Summer Conference Blues

(Warning: Major #FirstWorldProblems grumbling ahead...regularly-scheduled content resumes tomorrow)

I want to go to a conference. Very, very badly.

It's been some time since I've met my scientific brethren to talk, dine, listen, exchange ideas, and play random pickup sports.

I miss you all terribly!

I've never actually been on one.* Would love it.
Source: Forbes.com

Young professors stew in that perfect mix of nerves, excitement, and exhaustion as they're expected to fly here and there to give talks, consult, and generally build their tenure case. Big Pharma, too, makes a point of sending their best out into the world to scope out new drug leads or build academic connections for future hiring.

Tiny companies? No travel budget. No conferencing. Do not pass Go, don't collect that per diem.

It's a Catch-22 of sorts - Without conferencing, you don't meet new folks who could potentially get you the kind of jobs that would send you to conferences. Rinse, repeat.

So, dear readers, I'm wondering: Does anyone know of industry awards one can apply for for travel / registration assistance? I'm aware of ACS' Young Investigator Symposium, and I think some industry-types get invited to Lindau.

Help me think of a few more?

*To clarify, I've never been on an Airbus, or flown to a posh international destination. I've certainly been on planes enough, see: job search.

#Chemjobs: Fellowship Freefall

Back in graduate school (*cough* ages ago), I distinctly recall looking forward to the annual announcement of the Division of Organic Chemistry (DOC) Graduate Fellowships. The competitive awards, which require advisor recommendations, essays, and a pretty slick research record, granted the lucky few a full year's stipend along with travel funds to attend the National Organic Symposium.

When I clicked for the 2012-2013 crew, I felt something was missing...where's all the fellowships? I counted only eight grantees. Not to condemn them; their research certainly merits the award, but didn't the DOC used to give out a whole pile more?

In a word: yes. Here's the historical data for the grantees, taken from this website. 

Talking points:

1. Lines, lines: It's not an accident that the trend mirrors the overall economy generally, and employment in Big Pharma specifically. Note the huge uptick in awards between 1997 and 2001, when the average was ~18 per year. Boom times. It's since settled down to just about 8 annually, around the average of the recession-era '80s.

2. Visits: Those last seven years (2006-2012) match the corresponding decline in corporate recruiting (see MIT, Harvard graphs via Chemjobber).

3. Strange birds: Since graduate school enrollment has dramatically increased, at the same time as fellowships have decreased, these awards become even more prestigious, if only by dint of rarity.

4. Peak Perfection: Let's look at the top year: 1997, when 19 fellows were named. Who sponsored the awards? Take a trip down memory lane...

Wyeth-Ayerst

Abbott

Pfizer

DuPont Merck

Hoescht-Marion Roussel

Org Syn (x 3)

Organic Reactions

Boehringer Ingelheim

Zeneca

Bristol-Myers Squibb

Procter and Gamble

Pharmacia-Upjohn

Eli Lilly

Smithkline Beecham

Merck Research

Rohm and Haas

Schering-Plough

Wow, how many of those guys even exist anymore? Contrast this list with the 2012 crop:

Merck / Division of Organic Chemistry

Org Reactions / Org Syn

Genentech

Boehringer Ingelheim

Org Syn (x 2)

Amgen

Troyansky (family endowment)

Pretty slim pickins.

5. Winners? Losers? Some auspicious names have been missing from the DOC Fellows' list in recent years: Harvard, MIT, Scripps? Actually, the trend improves for state schools, with 5/8 in 2012 going to the public universities. Compare this to 1995 ("boom times"), when the list included Harvard (x 2), Stanford (x 2), Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, MIT, Yale, USC, Chicago, and the publics represented by Berkeley (x 2), Wisconsin (x 2) and Utah.

Note: Thanks to Chemjobber for the inspiration.
Update (11/8/12) - Fixed USC, not a public uni! Thanks, Anon commenter...also Chicago..

Pharma's 'Four Horsemen' - Small Companies Benefit

As the economy struggles to escape recession, many incentives of the "stable corporate job" once taken for granted have disappeared. Eight-hour work day? Nope. Full benefits, perhaps with retirement? Nowhere I've worked. Flexible work hours, or the ability to vacation without checking email? Don't even think about turning off that cell phone!

Yeah, some days. Only, with a lab coat.
Source: SciAm Blogs / istockphoto

I'll admit, I had spent some time in pharma when it seemed to have no upper limit: company parties, annual bonuses, guest lecturers, the whole enchilada. But nowadays, with news of mass layoffs at every major chemistry firm, and certain sites closing altogether, I've had the discussion several times about whether we'll ever see salad days again.


One of my ex-'Big Pharma' contacts forwarded along a cheery little document from Cliff Ennico, a lawyer who appears to specialize in small business and entrepreneurship. He had visited their campus to suggest potential career routes for laid-off employees. The tract essentially advocates for self-reliance through small business ownership, skill development, and networking. But his ideology caught me off guard: he compares current corporate practice to the Apocalypse! 


Here's Ennico's "Four Horsemen of Corporate America:"


Computers - If your function can be automated, you might be next on the chopping block.


Overseas Competition - China and India are specifically mentioned, which segues to...


Outsourcing - Well, if you haven't sent med-chem work to CROs, or offshore, you're in the minority. For another example, consider the contract positions seen on ACS Careers (three months, really?)


Overwork - Quoth the paper: 

"Big corporations these days are obsessed with 'maximizing productivity,' which often translates [to] 'getting the maximum amount of work out of your employees for the minimum amount of compensation.'"

"Hang on . . .which one of us was Outsourcing, again?"
Source: photobucket.com, user: the_pug

So, all doom and gloom, right? Well, maybe so, maybe not. After mass 'Big Pharma' layoffs, small companies - like mine - tend to benefit from an influx of well-trained, poised people ready to try something new. And while the hours are still long, and the pace hectic, it's both humbling and exhilarating to watch something grow from the ground up. Best part? They'll need you to "pinch-hit" on a variety of projects, which imparts some job security.


New grads, post-docs: Make sure to think 'small' when filling out those job applications. It's stressful, sure, but well worth the effort.