There are so many creative ways to explore your career interests, build skills, and increase your marketability for future employers. Of course, we’re all familiar with jobs and internships (and those are both fantastic opportunities), but there are also a number of lower-commitment ways to develop in-demand industry skills. Here are 3 options and/or events to consider!
Skills Lab: Measuring Bacterial Growth and Introductory Laboratory Skills
Friday, April 17, 2026 12pm – 2pm
Searching for an opportunity to gain hands-on, lab experience and learn basic technical skills? Join Dr. Caitlin Light, a microbiologist and the assistant director of the FRI program, who will show students how to build a strong foundation for scientific research and connect data to real-world biological meaning and application.
What to expect:
Measure culture turbidity to monitor bacterial growth in real-time.
Develop high-level accuracy and consistency in liquid handling and measurement.
Apply quantitative reasoning to create calibration curves and analyze data.
Registration is required as space is limited. Learn more and sign up today.
Design a Multiplexed Experiment to Optimize an in Vitro Neuronal Differentiation Protocol on Forage
7-8 hour, self paced virtual simulation
Forage is a free, self-paced platform that partners with top employers to offer virtual job simulations that let students experience real workplace tasks. The Life Sciences: Biology Research simulation created by LifeArc is an opportunity to step into the shoes of a LifeArc team member and complete tasks that replicate the work that their Biology Research team does every day.
What you’ll learn:
- Hands-on experience in experimental design for fibroblast-to-sensory-neuron differentiation
- How to understand the differentiation protocol steps, including lentiviral particle generation and cell culturing.
- How to develop research skills in optimizing conditions and interpreting results.
- How to assess efficiency in generating functional nociceptor neurons.
- How to formulate conclusions and recommendations based on the data.
- And much more!
After completing the simulation, you may add the experience as a project on your resume. LifeARC also notes that successful completion will help you stand you to their recruiters when applying to jobs or internships with their organization.
Learn How to Effectively Communicate Geospatial Data Problems with Codecademy
Online, 42 minute course
Learn about different kinds of data-driven geographic maps and gain a conceptual understanding of how they are created by completing the free Intro to Geographic Data Mapping course on Codecademy.
Skill you’ll gain:
- Understand geographic and data layers on maps
- Identify different types of data maps
- Understand how data can be correctly mapped to a geography
After completing this course, you can add it as a project experience on your resume to demonstrate introductory knowledge and experience in geospatial data mapping.
There are so many creative ways to explore your options and build skills, these are just a few opportunities to consider. As you develop your skills, be sure to update your resume and/or LinkedIn to reflect what you’ve learned. The Fleishman Career Center offers downloadable, editable resume templates for your convenience, including one designed specifically for students in the sciences.
