There is no map for where you need to go…and that’s a good thing
My transition from Academia to Industry, Part 3: There is no map for where you need to go (and that’s a good thing!)
Welcome back to my exploration of lessons I’ve learned in my journey from academia to industry.
In Part 1, I explored how the transition from academia to industry effects who you are at your molten scientific core.
In Part 2, we got into the business and what it means to develop business acumen.
For those who don’t know me I’m an Astrobiology PhD who has spent the past 15+ years pioneering innovative data-driven solutions in the biotech and energy industries. These days I’m the CTO of Cemvita, where I lead the development and deployment of nature-inspired biosolutions to enable the transition to a carbon-neutral future. I’ve been fortunate to pivot my career to a point where my grad school self would be amazed. This journey hasn’t been easy, and I’ve made more mistakes than I should probably admit 😊
That said, as we continue to ramp up technology scaling and development to actively tackle the energy transition, there is a glaring need for scientists and interested academics to tackle some of industry’s toughest challenges. In the spirit of helping and enabling the next generation of scientists transitioning to industry, I’ve written up my list of the most impactful lessons I’ve learned. These are broken down into four main themes.
Today, we’re diving into part 3: your roadmap for how you develop is your own.
Quick disclaimer: my opinions are my own, all names have been changed to protect the innocent, and as with everything in your life, your mileage may vary.
Build on!
-Liz
Theme 3: Your roadmap for how you develop is your own
Lesson 8: there is no map post-graduation
So this brings me to a freeing and terrifying thought, the map for how you get to your next step, even when where you’re going is unknown. In school, there was a next step, a masters, PhD, or even post doc, all external signs of a step in a positive direction. Once you’ve left those confines, that map is gone. It’s a novel sensation.
I’ve been asked in interviews before how I manage to pivot my career or do so many new things. The answer….bravely. This isn’t academia where there is a next step and a path to A and B and C, you are out here and you can do whatever you decide. You want your career to take you into business development or operations, okay, cool! You want to be an individual contributor forever, awesome! You want to code and work in the cloud, okay, cool. I’m going to talk about a few steps for how I think about roadmaps for development, but the reality is that’s my perspective. What works for you is totally up to you.
I’ve had jobs that didn’t exist when I was in college. I’ll probably continue to do things with technology that didn’t exist when I was in grad school. That’s mind-blowing, and completely different from many of the careers that came before us. That flexibility needs bravery.
Lesson 9: How you show up to work is up to you
How you decide to show up to work is up to you. How you feel authentic, and professional is a learned behavior. The analogy I love is that you are like a building. A tall office building that comprises everything that is you. Some of your windows have their blinds open and those personality traits show out. Other window blinds are closed and those aspects of your personality you choose not to bring to work. There isn’t a right or wrong answer here, but you’re in control of what you share.
At points in my career, I’ve shared waaaay too much about my personal life. At points I’ve been far too distant and struggled to connect with people. Neither is necessarily good or bad, but it comes down to your comfort zone and the people you work with. For example, I have a dog, I’m childfree by choice and won’t be having kids, I race track bikes at a state-level on the weekends, and as you’ve learned in some of these articles I probably eat way too much takeout and prepared meals. Some of these things I talk about all the time, like my dog Flux, and some I really don’t. It’s just a matter of what window blinds I have open on what days and what other blinds people have open. For me, once I realized that how I show up is a conscious choice and it’s mine to make, I felt more in control about how I showed up, which enabled me to act fully and with my own agency.
Lesson 10: Growth is spending limited resources on the “right” things
Where are you spending your time? This will change through your career and roles. When mentoring more junior team members about promotions and how to set themselves up, I typically draw out an x and y axis on a white board with one labeled tactical and the other strategic, and ask them to point to where their top 3–10 tasks fall. As you work towards progressing your career, you’re likely going to be spending more time on strategic priorities that impact the business and less time on tactical pieces. There are some exceptions, like if you’re working primarily in operations, but as a general trend I’ve found this holds.
Conversely, early in my career, I would frequently be in (metaphorical) fire-fighting mode. When something would happen, I’d jump in and be very reactive to solve the problem. This was great because problems were solved and I felt valued, but frequently would result in me making choices that result in a local maximum by doing what would immediately come to mind and not having the space to think through things. I spent a few months teaching myself to carve out space to think about the broader repercussions, so my default response was “thanks for bringing this up, let me think on this, and I’ll get back to you by 9 am tomorrow”. That gave me the space to go for a walk, mull over the ideas, and optimize for more global maxima.
Lesson 11: Build your support network
A key driver of success here is going to be who you go to for help, and support. Who is your “number one”? Who are the people who you bounce ideas off of? These people in the trenches are worth their weight in carbon-offsets x 10,000,000. Find them, nurture those relationships, and lock arms as we fight these battles against entropy
One tip that I’ve found transformational, is asking people, when they come to me for support: “Do you want to vent, want advice, or want my opinion?” Both my friends, but also my work colleagues and peers. It can help to set the stage for what they’re seeking in a conversation and also prevent you from jumping into reactive solutioning when they’re looking to vent.
