SHOULD YOU GET INTO ACADEMIA OR INDUSTRY?

As a life-science graduate student or postdoc student, ONE of the key questions that undoubtedly crosses your mind is:

SHOULD I GO INTO ACADEMIA OR INDUSTRY?

Maybe for some of you it’s a decision already made based on specific factors like:

You hate teaching, you hate writing grants, you’re more interested in basic research than applied research

OR

You have a goal of help companies meet their business plan, provide data that offers clinical value to patients, if you wish to climb the organisational ladder and manage teams

All of those are perfectly reasonable, depending on your own values, needs, wants and feelings considering the fact that where you see yourself in your career.

But what if you are in a dilemma?

How do you really decide on what is the best for you?

ACADEMIA OR INDUSTRY?

Going back to the “pen and paper method”, weigh your pros and cons of being in academia/industry by asking some of these questions:

Here’s a bunch of questions to start with:

1. Realistically, where do I see myself in my career path?
2. Do I want to do research just for the sake of learning OR do I want to bring a real impact in people’s lives?
3. Do I want the freedom to prioritise my work schedule OR do I want to work in a 9–5-time bound research organisation?
4. Do I want to enjoy intellectual freedom OR do I want to showcase my individual impact?
5. What about my financial growth plans while I am in academia/research?

Now when you’ve set yourself to think deeply about your desires, you must understand that

IT ALL BOILS DOWN TO WHAT YOU WANT!

Thank you for reading. Here you have the 5 points that I always go through when I am in the process of searching my soul.

· Deciding the concerns and priorities

· Thinking about the long-term goal/plan

· Understand and appreciate one’s own personality

· Consider one’s strengths & weaknesses

· And most importantly, Being honest with oneself

Nonetheless, I would not say that this strategy would work for everyone because every individual has his/her own thoughts.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave your feedback below. Till then, see you in the next post!

About the Author

Drishti Rathod is a Pharmaceutical Scientist by profession and is leveraging her experience gained at a leading Big Pharma.

With her expertise in pharmaceutical field, she aims to make a difference in the world.

If you want to understand more about Drishti’s story, pharmacy, and how she can help you grow scientifically, you can connect with her on LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.