Alternative Careers Beyond Academic Science

To science or not to science? 

Research in academia is difficult and challenging, but it is also extremely rewarding. We explore the depths of biology to discover something new and exciting. We dream of bringing new concepts to textbooks, or to discover a cure for a disease that impacts us and the people we love. We are constantly learning new things, even long after we have completed our graduate studies. Sometimes, our research goes in the direction we hoped for, but we are often blown away by new findings that challenge the field and what we learn from textbooks. We have a degree of freedom that can be difficult to achieve in other scientific career paths. 

Research in academia has a lot of upsides, but like any career, it also comes with downsides. Firstly, salaries in academia are often lower than what the industry can offer us. We work a lot of extra hours that are, most of the time, unaccounted for financially. Finally, there is a constant stress of finding money to finance our research, and even often our salaries. Therefore, the question that many of us wonder is: “To science or not to science”.

The Private Sector: Specialized Research Community

R&D for Biomedical Company 

The private sector is a very attractive alternative to research in academia. While salaries can increase significantly and the research is similar to what we learned in academia, it becomes much more goal-oriented. You will not find the transition very difficult because, in the end, you will conduct similar experiments in an industry than in an academic laboratory. However, what you can expect is a very fast pace and rapid changes in research direction. These will depend directly on your results and how they enable the company to reach their goals. If a project is not moving fast enough or yields lower chances for bringing profitable end-results, the project can be terminated quickly and you will move on to a new project. This can happen with a few days’ notice, so you might feel some disappointment for a short time. However, the next project will be as exciting, and with time, you will adapt to this new work environment.

 

Biomedical CROs, CMOs, and CDMOs

Biomedical CROs (Contract Research Organization), CMOs (Contract Manufacturing Organization) and CDMOs (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) are less commonly discussed in academia, so we thought it could be interesting to introduce them. We usually do not learn so much about the production of biomedical products, but these are companies where your scientific skills will be highly valued. CROs will support biopharmaceutical companies with R&D services. These can range from early-stage research such as pharmacokinetic studies and in vivo animal model testing to clinical trial support (e.g. patient recruitment, site monitoring). CMOs will support biopharmaceutical companies to help them manufacture their products. They will provide trained employees and regulatory-compliant facilities to reduce the cost of manufacturing for biotech companies. CDMOs are an end-to-end integrated service that will provide everything you need for the development and manufacturing of medical products.

 

Data Scientist and Quantitative Finance

Data scientists help companies discover trends in data generated using large-scale technologies. If this is a path that speaks to you, the biggest barrier to overcome is gaining sufficient mathematical knowledge. Research in academia can help you gain statistical modeling knowledge and data visualization experience that will be sought after by other industries. You can also consider going into quantitative finance, which is a particular type of applied data science used to make investment decisions by analyzing the state of the market. While this can be extremely lucrative, it is also extremely competitive (be prepared to be constantly available for your clients). It’s relatively easy to write a code after you have learned, but having the knowledge to determine which mathematical model to write in a particular situation is the real kicker. You should also familiarize yourself with modeling packages and common data science practices such as cloud computing infrastructure, git version control and adjustments for big data. You might consider building a computational portfolio to practice data wrangling, build models and output visualizations of your work (and publish them on Github!). This will make you more attractive to headhunters and favor a smoother transition to this field.

The Private Sector: Research further from the lab

Consultants

The role of a consultant is to conduct research that will identify the next best steps for a company or a governmental entity that want to accomplish a specific goal. They use a variety of secondary research sources such as scientific literature and market research reports, but also primary research by getting in touch with experts in the field or conducting market surveys with potential customers. As a consultant, you can work for Boutique Life Science firms (e.g. Clearview Healthcare Partners) that take more specialized life science cases (e.g. FDA regulatory approval pathway, biotech indication prioritization). You can also work for generalized consulting firms (McKinsey, Bain, EY-Parthenon, Simon-Kucher, L.E.K. Consulting, etc.) that usually take broader cases such as market analysis for the potential acquisition of a biotech company. Some of these firms have offices across the world. As a research scientist, your value as a consultant is your deep understanding of scientific details that would take much longer for a non-scientific person to understand. You are also aware of open secrets of biotech industry such as the costs and timelines for R&D. To position yourself for success, you should consider doing internships or applying to short-term recruitment programs to explore this field and build new bridges in your professional network. You can also join university consulting clubs/societies that take consulting cases from small to midsize businesses. Finally, your network will become an invaluable asset to find a consultant job because job referrals are often used to shortlist candidates. Your network cannot give you the job per se, but they can open new doors for you. The rest will be up to you!

 

Biotech Equity Research

Biotech Equity Research will require you to research biotech market trends and specific companies to perform due diligence before an important transaction. The goal is to identify changes in a biotech company's share prices for investment banks, private equity funds and VC funds. To position yourself for these types of employment, internships and part-time fellowships are a must. Similar to consulting, you can join university investment clubs/societies that offer small investment funds to receive an introduction to this field and gain your first experience. These clubs will also boost your professional network, and it is a great opportunity to meet people that share similar interests outside of your usual scientific network.

 

Government Roles and Communications

Science policy (government roles)

Science policy is, most of the time, linked to government roles. As a research scientist, you will boil down complex scientific ideas to make specific recommendations to government officials on policies/actions. You will not have the ultimate word on the decision made by government officials, but you will advise them on what you think would be the best course of action. The best way to get involved is to join policy action groups, and to have a look into policy fellowships to acquire more experience.

 

Science Communication

Science communication is now an intrinsic part of research institutes and companies. It involves conveying advances in science from your workplace to the general public through press releases and social media platforms (e.g. LinkedIn, BlueSky). Science communication has become vital to generate more support for research (e.g. research chairs, scholarships and fellowships for trainees) and to increase our likelihood of success. We can no longer depend on a single or few sources of income to advance our research, and that is true for both academia and industries. This type of position is available in both public/private research institutes and biotech companies.

 

Do you have uncertainty about leaving the academic lab?

We have been trained to work in academia throughout our studies, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t explore exciting opportunities outside of academia. It is normal to feel apprehension when faced with a major change. While there are personal and financial risks, there are also huge rewards, such as learning new skills, discovering a new area of passion, and potentially a higher payroll. If you are keen on learning more about these roles, you should reach out to people from your network that have gone through this transition and take time to build a LinkedIn profile. These profiles are extremely useful to expand your network easily and quickly, and they are used by recruitment firms everywhere in the world. Furthermore, you can start learning relevant skills for your next “dream job” while continuing your training in academia. You don’t have to wait to finish your studies. There are so many more roles out there that need your scientific skills, so just have a look!

Blog post contributed by members of the ISEH New Investigators Committee.

Please note that the statements made by Simply Blood authors are their own views and not necessarily the views of ISEH. ISEH disclaims any or all liability arising from any author's statements or materials.