29 September 2014

Professional Development Workshops at AAS 225 in Seattle

Kelle Cruz CUNY Hunter College & AMNH

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As has become a regular feature of the AAS winter meeting, there is an excellent lineup of professional development workshops on the Saturday and Sunday before the 225th meeting begins in Seattle in January. These workshops are organized by members of the AAS Employment Committee as well by individual AAS members. There are a limited number of spots available, and the computing workshops often reach capacity, so be sure to register as soon as possible! For the computer-related workshops, you should bring your own laptop.

Software Carpentry Bootcamp ($100) — Saturday & Sunday, 3-4 January 2015
This 2-day workshop for graduate students and early-career scientists will use short tutorials and hands-on exercises to teach you all the core software skills you will need to build, use, validate, and share software in astronomy.

Leadership and Teambuilding for Astronomers ($50) — Sunday, 4 January 2015
This workshop is limited to 30 participants and will teach you to enhance your skills in effective leadership and management of research teams in an interactive environment, moving from conceptual to structured activities throughout the workshop.

AAS/NRAO Science Communication Workshop ($55) — Sunday, 4 January 2015
This workshop, presented by press officers and journalists, will focus on concepts that can help bridge the gap between scientists and the public as well as on real-world resources that scientists can use to be highly effective communicators.

SciCoder @ AAS: Intro to Databases for Astronomers ($100) — Sunday, 4 January 2015
This workshop will help you learn to create and design your own databases, how to populate/query a database, and how to write scripts to make better use of databases. Attendees should have basic comfort with Python.

Collaborating Online with GitHub and Other Tools ($35) — Sunday, 4 January 2015
This workshop will teach you and provide you with new tools and techniques to maximize your collaboration with colleagues online using GitHub and other online tools.

One-on-One Career Consultations ($20 per session) — Throughout the meeting in 20-minute sessions
Alaina Levine of Quantum Success Solutions, a career consultant, science writer, professional speaker, and comedian, will meet individually with attendees to provide confidential, customized career advice for people from student through mid-career. Attendees are encouraged to bring CV/resume, cover letter, or any other item you wish to have evaluated.

Register as part of your meeting registration (regular registration ends 13 November 2014) or, if you have already registered for the meeting, you can fax in the Workshop Registration PDF form.

For full details on these and other workshops and weekend activities, check out the AAS 225 events listing.

These workshops are not free, but we also do not expect individuals to foot the bill from their own pockets. Students should approach their advisor, department, or student association to see if financial support is available. There is also a limited amount of financial aid available from the AAS.

Stay tuned as the meeting approaches for more announcements of professional development and computing activities!