OFF TO A GOOD START

8/31-9/6

This past week, I was able to delve deep into my topic of study, neuroscience. A considerable amount of time during the week was spent researching the field and how it best suited my interests. My findings were specifically targeted towards the career of a neurologist and what that profession entails. After scouring the internet for hours, I was able to learn in depth about my career of choice and came across numerous articles that will prove to be great references as I proceed to interview professionals in the near future. Completing my first (career) assessment for ISM was very beneficial as I learned how neurologists have various paths they can choose to pursue and that there is no one type of work that this occupation is associated with. Additionally, I discovered that the employment outlook for a neurologist is growing at a rate of about 14% per year, which is definitely a positive statistic. The information I absorbed from my research this week allowed me to look into the day-to-day activities of a neurologist and obtain a better understanding of the terminology and background knowledge that is necessary prior to being a successful mentee. I was also able to compile a list of carefully crafted questions to utilize while interviewing professionals. This was a crucial step as it made me consider what I wanted to know more about as the questions I constructed will serve as a bridge to the knowledge I seek to gain.

Here is an interesting report I came across on Medscape while working on my career assessment last week. The responses are from a 2018 compensation report using data from a sample of 20,329 neurologists. This report, in addition to the rest of my research, further solidified my interest in pursuing a career as a neurologist.

Some of my time was also dedicated to further establishing my personal brand and thinking about how I’m looking to present myself as a professional. I looked into resume-building and started thinking about how I can make use of this powerful tool and add a personalized touch to it. I will continue to look at resume designs and by the end of this week, I hope to produce a draft of my resume in a format that highlights my strengths. Another goal I have for this week is to start narrowing down my topic as I begin to work on this week’s research assessment. I also intend to take a look at potential mentors and note where I will have to reach out to in the upcoming week. Even though I am in the initial stages, the work I am doing now is important because it is laying the foundation for the next steps as I continue forth on my journey in ISM and beyond.