[Sticky] Forum Rules

Thank you for stopping at The Bio Careers Forum. We have plenty of experts on hand to answer your questions!

This community has existed for more than 25 years, having been developed by Dave Jensen on the original Bio.com website for many years before moving to the AAAS website, ScienceCareers.org. Now, we're very pleased to be hosted by Bio Careers, and the forum will soon be bigger and better than ever. We've got some terrific advisors who are moving over with us, and we'll be soon adding another couple of new advisors, all in the hopes of getting good information for you whenever you post a new question (or "topic" as we call them here.)

There are a few rules of the road that have been around these 25 years, and which have always served us well. Please give this a quick read, and if you ever have an issue with getting a new topic up and running, come back and you may see why in this short list of "rules" . . .  Thanks to all of you for your support. Please tell your colleagues and lab mates about our site.

- First and foremost . . . do not use goofy nicknames or "handles" here. Pick a name, any name, completely anonymous is fine. "Bill Smith" (assuming anonymous) is far preferred over "Spidey8764." We'll also be fine with a set of initials, such as DGJ, JS, etc. We will delete your account if you use a goofy nickname and not a real name. Consider this like an ongoing conference on careers at your University. Do you think that you'd be allowed a name tag with "Spidey8764" on it at an in-person professional meeting? No way -- and same thing here.

- Please do not post commercial references or links to commercial websites. If you write a blog that you would like to refer others to, feel free to post a link. But if you've got a company's blog or website to promote, do not put it up here. Similarly, the site will not post commentary or advice from commercial posters who use a signature file to close their message. 

- Be courteous. If you disagree, tell us why, but please don't attack the person who put up the commentary you disagree with. There will be plenty of disagreements, but no squabbles on this website. Keep it clean, keep it friendly, as much as possible!

- Trolls are deleted immediately. If we even assume that you are posting for a nefarious reason, you'll be bounced out of here quicker than you can post your complaint.

- Topics related to salary are fine, but please do not post actual dollar figures. A post which asks about ways to negotiate the best compensation is a great topic, but a post that asks "How much should I make as a PhD microbiologist in Minneapolis?" is not for this forum.

- Please keep your topics to those that have to do with science careers, career options, or the job market and job hunting. This site is to supplement the information you get from your advisor, because oftentimes these topics and issues are not taught at the university.