The annual September issue of the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine (YJBM) is devoted to exploring educational topics important to medical and graduate students. We have traditionally published medical student thesis abstracts, but this year decided to expand the Education Issue to focus on topics that would provide graduate and medical students with expert advice to help them in their future careers. The articles offer various opinions on what students can pursue once they have obtained their degrees or what they can do while pursuing their degrees.The education of graduate and medical students far exceeds the classroom and laboratory curricula. Planning a career requires the expansion of skill sets that are not overtly taught. Whether it’s deciding on the next steps, such as finding a postdoctoral position or residency fellowship or applying current skills to effecting change in science policy and global health, our contributors in this issue provide their guidance and advice.In a recent Nature article, it was noted that graduate student dissatisfaction in the later years of the program may at least partially stem from lack of guidance about future careers [1]. The overproduction of PhDs in all fields, including the bio-medical sciences, compared to the availability of traditional academic jobs and the dearth of adequate exposure to alternative career options has been cited as a major cause of graduate student disillusionment [2]. Changing common attitudes about alternative careers within academia and facilitating the development of new avenues of employment are thought to be necessary to effectively harness this human capital [3]. Creating new positions within academia, such as a permanent research staff with their own funding mechanisms, has also been championed [4].In this environment, graduate and medical students need to learn as much as possible about launching their professional careers. Several contributors in this issue of YJBM draw on their personal experiences to offer recommendations on how to take the first steps to transition from student to professional. Specific skills required in some measure for any career path, such as writing and teaching, are also highlighted.Success in academia is measured in publications, and writing skills are essential. Though there are few formal opportunities for students in graduate or medical school to learn the process of writing, several universities have writing centers that can help. Kallestinova details a step-by-step approach to writing a research paper. Emphasis is placed on brevity and clarity in both the writing and the visual aids that often accompany research articles.Teaching is expected of both physicians and scientists. Ciaccia discusses the steps needed to develop a teaching philosophy and how to apply this in the lecture hall. Fischer reports on a discussion with Dr. Jo Handelsman, who recently received the Presidential Award for Science Mentoring, after she gave a talk on the current state of science education at the collegiate level, the need for change, and suggestions on how to implement this change. After medical school, much of physician training is formalized as a series of mentorships, and the development of junior physicians is the responsibility of more senior members of the community. Peluso and Hafler discuss the different ways medical students can gain teaching and educational program development skills.One of the most important issues for graduate students is figuring out how to engineer an effective work-life balance. Bascom-Slack gathers advice from those who have succeeded in having both an enriching academic career and personal life. Though gender issues have historically played a major role in determining how to achieve this balance, the author notes that this is fast changing and more men are taking an active part in raising children and more women are choosing to devote more time to work.The most common post-graduate or medical school path is to apply for postdoctoral or residency fellowship opportunities. Jeang advises students thinking about postdoctoral positions to consider three broad criteria: the importance of knowing what you want, finding someone who can nurture your aspirations, and planning well ahead of time. Olson provides detailed advice on the different steps of applying for a residential fellowship, with the insight of one who has just traveled down this road.Alternative career paths are increasingly common among scientists and physicians. Critical thinking skills that have been honed during years of schooling can be transferred to a variety of careers, including shaping public policy. Simon shares his personal experience in transitioning from a bench scientist into forging a career in science policy, both internationally and domestically. He details the challenges and the steps he took to overcome them. Physicians can also effect change at a macro level by getting involved in global health development organizations. Bodnar cautions against delving into this field without an adequate understanding of what to expect. He discusses many of the common problems of working in a health setting in a developing country and what can be done to alleviate common annoyances. Discovering alternative career paths is not an easy task, considering there is no one method to get these jobs. DeMare discusses resources that can be used to help with deciding on an alternative career and where to go to find jobs. Apart from Internet-based methods, she also discusses the importance of networking and leveraging contacts to find out more about alternative careers.The ultimate goal for both physicians and scientists is to develop a bench-to-bedside patient treatment paradigm. To encourage this, Yale School of Medicine sponsors a Student Research Day featuring presentations of medical student research and the Farr Lecture, presented this year by Dr. George Lister. The transcript of this talk is available in its entirety in this issue of YJBM, and an introduction to it is provided by Panter. Abstracts of the award-winning research projects are also published in this issue. Lister’s talk emphasized the need for the application of rigorous scientific method in determining causes of disease and the need for physicians to spearhead this effort. Those students who presented their research and those who won research awards are already on their way to becoming physician-scientists.We hope readers will find this issue informative and practically useful. Please write yjbm@yale.edu with any questions or comments. We also welcome any feedback or suggestions for future topics for the Education issue.