Beyond the Thesis With Papa PhD

Filipa Carreira Barbosa – Navigating the International Student Experience

Many of us leave home for grad school, to another city or even to another country. Some end up staying after graduation, some end up coming back home. Being an international student can be an experience in freedom and independence, but the fact that you are far from family and friends may be challenging, especially if you're having problems or difficulties adjusting to a new place, to a new culture.
 In this episode, Filipa Carreira Barbosa will tell us about how she went abroad for her PhD how she coped with the shift and found balance in grad school, and about how she moved back home and transitioned into science communication and science outreach while staying in close contact with scientists in her domain.
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What you’ll learn about in this episode:
The importance of having a social safety net and of keeping in touch with family when studying abroad
How extracurricular activities and disciplines such as mindfulness are important for your mental health
Defining your personal academic goals and staying true to them
The importance of networking when transitioning and when coming back to your country of origin
The value of trying different jobs that interest you when identifying your career path options
This episode's pearl of wisdom:"Work/life is really stressful nowadays, in every field. But if you are doing it (your master's, your PhD, or your current career), it's because you deserve it. And love yourself." 
Filipa's links: www.facebook.com/pg/WonderScience-717698168356113; www.linkedin.com/in/filipa-carreira-barbosa-0b032b/ 
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Support the show on Patreon !
You might also like the following episodes:
Fiona Robinson – Patient education: PapaPhD.com/6
James Bowers – Communication consulting: PapaPhD.com/39
Kelly Bullock – Science illustration: PapaPhD.com/9
Kirsten Sanford – Science communication: PapaPhD.com/13
Launching your podcast?
If you're preparing to launch your podcast, you may be asking yourself what hosting platform to use.
I launched Papa PhD on Bluebrry because I wanted a professional service that would interface with my WordPress website, that would robustly broadcast Papa PhD to all platforms, and that would allow me to grow my podcast in years to come.
And these are the reasons why I'm recommending the Blubrry podcast hosting and syndication platform.
Click on the button below or use the promo code PapaPhDBlue on the Blubrry website to unlock a one month free trial:
Try one free month with Blubrry !
If you are starting a serious podcast project, do consider one of the first podcasting hosts out there, offering state of the art services, including IAB certified statistics, based on years of experience in the podcasting space.
Happy podcasting!

Fiona Robinson – Listening to Your Inner Voice

Imagine swimming 1.9 kilometers, then biking 90 kilometers through the hills of Mont-Tremblant, and then running a half-marathon. It may sound impossible or a task for super-humans... But people like you and me set out to do it, diligently train for months and months, and they do it - they complete an IronMan, or in this case a Half Ironman. And when they do, they push through physical pain, through mental blocks, and trough thoughts of giving up. And crossing that finish line is their prize, bringing them feelings of exhilaration, accomplishment, and empowerment. When you embark on a master's or a PhD, you owe it to yourself to finish and to be empowered by what you learned and by what you accomplished, and to come out stronger for whichever life project you choose to embrace. In this Episode, Fiona Robinson will share her insights on pushing through and on finding a fulfilling professional life outside of academia.
Following a PhD in RNA Biochemistry at Cambridge University and a post-doc in developmental neurobiology/oncology at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, Fiona moved to Montréal and shifted careers into science communication/medical education. Currently she is the Educational Materials Manager in a mid-size international medical not-for-profit, a lead volunteer in the local women's hockey community, and half an IronMan! As Educational Materials Manager, Fiona is responsible for the creation, editing, production, and publication of all of the educational materials of the World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH), an international not-for-profit that serves the global bleeding disorders community. She conducts needs assessments to understand what resources are most needed and then works with volunteer subject matter experts from around the world and local freelancers to create the content, which she then edits and sees through production in up to 6 languages. Equal parts project manager and medical editor, she is continually challenged to ensure that the complex medical content is presented in language that clearly communicates the key messages to the intended audience, which can range from hematologists to dentists to parents of newly diagnosed children. Managing budgets and timelines, volunteers and contractors, and diverse cultural and socioeconomic contexts requires many of the "soft skills" that she developed working in research and, just as importantly, exploring non-research interests during her time in academia.
Join the Papa PhD Postgraduate Career Exploration Group!
What you’ll learn about in this episode:
The value of finding your passion to instruct your career search
How nurturing a rich life outside research can open doors for you later on
Dealing with the uncertainty of the non-academic job market
Defusing the socially awkward/standoffish academic stereotype
The importance of tailoring your CV and of tailor-writing your cover letters to each potential employer and position
Looking around and keeping a job posting scrap-book as a way of identifying potentially fulfilling careers
This episode's pearls of wisdom:
"You don't have to know exactly what your job looks like, or what it is, or what its title is. You have to kind of know what your passion is, what you'd like to be able to do, what you feel like you can do, and then you start looking around for it."
"If you are happy when you're in the lab and you're seeing a result for the first time, and that's making you super happy, that's telling you something. But if you're happy when you're out playing hockey, or when you're editing a paper for a friend, or when you're in the schools purifying DNA from banana for the six-hundredth time, that's telling you something, too, and you have to listen to yourself on that."
Fiona's link: eLearning.wfh.org
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You might also like the following episodes:
James Bowers – Communication consulting: PapaPhD.com/39

Rob Hutcheson – Playing to Your Strong Suits

During grad school, your personal interests and strengths can serve as a blueprint for what comes after graduation and inform the career choices you will make once you’re on the job market. Your personal interests are also key for keeping a healthy balance between work and your personal life, during your studies. In this episode, we will be talking with Rob Hutcheson, who will share his insights and experience achieving balance during grad school and charting his path in his current non-academic career.

Rob Hutcheson is Senior Manager at Certara Evidence and Access, a leading global consultancy specializing in the demonstration of product value for pharmaceutical clients seeking to optimize market access and reimbursement for their products. Before joining Certara, Rob was Senior Medical Editor at IC Axon, an industry leader in the development of pharmaceutical sales force training programs and materials. Rob also holds a master’s degree in neurobiology from MgGill University, and is a Project Management Professional (PMP)certified project manager.

Join the Papa PhD Postgraduate Career Exploration Group!

What you’ll learn about in this episode:
Doing a master’s versus following through to a PhD
Choosing a research subject you love
How staying open to new career opportunities that play to your strong suits can propel you to ever more fulfilling positions
Training and certifications as ways of helping you boost your CV and appeal to potential employers
The importance of going to career fairs and of exploring the job market in your areas of interest
How your university’s career center can help you get a head start for your transition process
Transferable skills – analytical, organizational, and leadership skills – you will carry on with you from grad school
The role of mentors in helping you take career decisions and in learning the skills of a new job
Nurturing a good mentor/mentee relationship through an attitude of openness to learning and to improving on yourself
This episode's pearl of wisdom:
“In the end, it really comes down to what you can convincingly demonstrate you can do to help an organization reach their goals.”
Rob's links: www.Certara.com

Leave a review on Podchaser !


Support the show on Patreon !

You might also like the following episodes:
Clarissa Wright – Publishing: PapaPhD.com/34
Fiona Robinson – Patient education: PapaPhD.com/6
Liliana Vitorino – Industry: PapaPhD.com/31
Tamarah Luk – Entertainment Law: PapaPhD.com/10
Launching your podcast?
If you're preparing to launch your podcast, you may be asking yourself what hosting platform to use.
I launched Papa PhD on Bluebrry because I wanted a professional service that would interface with my WordPress website, that would robustly broadcast Papa PhD to all platforms, and that would allow me to grow my podcast in years to come.
And these are the reasons why I'm recommending the Blubrry podcast hosting and syndication platform.
Click on the button below or use the promo code PapaPhDBlue on the Blubrry website to unlock a one month free trial:

Try one free month with Blubrry !

If you are starting a serious podcast project, do consider one of the first podcasting hosts out there, offering state of the art services, including IAB certified statistics, based on years of experience in the podcasting space.
Happy podcasting!

Mark Roberts – Transferable Skills and Industry Jobs

You don’t embark in a master’s or a PhD without confidence. A trust, a confidence that you can delve into the unknown of a master’s or a PhD project and come out with answers to questions no one has asked before. This confidence is what fueled you so far. And during this time, it has grown with you. It may have suffered some blows, and weakened, now and then, but it has become one of your greatest strengths. Today, we’ll be talking with Mark Roberts about how candidates with master’s and doctoral degrees are valued in the job market, and about how the pressure and challenges of grad school help develop traits that are prized by employers in certain industries.

Mark made the move from academia to industry after completing his PhD in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at Princeton and teaching appointments at Yale and McGill. Since 2003 he has held different employee and freelance positions as a medical writer and editor. This year Mark partnered with former colleagues to found Stratenym, a specialty medical communications firm comprising a network of expert consultants.

Join the Papa PhD Postgraduate Career Exploration Group!

What you’ll learn about in this episode:
Technical writing as a career avenue
The importance of being resilient and pushing through to finish
TA-ing as a way of transitioning from grad school to a job in industry
The number one strength employers see in candidates with a graduate degree – problem solving ability
How listing the skills you exercise for your research and finding jobs where they are vital can help you chart your career path
Dealing with the impostor syndrome
Preparing for job interviews: dos and don’ts
This episode's pearl of wisdom:
“Honestly… Although it may seem a bit scary to leave the university environment that I’ve been in for so many years, when you think about it, when you are in your graduate degree, you have to find a question that nobody in the world knows the answer to, and then you set out to answer that question yourself… Now, that’s pretty brave. So compared to grad school, what I do now is pretty much failure-proof.”
Mark's links: www.stratenym.com; @Stratenym

Leave a review on Podchaser !


Support the show on Patreon !

You might also like the following episodes:
Clarissa Wright – Publishing: PapaPhD.com/34
Fiona Robinson – Patient education: PapaPhD.com/6
James Bowers – Communication consulting: PapaPhD.com/39
Liliana Vitorino – Industry: PapaPhD.com/31
Launching your podcast?
If you're preparing to launch your podcast, you may be asking yourself what hosting platform to use.
I launched Papa PhD on Bluebrry because I wanted a professional service that would interface with my WordPress website, that would robustly broadcast Papa PhD to all platforms, and that would allow me to grow my podcast in years to come.
And these are the reasons why I'm recommending the Blubrry podcast hosting and syndication platform.
Click on the button below or use the promo code PapaPhDBlue on the Blubrry website to unlock a one month free trial:

Try one free month with Blubrry !

If you are starting a serious podcast project, do consider one of the first podcasting hosts out there, offering state of the art services, including IAB certified statistics, based on years of experience in the podcasting space.
Happy podcasting!

Joe Makkerh – Pushing Through Obstacles and Difficulties

You’re finishing grad school, or you’ve just finished. Your project has brought you here and now – it had challenges, victories, failures, obstacles, successes. It has brought you excitement, frustration, exhilaration, anxiety, satisfaction. In it, you have asked questions, tested hypotheses, studied, discussed. But one question may still be unanswered – what comes after? In this episode, you will be meeting a guest that has deep insights to share about going through your graduate studies and about what comes after.


Joe Makkerh is a former scientist, now an entrepreneur working in high-end audio. Since finishing his PhD in cellular and molecular zoology, Joe transitioned from researcher to academic administrator to MBA student to business owner. His academic career has taken him from London to Heidelberg, to Montreal, where he now develops his business.


Join the Papa PhD Postgraduate Career Exploration Group!

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

The highs and lows of going through grad school, post-docs, and industry
The importance of acceptance and resilience in completing a graduate program
Tips on how to keep mentally and physically healthy throughout
The importance of asking for help when feeling lost or discouraged
The value of the transferable skills you keep from grad school and my not be aware of
How the relationships you establish with people around you are the number one asset later in life
This episode's pearl of wisdom:
“Just keep learning, no matter what it is.”
Joe's links: baetisaudio.com

Leave a review on Podchaser !


Support the show on Patreon !

You might also like the following episodes:
Chris Kent – Biotech Startup CEO: PapaPhD.com/11
Élodie Chabrol – Science communication (French): PapaPhD.com/33
Fábio Rosa (PhD student), Gil Costa (scientific illustrator), Patrícia Monteiro (principal investigator): PapaPhD.com/24
Margaret Magdesian – Biotech Startup CEO: PapaPhD.com/21
Launching your podcast?
If you're preparing to launch your podcast, you may be asking yourself what hosting platform to use.
I launched Papa PhD on Bluebrry because I wanted a professional service that would interface with my WordPress website, that would robustly broadcast Papa PhD to all platforms, and that would allow me to grow my podcast in years to come.
And these are the reasons why I'm recommending the Blubrry podcast hosting and syndication platform.
Click on the button below or use the promo code PapaPhDBlue on the Blubrry website to unlock a one month free trial:

Try one free month with Blubrry !

If you are starting a serious podcast project, do consider one of the first podcasting hosts out there, offering state of the art services, including IAB certified statistics, based on years of experience in the podcasting space.
Happy podcasting!

Dana Murchison – Checkpoints in Your Graduate Education

In a space mission, there is one countdown, one launch, one destination, and no place for error or doubt. Grad studies are less like a rocket launch, and more like an expedition into uncharted territory. As such, they are a forgiving endeavour, where you have ample opportunity to reassess and reorient along the way. This week, we will be hearing from Dana Murchison, whose passion for writing and teaching has brought her from experimental science to a vibrant career in science outreach, and who is going to share with us how she steered her way from science at the bench to her current career.


After studies that brought her from creative writing to neuroscience, seasoned with a healthy dose of science outreach, she chose to write up her grad school work as a master’s thesis and relocated to Northern Ontario to join the team at Science North, Canada's second-largest science centre. There, she developed hands-on exhibits and interactive science programming about the human body and initiated and led Science North's series of Science Cafe events, bringing experts and the public together for engaging discussion on a range of current science issues. In 2014-15, she was selected to participate in the Northern Leadership Program, a yearlong intensive leadership development course that accelerated her interest in leading people and developing vision and strategy for science communication. Since 2017, she has worked as Head of Programs at the Canadian Museum of Nature, where she is responsible for the strategy, vision and implementation of live interactive natural history programming designed to educate and inspire the museum's school, public and adult audiences. Dana lives in Ottawa with her husband, a fellow science museum geek; anticipating their first child's arrival any day, they've built up a serious collection of science-y board books.


Join the Papa PhD Postgraduate Career Exploration Group!

What you’ll learn about in this episode:

The end of the master’s degree as a reassessment checkpoint
The importance of taking a step back and ask yourself whether the PhD/postdoc route is a good fit for you
Dealing with self-doubt and feelings of failure when you decide to write up your master’s thesis
The academic research lifestyle
Volunteering as a way to cultivate your extracurricular interests
How to approach potential mentors and the impact they can have at different steps of your journey
How your degree can open doors in the job market
Transferable soft skills you can leverage coming out of grad school
The importance of work/life balance
This episode's pearls of wisdom:
“There were a couple of things like that, that were really surprising to me – like, literally, nobody has ever asked me one time about my publication record since I finished my degree.”
“Don’t be scared to be a little bit audacious about what kind of direction you might be able to go into and to think about what is going to work for you, what is going to resonate for you.”
Dana's links: www.nature.ca; @MuseumofNature; facebook.com/CanadianMuseumofNature

Leave a review on Podchaser !


Support the show on Patreon !

You might also like the following episodes:
Clarissa Wright – Publishing: PapaPhD.com/34
Fiona Robinson – Patient education: PapaPhD.com/6
James Bowers – Communication consulting: PapaPhD.com/39
Kirsten Sanford – Science communication: PapaPhD.com/13
Launching your podcast?
If you're preparing to launch your podcast, you may be asking yourself what hosting platform to use.
I launched Papa PhD on Bluebrry because I wanted a professional service that would interface with my WordPress website, that would robustly broadcast Papa PhD to all platforms, and that would allow me to grow my podcast in years to come.
And these are the reasons why I'm recommending the Blubrry podcast hosting and syndication platform.