[This article is featured in the next issue of the Biophysical Society newsletter]
This year’s Early Careers Committee panel at the Biophysical Society meeting in Boston was entitled, "Negotiating the Transition: Differences between Academia and Industry". Our four guest panelists completed postdoctoral fellowships in academia, with two choosing to continue the academic career path as tenure-track faculty, and two choosing instead to transition from academia into industry.
Here are a few of the questions raised by the audience and answered by our two industry panelists.
Q. What motivated the transition into the private sector rather than continue along the academic career track?
The strong emphasis of grant writing in order to maintain research programs in academia was a factor in one panelist’s decision to move into the private sector. In large pharmaceutical firms, research goals and fund allocation is tied specifically to product outcomes that are generally dealt with at the senior management level. This leaves the research staff and project managers to concentrate on planning and executing the research rather than expending considerable effort acquiring funding.
On the other hand, spirited entrepreneurs attempting to steer small startup companies through their early years are often required to spend a considerable effort attracting investment, which can be equally as demanding as applying for public funds in academia. While startup companies are higher risk, our panelist emphasized how the increase in responsibilities inherent in a startup increases one's experience and chances of getting a better job later.
Q. If one is considering a career in industry, is it preferable to do a postdoc in industry or academia?
Given that the research environment in industry can be very different from that in academia, there are certain advantages to acclimatizing oneself to the environment sooner rather than later. However, our industry panelists were not convinced that opting to do a postdoc in academia would necessarily harm one’s ambition to continue their career in industry.
However, our panelists raised the caveat that industry postdoc positions are not currently compensated as well as regular scientist positions, and are arguably less stable since they may not lead to a permanent position. Thus, if one is set upon a career in industry during graduate school, it may be preferable to simply apply for scientist positions rather than the postdoctoral positions.
If one does decide to do a postdoc in academia first, perhaps to gain a more thorough knowledge of a certain area or set of techniques, one should consider how these additional technical skills and experience will be valuable to a prospective employer in industry.
Q. How does one go about making the necessary networks in academia that would facilitate a transition into industry?
If you are seeking to transition from academia into industry, it is important to identify academic colleagues who have contacts in industry, or that have perhaps worked in industry themselves. Through these initial contacts it will be possible to make a more informed decision as to whether industry is right for you.
Scientific meetings are also excellent places to make your own contacts. Note that it is not always necessary to cold-call complete strangers in order to extend your network. Indeed, this can backfire. More importantly, make sure you take advantage of opportunities that naturally arise, such as when somebody from industry takes an interest in your work or is presenting research relevant to your own.
The importance of networking in industry doesn’t stop after securing a position, though. In times of economic downturn, our panelists were eager to point out that networking is crucial to survival in industry, where there is no tenure to provide a safety net!
Q. How important is one’s publication record to prospective employers in industry?
Your publications are not as relevant to a career in industry as they are to an academic career, but they still have value. First and foremost they are the best indicator of your productivity, which is as important a metric in industry as it is in academia. Prospective employers will be interested in defining your contributions in the publications versus what was done by others. Second, these publications can highlight skills that are relevant to working in industry, whether it be in regard to certain techniques used, or perhaps simply your ability to collaborate with other scientists. If your publications indicate skills that seem relevant to an industry position you are applying to, highlight these in your cover letter.
Be mindful of whether an advertisement for a job in industry requests a CV or a resume. If the latter is requested one should be selective of which publications are listed, if any. If they are not relevant to the position being applied for, it’s better to omit them.
Prepared by Susy Kohout and Damien Samways
Monday, August 31, 2009
Negotiating the Transition – spotlight industry
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Linkage: It’s the season…Academic Job Search Reposts
Blue Labcoats has reposted a timely compilation of pointers for postdocs preparing to apply for faculty positions in the coming months.
Go read.
Monday, August 17, 2009
"Professional Women and Minorities..."
Courtesy of the Drugmonkey blog, I came across this link to a recent Interventions Research Diversity conference. The following .ppt presentation entitled "Professional Women and Minorities: A Total Human Resources Data Compendium" was available for download and is worth perusing.
It covers US statistics on the nature of gender and ethnic diversity within different subjects at different levels of education, training and employment. It also has interesting information on H1B worker representation.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
"The Path of a Postdoc"
This article, from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center website, charts the experiences of a number of postdocs now successfully transitioned into tenure-track faculty positions. In it, they describe the process of applying for positions and attending subsequent interviews.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
More on applying for faculty jobs
With regard to negotiating one's way onto the tenure-track, this is a good blog article from the perspective of a recently successful faculty position applicant.
It covers,
"1. Cover Letter.
2. Your impressive CV.
3. A statement of your Research Interests.
4. A statement of your Teaching Philosophy & Interests."
Monday, December 1, 2008
Papers from the crypt: The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses
Do you find yourself becoming emotionally attached to your hypotheses? Do you struggle to remain objective, and wonder whether the integrity of your judgment has been compromised by an affectionate bias towards a particular idea or explanation?
If so, then the following article might be for you.
T.C. Chamberlin (1890). The Method of Multiple Working Hypotheses. Science. 148, 754-759