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Hey guys!

I'm really sorry that I forgot to reply, but I just wanted to thank you all for your wonderful insight. I'm tagging everyone in the thread as a thank you. I was doing some reading in regards to believing in yourself and positive psychology. A lot of how we think really translates to our reality (I believe). I found an article that best summarizes what I've been reading lately https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201610/how-build-your-belief-in-yourself
I would also like to recommend a book if anyone has time to read it. It's called Growth Mindset by Dr. Carol Dweck. https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0345472322
My sister is starting a pre-med program at WSU and we are both reading this book together as a way to help our mindsets.
Although I wish I had a very indestructible mindset, sometimes it helps to hear from others though, and I'm grateful that this is a very supportive community.

/u/Khem_kid, /u/Pimms_and_Patellas, /u/samariam, /u/skleats, /u/fourcolortheorem, /u/FederalReserveNote, /u/chefsarecursed.

Also /u/prematurealzheimers and /u/knowuow, I was at the one at UCLA :). We might have crossed paths via that web broadcast thing haha

I had a friend in high school in a similar situation. She ended up majoring in medical illustration and now works generating graphics for companies, patents, and trials. She gets to work with scientists and constantly learn new science while still doing graphic design and illustration. My other friends who went with pure graphic design are not really working within their fields (this is >10 years after BFA or MFAs).

When I studied anatomy & physiology I aced every exam thanks to an anatomy coloring book (they have a ton of options now). A nice set of colored pencils and one of these books might be a way to introduce her to the possibility of melding her interests and gifts :)

Maybe you can encourage her to get a science minor and join an engineering/science club. Building things in engineering is so much like creating things in art. College interns in my lab who had crafty hobbies growing up (mostly girls) far outshine those who didn't. Since she's already tutoring she might enjoy getting involved in science outreach to elementary/middle schoolers. Most STEM clubs have a component of outreach. Once she's spending some time with science majors things might click for her, or maybe she'll see that science is more of a hobby interest. If nothing else a minor will help her get graphic design jobs her peers can't.

Since you are in STEM yourself, you could try doing a project together for something like Intel Science Talent Search. The winners generally intern in ridiculous university programs, but even having entered a project is a huge huge accomplishment. She could research the question of science in art history, make a display for a local museum, make her own polarized light art, etc.

The important thing, I think, is that she knows she is capable in STEM, so she can always return to it after whatever other career paths she explores.

Hope that all helps a bit and good luck :)

Stop second-guessing your choice of major. Keep your eyes on what you actually want, and remember that the steps along the way will all build there eventually. Check in on your plans when you're picking classes each semester, to make sure you're still on course and still want that ultimate goal. The REU and some lab time will all help.

Try reading some science-related books, not actual science but stuff about scientists themselves or stories about specific scientific discoveries. Like The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Double Helix, Eighth Day of Creation, The Disappearing Spoon, and Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman. Your school should have copies of most of them, and they aren't textbook-heavy (though not quite as light as fiction novels).

Don't forget to stay at least a little rounded. Someone on just about every recruitment weekend for grad school will ask about your hobbies. I'm pretty sure they're required to do so :) Or you'll discover you and your interviewer both do ceramics and can chat about that, leaving a stronger impression than if you were yet another person talking about science. It's good to be done with the requirements, but make sure you keep up something outside your major, even if it's just ultimate frisbee.

LIST INCOMING:

I'm so in love with this range of books: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Botanicum-Welcome-Museum-Kathy-Willis/dp/1783703946

I guess they're kids books but the illustrations are just beautiful and I actually got the postcard set for the botanical illustrations, and I'm going to have them framed for my house. I adore plant illustrations in this style.

Another one I love is: https://www.amazon.com/Resurrectionist-Lost-Work-Spencer-Black/dp/1594746168

The story is a bit average but the illustrations are so cool, I love anatomical illustrations and mythical beasts.

These two are also amazing: https://www.amazon.com/Where-Why-How-Illustrate-Mysteries/dp/1452108226 and https://www.amazon.com/Who-What-When-Illustrate-Sidekicks/dp/1452128278/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1452128278&pd_rd_r=RRYE5GWH9BWS2TPVV31X&pd_rd_w=K7qR6&pd_rd_wg=Mxunj&psc=1&refRID=RRYE5GWH9BWS2TPVV31X

I totally cried my eyes out over this one: https://www.amazon.com/Radioactive-Marie-Pierre-Curie-Fallout/dp/0061351326

And the illustrations are just so beautiful. Her story is just tragic and she was so brilliant.

If you wanna cry for a couple of years, this one: https://www.amazon.com/Laika-Nick-Abadzis/dp/1596431016

I guess not strictly about the science but there's a good amount of space related information and science tangential stuff, and its just such a beautiful book that I couldn't not recommend it. The final page is basically seared onto my memory forever :c

I'm utterly obsessed with this book: https://www.amazon.com/Sick-Rose-Disease-Medical-Illustration/dp/1938922409

ITS SO INTERESTING, its mostly medical diagrams and descriptions (I obviously have an aesthetic).

I highly recommend reading this book as it talks extensively about this very question thoroughly in a way I cannot
http://www.amazon.com/Lean-In-Women-Work-Will/dp/0385349947

I listened to the audiobook since I'm such a multitasker these days but however you can ingest it, I think it may help to get advise from someone who did the work/raising kids balance (very) successfully. IMO, don't put your career on the backburner since research shows this will help with long term happiness and even marriage success. This goes without saying, but your career is just as important as his

By the way, employers are not allowed to hold it against you for being a mother, this is a form of discrimination you are (legally) protected from (but may still encounter). Look up Family Responsibilities Descrimination

I'm in the humanities so it's a whole different ball game in many ways, but you might look at 'The Academic Job Search Handbook,' it's got examples and advice for all the various things you have to write for your dossier (research plan, teaching statement, cover letter etc etc etc, with examples from multiple fields including social and hard sciences) and I've found it invaluable. Also, do not underestimate your school's career services office - my school did a practice interview with me and went over my dossier with a fine-toothed comb.

PS I finished my PhD in May and am now happily employed in academe, so it can be done, good luck! :)

Edit: might as well give you a link to the book ;)

Almost anything by Oliver Sacks is fantastic. On The Move was great. I listened to it as an audiobook in lab. Very motivating!

Not a new release, and I know there is some controversy, but I loved The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

Middlesex. Fiction, not a new release, but a great story with some science mixed in (I may be biased because I happened to be reading this while taking developmental biology and learning about sex determination).

Excel does not make publication quality graphics. I recommend Matlab or matplotlib (python) whenever I review papers with Excel figures in them.

> How did you learn the best way to organize and present your data in your publications?

Cleveland's book is a good start. Although he is is maybe a little too austere. But in general, better to have too little ink than too much.

thanks, there's tons of info to check on, yea the limited impression & assumption i had made was based on a subset of data, and that may have given me a certain bias, and i should find out what the full picture is one day, tho things would've changed, so would never be able to get an accurate picture of the past. as an aside, everything significant is relevant to me, i just cant state billion of things into one post, and that's interesting, and im sure others would find that interesting also

just to clarify, 'what were the most impactful factors throughout history' is about everything and anything and is not necessarily or exclusively or only about policy-related stuff; in fact the answer may not even mention anything about policy. the example given was just an example and was not meant to bias anyone into one context or another completely different context

to come to good conclusions, we need all the relevant examples and all the relevant cases and all the relevant info, and most especially, we absolutely need the sources, because many sources are biased and flawed in many ways. we need reliable sources that's going to be the most important thing of all

we should always keep in mind (at least when we care about the root/real/main answer) the difference between:

2. evidence - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levels_of_evidence

3. data (flawed or not)

1. guesses (1-99%) - https://www.khanacademy.org/math/statistics-probability/probability-library
   
   
2. & absolute confirmation & certainty (100%) - physics? https://www.edx.org/course/subject/physics
   
   there's a very very large difference, and that's for anyone in science, or not
   

I've always enjoyed Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman, and I think it's great for non-scientists. It's essentially a collection of short stories, which could be nice for quick reads or just before bed.

I really like The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. One of Tufte's principles is that you always want to maximize the data-ink ratio to keep your figures clean, informative, and easy to read.

Personally I use MATLAB for figure generation and Adobe Illustrator to put panels together, annotate, and add transparency.

Another pro tip is that you always, always, always want to work with vector graphics. If a journal requires raster graphics make sure that conversion is literally the last thing you do to your figures.

I think it can be, and there is a rich history in psychological philosophy of declaring behavior a subject matter in its own right.

But, the psychological sciences are unique in that they are "loopy;" scientists, who behave, seek to understand the behavior of others. And this understanding reflects back on society, giving us new ways to view behavior, which in turn changes our behavior. So, yeah, there is always going to be bias. (This is not my idea, but Louise Barrett's, who wrote this book.

But, we have to remember that there has always been this bias, and we have progressed greatly anyway.

If you're interested in the study of behavior through a very pragmatic way, "behavior is a subject matter in its own right," I suggest you check out [radical behaviorism] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_behaviorism#Natural_science), just to give you an idea about how behavior can be viewed as a natural science. (Note: no, the behaviorists aren't dead, and every day the view is given more and more credence).

I am finishing a masters in environmental toxicology in the fall. My undergrad is in environmental science and chemistry. I'm starting a PhD in toxicology next year.
I'm not sure what you want to know in terms of my experience.. I think tox is a really great interdisciplinary field that has a place for everyone. One thing that worried me going into the program is that I didn't have much of a biology background but I found it easy enough to keep up. Most people in my cohort have general biology or ecology undergrad degrees.
Some courses I took required animal testing (with fish) as did my research project. I think this very much depends on the program you choose and the type of research you do.

I recommend this book to anyone thinking about grad school: http://www.amazon.com/Getting-What-You-Came-Students/dp/0374524777

You can get flats that cover the top of your foot. I wear these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071ZRLHXF/ (but there’s lots of similar designs)

Black sneakers are also common.

At my work any shoe is ok as long as all skin is covered (like with socks) most non-labby people wear lab inappropriate shoes and keep socks and even shoes in their desk for lab work.

I prefer jeans and wear them because it’s ok in my current role but I have slacks from land’s end that I wear as needed. Any business casual blouse should be fine if your lab coats button up to your neck but otherwise you want to be careful about showing skin below the neck as that would be a horrible place to spill acid. Happened to someone I know.

If you are good at accounting and you are willing to learn and study, you can find a way to make sense of math. I've met more than a couple women who considered themselves bad at math when they had just had a couple bad teachers/experiences along the way. It's probably going to be as tough to change your mindset about what you are good at as it will be to actually learn the material.

Not sure of advice in detail, but you might try reading this: http://www.amazon.com/Calculus-Diaries-Weight-Survive-Apocalypse/dp/0143117378