hardware experience in industry? What attributes are required for a successful career as a facility director? (And what does "successful" mean?)
The same questions apply to those of you in national labs. Any comments?
Career Paths:
Myself and other facility directors at UNC-CH have wrestled with this concept. One director put it this way: we are hired as a facility director and retire as a facility director. On the surface, that's not much of a 'path'. Some of you have made the transition from 'staff' to 'faculty'- often as research assistant/associate professors. In industry, I often hear about scientists faced with deciding whether to progress down the research and development route or taking the leap into management (no puns intended). Must we start as facility directors and retire as facility directors? And if so, surely there are recognizable landmarks along the way (publications, participation in research grants, instrument grants, facility moves, etc). In academe, is a transition from staff to research assistant/associate professor expected? Is progression through executive ranks more of the norm in industry? If so, should we encourage students interested in working in facilities to take management courses? What career advice would you give to the "rare" student (we are a unique breed aren't we? :) ) interested in an NMR Facility Career?
Any and all comments are welcome!
Marc
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Marc ter Horst, PhD
NMR Facility Director
UNC-CH Employee Forum Vice-Chair
Caudill Laboratories, 056
Department of Chemistry
131 South Road
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3290
e-mail: terhorst_at_unc.edu
NMR Lab: (919) 962-1149
Office: (919) 843-5802
Department fax: (919) 962-2388
Received on Mon Mar 05 2012 - 11:24:50 MST