Careers aren’t like a ladder. Instead, they take each of us on twists and turns. While we have all taken different paths, our stories share many parallels. Here, we offer insights into the expectations versus realities we have experienced as we have transitioned throughout our careers.
Emily completed a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and a master’s and doctorate in bioengineering. During her 10-year academic experience, she engaged in research and grant writing, among other scholarly pursuits. After a brief postdoctoral researcher position, she joined MedImmune (now AstraZeneca) as a research scientist at the bench in the preclinical research space. She has since advanced to lead a team of seven scientists, direct four preclinical drug project teams, and support four clinical-stage drug project teams.
On an almost opposite path, Wendy joined the ranks of many other college graduates when she joined a Fortune 500 company after completing a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering. She spent her first 10 years working her way up the research and development career track before taking on a cross-functional role in manufacturing and supply chain, which lasted another 10 years. Today, Wendy teaches biomedical engineers at Georgia Tech as a professor of the practice, a role she has held for three years.
Emily’s experience
I was extensively involved in wet lab research during my undergraduate education. As my peers found corporate jobs after graduation, I knew that a Ph.D. program was the right next step for me to further my research expertise because most of the jobs I considered applying for didn’t seem as if they would challenge me enough. As the end of graduate school approached, I struggled to find a clear vision of what came next.
The academic tenure track seemed like an endless cycle of grant and paper writing, with the uncertainty of grant funding always looming. While a tenured faculty position is not the only option for an academic career, it was the one that best aligned with my ambition to lead a group of scientists and drive direction for scientific research.
As I began to explore other biomedical careers, I was fortunate to land a preclinical research internship with MedImmune while in graduate school. I knew immediately that it was the right career path for me because the company employed some of the best and brightest scientists I had ever met, who were as passionate as I was about translating science into medicines.
I love that research in industry tends to be faster-paced and has larger research budgets than in academia. Speed is valued to ensure companies remain competitive and can be the first to market their drug. Budget approvals are fast in industry, involving leadership or review board decisions rather than months of grant writing followed by months of waiting for the grant review committee’s decision, which is typical in academia.
One of my favorite surprises about industry was the mentorship and professional development opportunities. Large companies often partner with top-tier business schools and career coaches to develop formal leadership training programs. Since working at AstraZeneca, my peers and those who have held C-suite positions have served as mentors to me. This type of expertise can be more difficult to find in academia.
However, there were a few things about industry that I had to learn to love, or at least tolerate, that are less pronounced in the academic world. I typically led or supported two to three projects at a time, and each had one or more meetings every week to ensure alignment across functions. I had to balance technical work with communicating data in meetings. Large companies are often multinational, so communication with key contributors on a project happens across multiple time zones. However, it still needs to be prioritized to avoid delays, which may require occasional early morning or late evening phone calls or meetings. While academic collaborators might also be international, weekly meetings are fairly uncommon.
Companies also often undergo restructuring to align their strategy with the current market conditions. While research and development scientists are always in demand, reorganizations can create job uncertainty if the company downsizes or closes R&D divisions.
I’m thriving in my chosen career path. While my academic training was invaluable for my current role, my personality and career ambitions are much better aligned with my role as a drug development scientist and leader. If you love research but feel academia is not right for you, exploring career opportunities in industry could be a new path for you.
Wendy’s experience
After two decades in the corporate world, I received an invitation to join the faculty at Georgia Tech. My immediate reaction was that I wasn’t qualified. I didn’t have a doctorate. I had not been in a classroom since I earned my undergraduate degree there. Yet the person inviting me knew that, so I heard her out.
The role was “professor of the practice,” meaning I joined the faculty because of my real-world experience helping students prepare for their future careers rather than my educational background.
I quickly learned that experience in higher education is not a prerequisite for the position. The role can be crafted to align with the candidate’s experience and the department’s needs. Within the organization, I am grouped with non-tenure track academic professionals, such as lecturers, whose primary focus is student outcomes rather than scientific research (although many also work in educational research).
My path is not the only way into the classroom; many ways to teach don’t require you to be on campus full time. Adjunct (paid) and guest lecturer (often unpaid) roles provide opportunities to train and develop undergrads while allowing you to keep your corporate job.
I love interacting with undergraduates because it allows me to help shape their future at the exact moment they are transitioning from childhood to adulthood by providing alternative examples of what success can look like. However, what I didn’t expect during my transition was missing certain features in Fortune 500 companies.
I assumed my transition from a large company to a large campus would be easy. Still, the structure of the academic environment presents challenges distinct from those I faced in my corporate career. For example, you must proactively find your community. You must be intentional about getting outside your department bubble to meet new people.
I also learned that there aren’t as many cross-functional opportunities as I was accustomed to. Each department operates like its own small business rather than a business unit under a single corporation. This means you have to become proactive in learning from other teams, pursuing diverse perspectives, and deliberately collaborating with people outside your specific work group to increase your scope of influence and gain additional experiences. You must also be an independent learner, identifying your training and development opportunities instead of relying on the resources I had become accustomed to accessing in the corporate world.
My years in the corporate world provide me with practical examples and expertise that make my classes relevant. Because of what I’ve learned, I wouldn’t do anything differently with my career.
If you have a similar passion and are interested in pursuing a similar path, reach out to the universities and community colleges in your area. Having more women in front of engineering students benefits all engineers.
