We are so grateful to the panelists and presenters who made the Emerging Scholars events for SRA 2018 such a huge success! As in years past, the events were engaging and well-attended.

The Emerging Scholars lounge continued to be a hub of activity. This year, we organized three events in the lounge. We were lucky to have Dr. Adriene Beltz presenting on Group Iterative Multiple Model Estimation (GIMME) at our Stats Hour. If you missed it, the workshop is online — including videos, syntax files, and other resources.

In the “Habits of Highly Effective Junior Faculty” session, work-life balance was a central topic. The takeaway? Work smarter, not harder, and don’t be afraid to explicitly prioritize other aspects of your life, even as an emerging scholar.

Our expert faculty panel shared their tips on how to have productive, happy careers.

It was standing room only in the Habits of Highly Effective Junior Faculty session!

Our new “Network & Nosh” event brought together over 40 Emerging Scholars with shared interests to network. Scholars discussed navigating the job market, mutual research interests, and innovative methodologies. Lots of great connections were made — some of which resulted in plans for symposia at SRA 2020!

The Emerging Scholars Committee also hosted three symposia geared towards hot topics of interest to students and new professionals.

At “An In-Depth Look at Early Career Funding Success,”  attendees learned tips and tricks for staying on grant reviewers’ “good side.” Tips included using easy-to-read tables throughout the proposal, eliminating jargon, and choosing mentors for training grants wisely. Panelists also discussed learning how to “sell yourself,” by using active voice and getting feedback from others. 

We were very excited to invite PhDs working outside academia to our Diverse Career Paths symposium. Our panelists spanned multiple specialties from developmental psychology to education to policy. Dr. Sara Langworthy recommended a book for those exploring career options entitled, “How to Be Everything: A Guide for Those Who (Still) Don’t Know What They Want to Be When They Grow Up” by Emilie Wapnick. Dr. Kent Pekel, President and CEO of Search Institute, encouraged emerging scholars to get outside their silo and build bridges with experts in other areas. 

Six developmental journals were represented at our Conversation with the Editors Publishing symposium on Saturday morning, ranging from early adolescence to emerging adulthood. A huge thank you to our editors for sticking with us through #snowpocalypse2018!

Different journals focused on different methodologies; for example, Emerging Adulthood encourages submissions that utilize mixed methods approaches, and the Journal of Adolescent Research, focuses only on qualitative and mixed methods studies. Dr. Noel Card, editor of the Journal of Research on Adolescence, encouraged emerging scholars to remember that just because an article gets desk rejected doesn’t mean it isn’t a good article; it means it’s not a good fit for that journal. Also, did you know that you don’t have to cite Arnett in your paper to submit to Emerging Adulthood? Dr. Charles Irwin Jr., editor of Journal of Adolescent Health, inspired emerging scholars to continue submitting their work despite receiving previous rejections. In his words, “The only way to become a published author is to submit papers.” His advice was to have a dialogue with the editorship team about why your article was rejected and ways to improve your writing.

If you have ideas for sessions or events you’d like to see at SRA 2020 in San Diego, email [email protected]. We’d love to have your input! Look for us at SRCD in 2019 as well.

An “Emerging Scholar” is any student or early-career professional (5 years from terminal degree). SRA provides special programming for emerging scholars at the Biennial Meeting and beyond.

Written by Caitlin Cavanagh (current), Jessie Rudi (outgoing), and Haylee DeLuca (incoming) Emerging Scholar Representatives to SRA’s Executive Council