Should you pursue a PhD? Insights from my doctoral degree, postdoc, and PhD career transition.
Overview of what this article is about:
My PhD story and transition from undegrad to PhD, to postdoc, and career transition. In this article I tell all the secrets for success, and key insights for a great PhD experience.
About me:
I am currently working in Pharmaceutical research in the greater New York City area. I am 8 years removed from my PhD and find the work fulfilling and interesting.
Introduction:
As I sit down to write this article, I can't help but feel a sense of nostalgia for the journey that led me to where I am today. My transition from a PhD to industry was not without its challenges, but it was a path that ultimately led to success and fulfillment.
Overview:
It all started with my pursuit of a doctoral degree. I had always been passionate about research and the pursuit of knowledge, and a PhD seemed like the natural next step in my academic journey. The years I spent conducting PhD research were some of the most rewarding and challenging of my life. The constant pressure to produce meaningful results and the long hours spent in the lab were exhausting, but I persevered and ultimately emerged with a degree that I was proud of.
But as proud as I was of my accomplishments, I quickly realized that a doctoral degree alone was not enough to secure the kind of career that I wanted. That's when I decided to pursue a postdoc. It was a decision that came with its own set of challenges. The long hours and low pay were once again difficult to endure, but I knew that this was the necessary next step if I wanted to build my career.
"A doctoral degree alone was not enough to secure the kind of career that I wanted."
After a few years of postdoctoral work, I began to feel restless. I wanted to apply the skills and knowledge that I had gained in a more tangible way. That's when I started exploring the possibility of transitioning to industry. It was a decision that was not without its own set of challenges. I had to learn to think differently about my research, to approach it from a more practical perspective. But the transition ultimately proved to be a successful one, and I found myself working in a field that I was passionate about.
For anyone considering a similar transition, I would offer the following advice: be prepared for challenges, but don't let them hold you back. Pursuing a PhD, a postdoc, and a career in industry all require hard work and dedication, but the rewards are worth it.
“By reading about my experience, I hope that you can gain some insight into the challenges and rewards of pursuing a doctoral degree and transitioning to industry.”
I hope that my real-life story of transitioning from a PhD to industry provides you with valuable insights and inspiration for those considering a similar path. Pursuing a doctoral degree, a postdoc, and a career in industry all require hard work and dedication, but the rewards are worth it. By sharing my journey, I hope to encourage others to pursue their dreams with passion and determination, despite the challenges they may face. Without further ado here is my complete story of my PhD to postdoc to PhD career transition!
My story
My motivation for pursuing a PhD:
I was always good at math and physics. And when I learned that engineering was the application of physics and mathematics to solve problems, I knew I had found a subject matter where I could excel. I entered college as a civil engineer, but soon discovered the cutting edge possibilities of a career in biomedical engineering and all of its new potential for discoveries. Biomedical engineering was largely a completely new field. Industry articles claimed that it would be the biggest field in the next few decades. I thought the practical side of mathematics and physics, blended with the artistic nature of the human body, would afford a lot of potential to make an impact in the world.
In my junior year of college, I landed an internship at Integra Life Sciences in the Neurosciences, Clinical Affairs Department in Plainsboro, NJ. During this internship I was exposed to the clinical trial research and development process. I often felt excited by the science we were working on, but felt very far removed from the actual decision making that went into the clinical-trial products. I remember sitting in my cubicle for eight weeks feeling bored. I questioned, “How could this be the rest of my life? It couldn't be.” My 21-year-old brain considered being confined to a cubicle to be the worst thing that could have happened. It was my boredom from my internship that got me thinking about how I was going to figure out what to do next. I felt under-utilized, and untapped for my real potential.
By some amazing stroke of luck my desk during my internship was next to the office of Chief Scientific Officer Dr Simon Archibald, at the Integra Life Sciences. In the rare moments that Dr Archibald was at his office, he would occasionally stop by my desk and ask me if they were keeping me busy enough. I told him that my managers said that I finished my tasks and projects too fast. I remember he laughed. And I asked him, “I will be completing my senior project next semester and I was wondering if I could pick your brain regarding a few of my ideas?”
In those treasured meetings with Dr Archibald, he listened to my research ideas and offered me pointers on each one. He showed me how to research existing literature for other innovations and stated that I could find gaps in the field to build off of or slightly modify. I was hooked. I felt I had found what I was looking for. He also reminded me that many of the scientific decision makers in the biomedical field had PhDs. I was interested in finding a path to work in pharma or in academics as a professor. I entered my senior year of college with a clear plan of what I would do. I was motivated and ready to get to work.
Applying for PhD programs:
After a successful go at the GRE on my second try after weeks of concentrated study), I applied to PhDs in bioengineering at Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Princeton, Rutgers, University of North Carolina, Duke, UPenn, MIT, and University of Notre Dame. I got accepted to Columbia and Rutgers for Master’s programs and then got accepted to the University of Notre Dame PhD program. I remember my undergraduate mentor and advisor used a quote from the movie “The Godfather.” He said, Notre Dame had made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
My PhD Advisor:
My PhD research advisor was fantastic. My PhD advisor was accessible, consistent, and always there for research support. In my first year, he encouraged me to apply to the PhD NSF graduate research fellowship and coached me in developing a new research direction. He was interested in the role of bone-marrow cells in bone adaptation to exercise. My PhD advisor was patient and sat with me during my PhD at the computer to teach me the process of computational fluid dynamics.
My PhD Environment:
My PhD research lab environment was overall pretty good. The PhD bioengineering department had their own research building that housed about six professors and their research groups. Our PhD offices were nice and the lab space was clean and spacious.
My PhD Project:
After my first paper during my PhD in computational fluid dynamics in bone marrow and a conference podium presentation, I felt like my PhD was off to a fast start, but it quickly began to drag during the second year of my PhD. I then transitioned to conducting trabecular bone bioreactor research. The work was not yielding any results and I did not have a lot of guidance on these experiments. I asked my PhD advisor if there was another lab I could work in, where I would be provided more guidance.
Differentiating myself: PhD Travel Research Fellowship
He gave me some ideas of where I could apply, and during the start of my third year of my PhD, I won a fellowship to the Science Foundation of Ireland, which required travel to the National University of Ireland, Galway for six months on a short term research fellowship. Going to Galway, Ireland during my PhD was the best decision I made during my PhD. I was exposed to some of the best PhD scientists I had worked with and learned so many techniques to bring back to Notre Dame. In those six months, my PhD research experiments yielded two publications. In the Galway lab I was surrounded by 12 other PhDs, 3 postdocs, and amazing lab technicians. The environment made me so much more productive. I had all the resources a PhD might need at my fingertips.
Returning to my PhD
When I returned to Notre Dame for the remainder of my PhD, my PhD advisor started to look to me for ideas and I felt that he gave me a new kind of respect. I had learned scientific techniques that he did not know, and we became more like partners in some ways. It was a cool transformation of the relationship, and I got a glimpse of what it might be like to have original research ideas and be allowed to pursue them.
Completing my PhD
I remember the confidence I had completing my PhD. By all accounts, I had accomplished a lot and had carved out a space and made an impact. With 4 first author papers, 2 co-authored, with another first author on the way, and 17 conference presentations, with 2 podium talks, I thought I compared well to my peers and deemed myself competitive for a research faculty position in academia.
Deciding on my next career:
In my final few years of my PhD, I was focused on becoming a research tenure track faculty member. I did not have a lot of the information about postdocs and the challenges that I might face if I pursued one. I was proud of the impact I made in my PhD and felt that I had begun growing my own reputation in the group of bone scientists while attending at the orthopedic conferences. I felt like I had slightly outgrown my environment of my PhD and that a postdoc would likely be necessary. I did not have the narrowed research focus that would allow me to be an independent researcher. I needed a few more findings to get to that point.
Finding a postdoc: the best postdoc advice
I received different PhD advice and perspectives from many people about the postdoc. A tenured professor who had taught for twenty years encouraged me to advance my research career in a postdoc position, but then a newly hired professor told me only to do a postdoc if I was sure it could give me a new experience that could build off the research I had done. Knowing that the timing of that specific professor hiring me would have to coincide with my job search, I was not too hopeful. Plus, I wanted to come back to the East coast after my PhD in the Midwest. I was able to get four interviews.
Postdoc interviews
In one interview at Princeton University, I met the professor of a biology lab, and the student who I met on the tour of the lab told me not to come work at that lab. It was pretty funny to hear this. She told me that it was impossible to leave the lab, even to the rest room, without the advisor asking, “Hey, where you are going?” In the second interview, I met a professor who did not have much funding for my work but could afford to pay for me to be there in his lab. He told me he would help me do research and write grants. I felt that it was an interesting position but there was no excitement in the environment and no community to keep gaining perspective. Afterwards, I had a video conference interview with a professor at Northwestern University in Boston for a position conducting research in Newt tail regeneration. I was interested in the position but there was no immediate funding for the project. Finally, I went to an interview in New York City at NYU Langone Medical Center and found that the advisor was a new non-tenured professor who had built a strong reputation for being a good researcher in bone. He told me that a NIH postdoctoral fellowship with him would be almost guaranteed, and he would mentor me and teach me how to write the infamous postdoctoral NIH K99 grant that converts into an R01 level grant when you become a faculty position.
Choosing a postdoc:
I weighed my options, and I decided that despite the risks associated with postdocs for a non-tenured professor, the opportunity to be at a top ten orthopedics hospital in the United States with the security of my own funding would provide me with enough opportunity to navigate my postdoc. Truthfully, the lack of a top postdoc in a secure tenured faculties lab would eventually come back to haunt me.
My postdoc position:
After a few months in NYU in New York, I started to have this unsettling doubt that my advisor’s focus and unwavering appearance of a great postdoc experience during my interview was not what was going to happen. Overall, the experiments were good but after a few runs at this, the experiments were struggling for results. On top of that, the research lab that I worked in was very toxic. The chair of the department did not support my advisor's research and there was no support from that professor for my research. In fact, as a pure biologist, he would laugh at our bioengineering experiments. It was not right. I began losing hope in this environment. I also felt bad for my postdoc advisor because the environment was practically unbearable for him.
Exploring non-academic careers:
Starting to pursue different careers: Despite all of the problems, there was some silver lining; I was funded by the NIH and I had specific obligations with NYU to attend group meetings from other postdocs with the same grant type. I took business level courses about pharmaceutical drug development and gained perspective in the industry setting and realized that I could in fact find jobs that were interesting to me in industry. At first, I did not want the industry job. I associated an “industry” job to something uninteresting, controlled, with no creativity of utilizing my own ideas. But as time went on, my thoughts started to change. I attended, “What can you be with a PhD?” This event, held annually at NYU, hosts forums with PhDs who transitioned into non-academic careers. In addition, I took courses hosted by Sci-PhD, courses in Team Science, and attended two of the Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI) meetings in Washington DC and Orthopedic Research Society Conference in San Diego, CA. From the CTSI meetings, I learned about careers in government, while I toured around the Senator’s offices of New York and Mississippi to promote lobbying of increasing the NIH’s budget. I was seeing the breadth of jobs outside of academics for PhDs who wanted to impact science and engineering, and not just do one job.
A moment of clarity in my Future PhD Career:
The moment that I started to really be convinced that my career could fit outside academics was while taking a course called Biomedical Entrepreneurship at NYU. This course was led by very prominent entrepreneurs, including Ed Saltzman and Francois Nader, MD, MBA who had led multiple drugs onto the market and described the trends and development of research in drug development. The course taught me two main things. I was, in fact, entrepreneurial-minded, and secondly, that an entrepreneur can do well in an industry position by using entrepreneurial skills. They called an entrepreneur in industry, an intrapreneur, a new idea of how to problem solve pain points and opportunities. This struck me as a great way of redefining a career objective. But I was not ready to call it quits on academic tenure-track professor just yet.
Postdoc game over:
At the beginning of my second year of my postdoc, my advisor called me into his office to have a chat. I had turned things around with my postdoc at that point. I had published a review paper on biomedical research in post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) and decided to put aside the fluid flow research and move into a research project using a mouse model of PTOA that would yield interesting results regardless of the findings. It was a safe experiment with interesting implications. My advisor let me know that he did not receive the R01 grant that he had resubmitted for earlier that year. He said he was not invited to submit again and his tenure review committee let him know he had to leave. He told me that he would be going to Ireland for a new faculty position. He told me I could stay and use the funding from my postdoc to find a new position.
At that time, I could not leave. I did not have any other job opportunities to jump into and my healthcare, lease, and bills were being paid for by my postdoc grant. Simply put, I did not have another job and was a bit distraught. My advisor said I could report to the department chair but he detested the work that I was doing. The department chair thought my research was a waste of time and that the hypothesis was incorrect. I was feeling pretty hopeless. From the stress of everything going on and a lack of ability to communicate these issues to friends and family who did not understand the academic process, I began having the early symptoms of a gastrointestinal disease. As things began to crumble, I turned to what I had going for me as options.
My PhD career transition:
I began to reach out to my network for the dreaded second postdoc, but my heart was no longer in research and the exhaustion of living on a shoe-string budget in NYC with a year and half of work that had led no where, was exhausting. I decided that I should be more secure in an industry job. I started to apply to everything: data science, consulting jobs, professorships, teaching positions, med writer jobs, and engineering jobs. I did not get a call back from any of them. I did not think this was possible. I remember thinking at that time that industry was always a sure thing. I was really shocked that I might not get a job in industry. Finally after 6 months of finishing experiments, applying for jobs and going to networking events at NYU, I finally got a consulting position at NYU Venture Capital fund. I was given the opportunity to review startup projects that NYU was thinking of funding. This position gave me something to list as job experience outside of academics on my resume and I finally landed an interview at a medical communications agency in New York. They did not hire me right away but finally hired me after a few months.
Nonacademic PhD career:
My career in industry since then has been very exploratory. I was a part of an industry wide layoff at this first medical communications agency, and then started PhD Source, a website and blog with content for PhDs to help them in their career transition. From there, I started working as an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at mention where, and started at a biotech startup and then fintech startup in NJ working at both as the Chief Operating Officer. These experiences finally led me to continue to put out content for PhDs, and then start my own company consulting for businesses and startups - writing business plans, coaching founders on pitches, and building pitch decks. I transitioned back into medical communications while teaching as an entrepreneur professor and automating the company I had built.
During COVID-19, I finally had the time to write this book and am excited to take all of the learnings, findings, conversations with other PhDs, and share it with the group of individuals I am passionate for.
PhD Key Insights:
Differentiating yourself during your PhD by gaining skills outside your research area might help you ask new questions in your research.
Sometimes, your research that you do is limited not by what you can do but instead what you do not know. You can begin to expand your research by learning the tools that are availability to be able to ask more research questions.
So should you pursue a PhD?
Why or why not?
There is no one answer for everyone. It’s a person to person basis. Some people cannot avoid doing a PhD. They simply have too many questions to ask about the world and want to be on the leading edge of their field. But let’s go into some of the other reasons that people think about when deciding on a PhD.
Here’s 5 considerations before diving into your PhD.
One of the primary reasons people pursue a PhD is the desire to deepen their knowledge and expertise in a particular field. If you are passionate about research and committed to becoming an expert in your chosen subject, then a doctoral degree may be the right choice for you. However, it's important to remember that pursuing a PhD requires a significant investment of time and resources, and it may not always be the most practical choice for everyone.
Another factor to consider is your career goals. If you are interested in pursuing a career in academia, a doctoral degree is often a prerequisite for many teaching and research positions. However, if you are interested in pursuing a career outside of academia, a PhD may not be necessary, and other types of advanced degrees or work experience may be more valuable. Here are the top 37 jobs for PhDs.
It's also important to consider the financial implications of pursuing a PhD. Doctoral programs can be expensive, and many students take on significant debt in order to complete their degree. Additionally, doctoral students often earn low stipends or salaries, which can make it challenging to support themselves financially while they are in school. If you are considering a PhD, it's important to weigh the financial costs and benefits carefully.
Another important factor to consider is the time commitment required to complete a PhD. Doctoral programs typically take several years to complete, and require a significant amount of time and effort. For many students, this means putting their personal and professional lives on hold while they complete their degree. If you are considering a PhD, it's important to be prepared for the time commitment involved, and to make sure that you have a support system in place to help you manage your responsibilities.
Finally, it's important to consider your personal goals and motivations for pursuing a PhD. For some people, the desire to earn a doctoral degree is driven by a deep passion for research and learning. For others, it may be a way to gain recognition and status within their field. Whatever your motivations may be, it's important to be honest with yourself about why you want to pursue a PhD, and to make sure that your goals align with your personal values and priorities.
In conclusion
Deciding whether or not to pursue a PhD is a complex decision that requires careful consideration of a variety of factors. While a doctoral degree can be a valuable asset in many fields, it is not necessarily the best choice for everyone. If you are considering a PhD, it's important to weigh the financial, time, and personal costs and benefits carefully, and to make sure that your motivations and goals are aligned with your personal values and priorities. Ultimately, the decision to pursue a PhD is a personal one that should be based on your individual goals and aspirations, and should take into account your unique circumstances and needs.
PhD Wrap-Up Guidance:
PhD guidance:
PhDs often face difficult career transitions, especially when moving away from academia. This article provides an insight into the experiences of one PhD who was faced with the challenge of transitioning away from a postdoc grant to find a new job in industry. After several months of searching and attending networking events, they found a consulting job at NYU Venture Capital Fund.
It is important to have a network outside of academia and build relationships with industry professionals for advice. Having guidance from someone in the field, who can provide insight on what employers are looking for, can be invaluable as you transition into industry.
PhD career centers:
It is also important to continuously gain new skills and experiences outside your research area as this will allow you to ask new questions in your research, broaden your career options, and make you more competitive for industry jobs. Similarly, by automating the processes in your business or research, you can open up new opportunities for yourself.
PhD career search:
Finally, it is important not to give up on finding a job in industry and be patient with the process. Even though it may take some time, eventually you will find something that meets your needs and goals as long as you continue to stay diligent and make use of the resources available to you.
Summary:
By understanding the experiences of one PhD, this article provides insight into some tips and tricks for navigating a successful career transition away from academia. By building relationships with industry professionals, leveraging university resources, gaining new skill sets outside your research area, and automating processes in your business or research, you can open up new opportunities and take control of your career transition. With a bit of patience and perseverance, these tips can help you achieve success in your next job search!
Get the Author’s Book, How To Make Your PhD Work, A Guide for Creating Your Career in Academics and Industry
A modern guide for a challenging modern PhD market!
As of 2022, less than 5% of PhDs attain permanent academic positions, yet books about navigating PhD programs continue to treat permanent academic employment as the assumed norm.
How to Make Your PhD Work meets this need, with concrete, empowering advice with:
The pros and cons of taking a postdoc
How to Make Your PhD better and decide what to do next
Discussion of nonacademic careers, success in industry, and more
Transition stories from 12 PhDs (US Citizens and visa-holders) who talk about their relationship with their advisor, their success with their project, and their transition into their careers in government, industry, and more
Worksheets and case studies designed to help PhDs map out potential career paths
How to Make Your PhD Work is ideal for any STEM PhD student, prospective student, or early career researcher looking to improve their positions in the job market.
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This 2023-2024 PhD-level planner is your new daily guide for your PhD! Within these pages, you will be able to identify your goals, manifest them with actionable steps, and track your career progress.
To do this, the planner is broken up into five sections:
Goal Setting - a place to set your yearly goals and translate them into actionable steps
Organizers - an area to list your mentors, mentees, and frequently used equations and references
Career Tracking - a checklist to guide you through the stages of your PhD career search
Daily and Weekly Calendar - a daily, weekly, and monthly plan to organize and list your key events and priorities
Notes - a surplus of blank pages for your brainstorming and creativity needs!
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