Career change: handling our insecurities, weaknesses and strength

Nothing prepared me for the MNC culture shock.

Coming from a research background, I worked seven years in several labs. When I was in high school, it looked like I would pick Engineering. At the very last moment, I decided that Biology seemed like a better choice for me. So I accepted the offer and was enrolled to Life Sciences. University life was tumultous, because my high school education in Biology was inadequate. Whatever I learned about DNA was pathetically shallow. I had to learn so many new things including speaking and writing better English.

The classes were interesting though. I was intrigued, exposed to Crustaceans and Alkene and Amino Acids and Squalene and Coenzyme Q and ANOVA and receptors and T-cells and whatnot. Lab sessions were like dangerous cooking experiments, except you cannot eat anything. For the very first time, I thought life is so complicated and beautiful. I am fine with just understanding a small part of it. On the other hand, I also learned so much about Dickens and Austen and Stephen King and Isaac Asimov. Like Christopher Columbus, I discovered a whole new island and it opened up my mind more than anything else.

After what seemed like years, I graduated and started my journey as a junior research assistant. When you are a junior research assistant, there are a whole bunch of things you need to learn. You are not casting just one gel, but 12 gels a day for yourself and your post-doc. You could be handling a project on your own. That means planning your own experiments, reading and writing papers, presenting research updates and troubleshooting your problems. You could also be discarding waste, clearing bins, filling tips, ordering consumables and writing log books. For those who are (sort of) in charge of the lab, you are also expected to clean up everyone’s shit and look after safety rules which nobody adheres to. Then there is also the safety audits which everyone hates. And I have done all that before returning to graduate school for my Master Degree. I have studied and worked from 8am to 12 midnight for months. That is another nightmare worthy of another 1000-word article.

And I survived.

It was a helluva journey. Seven years of research life. Then came the point when I wavered. I was not sure if this is what I wanted. Sure I love Science. I still do right now and I see it as a foundation of everything in life. I was craving for life outside of the lab, where I could interact with more people and develop soft skills required in the ‘real’ world. I was interested in many other things which the lab could not provide me.

So I made a hard decision of stopping at Master and not continuing to PhD. It was one of the toughest career choices so far.

And nothing in lab prepared me for what happened next.

It was so tough to find a non-lab related job. I received a lot of referrals and recommendations for research jobs. Finding something in Pharma was close to impossible. I was 30 with a Master degree and with zero skills for the outside world. I thought about pursuing the path of regulatory jobs but the door was almost closed for me. There were numerous others jobs which I tried to apply, but somehow nothing worked out.

This was the first time I found out that career change could be such a killer when you are not prepared for it. It was also the first time I realized that you must plan for what comes ahead. You can’t assume things will be straightened out when you go along, unless you have someone paying the bills for you. I know it feels great to tell yourself that everything is going to be okay if you work hard. But, working hard without some kind of plan is foolishness.

Eventually I found a job in a small conference company. I must say this was one of my best career to date (excluding the current one). There were only 10–15 people in the office. The boss was, quite erratic and hot-tempered, but she was also one of the smartest people I’ve met. The company focused on mainly pharmaceutical conferences, which opened up a whole new area for me. Nobody cares what cell lines you used, they just want to know if you can make a real product, if your product is scalable, and if your product can bring them profit. That’s all. Nothing else mattered. Being an employee in a small company also means that you have to do many things by yourself. As a conference producer, I had to do a lot of market research, interview CXO suites, write articles and plan for attractive conference agenda. Aside from that, I did a lot of work on digital marketing, mainly inbound marketing; I also helped out in sponsorship sales and delegate sales.

I had zero experience in most of these areas before joining this company. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to work with talented people who cared (and still do) about me. We had a great work culture where everyone was committed to everyone else’s success, so you did not feel the unhealthy competition which you often encounter in some companies. My ex-colleagues, many of whom became my friends, were very generous with me. They taught me many new things and never hesitated in reaching out to me whenever I faced problems with my work. A few of them were much younger than me, but I was very impressed by their knowledge, passion and professionalism. I did not feel insecured or threatened in any way.

It was all about learning and collaborating. When you have great colleagues who help you grow and grow together with you, it really makes a huge difference.

And I survived.

In a few weeks’ time, I would have reached my one-year milestone in Big Blue.

This is yet another career change to me. Well, not quite, but, it was still a big change in part because this is my first time working in an MNC. Secondly, I am constantly overwhelmed by information and the amount of information I need to know to do this job. I was hired as a proposal content strategist (I will not bored you with my JD). I did a fair bit of writing, copywriting and marketing in my previous jobs, but when you work in Big Blue, you are thrown into another universe.

I know one cannot know everything, but working here makes you feel like you have to know many things. For the first time in my life, I have to work with information designers to create interactive documents, prezis (no idea what it was until I joined), microsites (had written for websites before but still….), murals and even videos! A freaking huge jump from my research career you would say. IKR. As the IT industry also moves really fast, I have no choice but to learn more, and faster. However, even as my one year anniversary is closing in, I am still not prepared for the shock.

Last week, I was talking to a fellow colleague on some hosting issues. I explained that I am slow in catching up with IT because of my background in Biology. His response was, “Yes but you work here now”. You wouldn’t believe how much that comment affected me. Because that is true. I work here now and I should make sure I at least have a basic understanding of my company’s products (at least the important ones) and how those things work. I felt borderline ashamed and realized I couldn’t always make excuses for not knowing something.

Working in an MNC also exposes us to many different types of talents and personalities. I am still intrigued by all the job titles or job descriptions which I have never heard of such as intrapreneurship and performance marketing (was always under the impression that marketing is just, marketing). I could not really tell the difference between business development and client executive (they seem to do same thing internally). And the thousands of acronyms. Don’t even try remembering them.

The challenge is to cope with all these alien territories and not get swarmed in an industry moving in lightning years. It is difficult to not feel overwhelmed if you are someone who wants some kind of progress in life (not always promotion). In fact, some nights I have difficulties falling asleep because I was trying to map out my path. The constant planning, thinking and learning can be very tiring and frustrating. I don’t attempt to sugarcoat anything because at times I still do wonder if I made the right choice.

The other important factor is also a good leader or manager. I count my blessings here. I have great managers and leaders, so that has kept me motivated and encouraged amidst all the chaos. You should be self-directed, but never underestimate the influence of your immediate environment and colleagues.

So is career change really THAT scary?

Totally depends on who you are and what kind of life you want. I like learning new things all the time; I like taking up challenges; and I am never afraid of putting in extra time for work. Most importantly I am always optimistic. Once you embark on the journey, you will quickly discover new things about yourself. Often times those can be weaknesses which you were never aware of. I say, embrace those weaknesses but work on improving yourself diligently. You might not want to go soft on yourself because the world (especially technology) can wipe you out.

And that is how I continue to survive.