With an oversupply of Ph.D. graduates and a shrinking number of academic positions globally, the reality is that most Ph.D. graduates are being hired outside academia, with many landing intellectually stimulating and financially rewarding positions in the industry. People often secure industry positions that have ‘lead’, ‘scientist’, or ‘researcher’ in their titles. But post-PhD researchers aren’t always aware of how to land such a job. Universities generally don’t give any career guidance to people that are in graduate programs. Those who have made the successful leap from academia to industries such as technology and pharmaceuticals share their career journeys, how they found their job, and what strategies worked best in their search. Here are their tips and advice to help those still in graduate programs achieve a smooth transition.

It is heard that hard work, a good publication list, and securing highly competitive postdoctoral research fellowships would guarantee a successful career in academia. Frustrated with the wait, candidates decide to look at emerging fields with job opportunities outside academia, such as data science as a data-scientist position. With an oversupply of Ph.D. graduates and a shrinking number of academic positions globally, the reality is that most Ph.D. graduates are being hired outside academia, with many landing intellectually stimulating and financially rewarding positions in the industry. These statistics are just one part of the pie. Many opt to leave academia for reasons such as declining mental health triggered by pressure to publish, job insecurity, bullying by supervisors, or low wages. People often secure industry positions that have ‘lead’, ‘scientist’, or ‘researcher’ in their titles. But post-PhD researchers aren’t always aware of how to land such a job. Universities generally don’t give any career guidance to people that are in graduate programs. Those who have made the successful leap from academia to industries such as technology and pharmaceuticals share their career journeys, how they found their job, and what strategies worked best in their search. Here are their tips and advice to help those still in graduate programs achieve a smooth transition.

Ph.D. graduates who are curious about the industry should talk to someone who’s already working in the sector. But finding these human resources once they’ve left the academic halls isn’t always easy. Early-career researchers can expand their networks by attending conferences, hackathons, and research meet-ups that often attract industry participants, or by keeping in touch with former laboratory mates and graduate-program peers who have moved into the industry. These people can share their career journeys and put you in touch with the people hiring for roles that best suit you and your career goals. Networking is always a big asset. Social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter, on which people congregate professionally, are invaluable for building networks. LinkedIn, which allows searches for people by a specific job title, company, industry, or skill set, makes it easy to find people who can share details about specific positions and how to get there.

Connecting on social media takes one click. Building connections with real people who will take the time to mentor you takes more effort. Informal interviews help to shape Ph.D. research on discrimination in AI to make it immediately useful in the industry and learn a few key industry terms so you could use the same vocabulary as industry professionals. Informational interviewers should be clear about what they want to know. Don’t be generic and waste your interviewees’ time. It is suggested that doing your homework and not asking questions that the Internet can answer. Once you start doing informational interviews, they can also be life-affirming because they can mitigate the isolation and stress that people face when leaving academia. Approach them with your learning hat on and have these conversations early on. Now is a great time to go and do informational interviews.

Platforms such as LinkedIn and the job website Indeed can return overwhelming lists of open positions when searched with keywords such as ‘scientist’ or ‘researcher’. Ask your network of academia-to-industry converts for tips about hiring, such as the number of rounds of interviews for specific positions and the expectations of prospective employers. These are the best people to also give you feedback on your CV and cover letter and to help you to tailor them to what people in the industry are looking for. Keep the summary of your experience short (ideally a page or two) and highlight skills that align best with the advertised position. If possible, ask a connection at the company to forward your application to the hiring team to increase the chances of it being read. Prospective employers look for Ph.D. graduates with good communication skills, business acumen, and a willingness to learn new skills and those who grasp the breadth of the industry. Because recruiters constantly scan for people to hire on platforms such as LinkedIn, it pays to keep your profile up to date including turning on the #OpenToWork banner to show you are job-seeking and adding keywords to the profile that indicate your expertise. For many who have made the leap, their new industry careers are rewarding — they get to do cutting-edge research, solve real-world problems, earn a handsome salary, and often have a better work–life balance than they had in academia. So the next job is not your last job.

References:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02558-w
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00747-0
https://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2015/02/04/how-to-work-with-a-scientific-recruiter/