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It was my third time attending a Biennial Conference on Chemical Education, and this one was held was at my alma mater, so I had some idea of what to expect. It was, however, my first time attending a conference with a 5-week old infant in tow, so I was very nervous about how that might impact my experience at the conference. Would Matt nap while I attended talks, or would he fuss and cry? Would I be able to find places to feed and change him with the frequency that a newborn requires? What would my colleagues think? Since becoming a parent seven years ago, I have been trying to navigate questions like this. I don’t have all the answers, but my experiences have taught me four lessons that I would like to share with you.
By David Wren
Conferences are many things to many people. They can be both exciting and stressful, a lot of work and a lot of fun. Conferences can be expensive, when registration, travel, food and lodging are all factored in. So how do you maximize your conference experience? We (Younger Chemistry Education Scholars) asked 22 experienced conference-goers for their tips on how to get the most out of a conference. We are excited to share with you the results of this informal survey and hope you find their sage advice beneficial! So, before heading to your first or next conference, here are some pro-tips on getting the most out of your time at a conference.
by David Wren and Sonia Underwood
Introduction:
Congratulations! You worked hard and finished your degree and are now ready to put all your dedication and hard work to practice. In other words, you need to get a job. A real one. Scanning through pages of ambiguous job postings, you are not sure what jobs entail, what are the qualifications (what does “or related field” really mean, anyway?), and how to filter those for which you can be competitive. Added to the fish-out-of-water feeling, you may have other restrictions of location or coordinating a job hunt with a significant other (see “Navigating the Two-Body Problem”). Applying for jobs can be daunting, especially when you are in the middle of finishing up your Ph.D. program, post-doctoral fellowship, or teaching 5 classes a semester. Your application writing will most likely not happen in a nice coffee shop during the morning, but at night, while your friends/significant other are laughing at the new season of Orange is the New Black. But there is good news! Actually, two very good bits of news for you. Good news bit one: your degree sets you apart from most applicants, which is HUGE in the screening process. The second bit of good news is there is a process that can maximize your success in your job hunt (see below).
by Jordan Harshman
Fresh from graduate school, I was really looking forward to my first shot at teaching at the University of Iowa. Being a visiting assistant professor was finally my time where I could exercise autonomy and teach the class how I wanted to teach it. No more being a teaching assistant where everything was prescribed for me, no more asking anyone else “is it okay if a student does x, y, or z?”
If you see a fork in the road, take it!
As a beginning researcher wondering how I was going to make anything out of my interest in chemistry education, the international travel award from the CHED International Activities Committee was just such a fork. And boy, am I glad I took it!
by William Marmor, Rochester Institute of Technology
An Unexpected Beginning
So many people wonder how the influential and prestigious men and women of the world end up where they are today. Who would not want to be successful and admired for years of hard work finally paying off. For some it happens, accepting a Nobel Prize in front of your family, friends and that one high school teacher who never believed in you. As you reach out and grasp that medal a grin comes across your face as cameras flash and an applause erupts! Then, the sound and lights instantly disappear as the medal shoots out of your hand. Your grin slips away and your eyes open wide, as only the sound of the shower head fills your ears. Groggy and tired you bend down and grab the bar of soap, once a gold medal, off the shower floor. Brought back to reality, you can’t help but enjoy the day dreams of an early morning shower. Time to get ready for work.
by David Wren, Assistant Teaching Professor & Director of the Chemistry Center at Wake Forest University, Department of Chemistry
Congratulations, you have a “real” job in academia. Prepare for the crushing weight of expectations, doubt that you really belong in front of the class, and unmatched excitement that you have finally “made it”. My first year teaching at Wake Forest University was the most difficult year of my life. It was also one of the most exciting. What I expected to be hard was much easier than what expected to be easy. Here is my autoethnographic study of my first year of as a new faculty member in a Chemistry department.
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