Boost Your Career in Biotech: Breaking Free from an Industry Rut | Expert Tips

  • Thread starter Thread starter not a quark
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Industry Stuck
AI Thread Summary
A professional with nearly eight years of experience in a small R&D company is feeling stagnant due to a lack of relevant projects, limited promotion opportunities, and a recent grant rejection that hindered potential career advancements. Despite confidence in their skills, they express concerns about their resume and networking capabilities, particularly in transitioning to a biotech or biomedical role, which aligns more closely with their interests. The discussion highlights the importance of networking and building contacts in desired industries, suggesting that engaging with professional societies and working on standards can facilitate connections that may lead to new job opportunities. The conversation also touches on the scarcity of technical jobs outside of specific sectors like defense, oil and gas, and finance, emphasizing the need for proactive career development strategies.
not a quark
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
I've been working at a small R&D company for almost 8 years since my PhD. The things I do are not particularly related to my thesis research. I've had some projects of my own that went fine, but mostly I've ended up working on co-workers' stuff. Being a small place with a capricious promotion policy I've had the same title this whole time, which also doesn't look great on the ole resume. Now a gov. grant that I was really excited about that could have lead to good new opportunities has been turned down. I think I would like to transition into a biotech/biomedical related job (i.e. much closer to my personal interests), but opportunities to publish and get to conferences have been slim.

So I am feeling rather stuck. While I have confidence in my skills I'm not sure I look that great on paper, I have virtually zero contacts in the biotech world, and I'm not sure how to proceed. I think I have reached the limit of my professional growth at this job due to circumstance, company size, etc. Now what?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Who knows...but at least you're Dr. Not a quark, so you're better off than most. :)
 
Not sure if this is too much of a personal question but I'll ask anyway. What kind of work do physics PhDs do in R&D, or at the very least, what do they do in your field/job? The majority of the posts in this section are basically about technical jobs being scare and them being even rarer outside of defense, oil & gas and finance, which is why I am interested in what you do. :-)
 
Yup, defense work. Largely driven by military fads and half-hearted attempts by Pentagon brass to be hip to new technology trends.
 
The solution is to network. Cultivate contacts among other industries where you might like to work. Join a few societies, work on standards, things like that. Then, you'll be able to meet the sorts of people who can help you write your own ticket.

Eight years is enough to get you started if you have the degrees...
 

Similar threads

Engineering Biotech and Biological Engineering career prospects
Replies
1
Views
2K
Engineering PhD in Engineering, Very Rare in Industry I Work in, Impacts?
Replies
27
Views
4K
Any biotech workers here? How did you get experience before your 1st job?
Replies
9
Views
8K
Job Skills Converting a CV to a Resume (from Academia to Industry)
Replies
2
Views
2K
Engineering Hiring Biomedical Engineers as opposed to more traditional Engineers
Replies
3
Views
2K
Physics I need guidance from Medical Physicists for my career growth
Replies
2
Views
2K
Physics Is Lack of Publications a Barrier for Landing a Post-Doc or Industry Job?
Replies
9
Views
3K
Other Recent Grad with Job market Questions
Replies
25
Views
3K
Moving to industry from general relativity
Replies
3
Views
2K
Physics Is returning to school sensible for me?
Replies
33
Views
4K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top