Two years of alternatives to academia and industry

This summer, one of my favorite YouTubers took some time to go back over her old videos and identify trends in what she had made over the past several years. With the new academic year coming up soon, I thought I’d take that as inspiration to go over my ASBMB Today columns about careers outside of industry and academia, and assess what I’ve learned about these careers (if you’re curious, a few years ago I also looked back at my writing about academic careers). 

As I read through my trove of interviews and articles, a few things caught my attention.  Here’s a look at the common themes that stood out to me among all the stories:

A love of learning, more broadly than at the bench

Academics, of course, are known for their love of learning, but a common thread through nearly all my interviews with scientists working in other settings was a desire to learn, often more broadly and actively than they were able to while focused on one project in academia.

Editors like Margot Brandt who read new research articles, communicators and writers who do deep dives into new topics, teachers who find ways to make science accessible, patent agents who learn about how the newest inventions fit into the current landscape or government employees digging into what makes a chemical safer, all found enjoyment in the chance to learn more about science, outside the ivory tower, and put their knowledge to use in ways other than publishing their own research.

You don’t have to know what you want to do from childhood to have a great career

Some people know what they want to do from their first day of kindergarten and go straight for their dream, but plenty don’t. The people I interviewed run the gamut but trended toward not knowing where their career would take them from the get-go. 

On the more long-planned side of things is Robyn Sellers, an educator at Adventure Science Center in Nashville, who began to see her path toward education when she was an undergraduate student. Of all the people I’ve interviewed, this might be the earliest that someone had their sights on a specific type of job. 

Similarly, Muna Nahar, who I spoke with about working at the Environmental Protection Agency, also had a sense of what she wanted to do relatively early , saying of her Ph.D. years, “I had working at the EPA in the back of my mind when I was a student.” 

Nearly every one of the other people I spoke with did not have a clear plan for their career early on. So how did they end up in jobs they love? 

When looking at the paths of those folks, two things jumped out as particularly helpful to finding a satisfying career: being open minded and curious about finding their path and taking advantage of opportunities around them to learn about careers and grow. 

Open-minded curiosity goes a long way

One example of this attitude is Brittany Leigh, who works in communications. She used an open-minded approach toward herself first, taking some time during her Ph.D. in the midst of the solitary days of the COVID pandemic to really assess what she wanted. She came to understand that the PI route wasn’t for her. She then turned her curiosity outward and began to find possible careers, starting broadly by googling and seeing what kinds of positions showed up. 

Gauri Nairi, is another great example of open mindedness. She’s had a varied career in academia, industry and in between, and has been willing to change her mind and readjust her path to find what works with her skills and desires as well as her family. She set a goal when she began her Ph.D. to work as a product manager in industry. But when life circumstances led her down a different path, she grabbed the opportunities that came her way. When we spoke, she was working in a one-of-a-kind position at the biotech-focused nonprofit MassBio, as vice president for innovation, a job she didn’t even know existed earlier in her career. The position drew on her broad knowledge of the biotech world and her unique skills for connecting people.

Open mindedness also led to a great fit for Sarah Laskey, a scientist at 23andMe, who was dreaming of a way to draw on both her immunology knowledge and her love of computer science. She started her search by googling good places to work with a biology degree and found a career that seems tailor made for her where she gets to use her knowledge in both fields.

Take advantage of chances to explore

Anita Burgos has worked in policy in different roles including in think tanks and in Congress. As a Ph.D. student at a time when she was uncertain of her path, she took advantage of opportunities to learn about careers by attending a “What can you be with a Ph.D.” symposium, which introduced her to the American Association for the Advancement of Science Policy Fellowship and set her on her current path.

Anna Hertzberg  also showed a knack for seizing opportunities for learning and growth. After realizing bench work might not be the dream job she’d thought it would be, She talked to friends and was intrigued enough by one of their jobs in clinical research to enroll in a master’s program that opened the door to her career in regulatory work. Hertzberg again took a chance on exploration by engaging with recruiters on LinkedIn and seeing where it took her. In her case, it was to a job she enjoyed.

Xiaoli Weng was working on her postdoc and unsure of what to do next when she began taking career-related courses at the National Institutes of Health. These courses led her to the tech transfer office, which in turn helped her find her career in a law firm as a patent agent. 

Exploring careers through an internship during her Ph.D. led Gabrielle Rushing to her work in patient advocacy organizations. 

Be yourself

Maybe my favorite part of diving into all these articles is seeing the range of jobs out there that all need biology expertise but also need such a wide array of personalities and skills. The personalities suited to being a patent agent, breath alcohol specialist, medical writer, or science museum staff, couldn’t be more different. It’s encouraging to think that this means there might just be a job out there that’s a perfect fit for you.