Scientists Share: Three Perspectives on Career Transitions

Moderator:
Jeremy Paul, New York Academy of Sciences

Panelists:
Vicky Richon, Merck & Co., Inc.
Prem Das, Harvard Medical School
Flora Feng, Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Highlights

• Researchers can follow a variety of paths into private sector work, and may even change careers several times.
• Planning a career is important, but so is flexibility as new opportunities arise.
• Regardless of one's career path, any PhD hoping to do research should plan to complete a postdoctoral fellowship.

Sandwiches and switchbacks

Contrasting with the first panel's structured series of talks, the lunchtime panel took a more free-form, interactive approach, without slide presentations. This was also in keeping with the panel's theme of career transitions, in which all of the panelists emphasized the importance of flexibility and adaptation.

Traditionally, scientists were taught to think of their careers as a single path of well-defined steps, from graduate school to a postdoctoral position to a lifelong basic research post in an academic or industrial laboratory. While none of the panelists followed such a pattern, all seem to have benefited from their scientific training.

Scientific training is useful, even in nontraditional career paths.

"Every single piece of the intellectual history that I've had, the training that I've had, has ultimately led to the next thing," says Jeremy Paul, the panel's moderator, who now organizes conferences for the Academy. Nonetheless, he added, "I think it's very difficult ... in the current environment to really look out a very, very long way. I think you have to ... always be prepared for the sorts of changes that present themselves."

Indeed, all of the panelists needed to adapt to changes in the job market and their own interests, often several times, and the group represented a broad spectrum of career options for scientists, ranging from patent law to corporate and nonprofit administration.

Going with the flow

The four panelists have crossed paths before, often repeatedly, during the course of mergers and acquisitions of various biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. While some, like patent attorney Flora Feng, followed a relatively well-trodden path into the corporate world, others simply migrated from academe into industry while following their interests.

During her postdoctoral work, for example, Vicky Richon found herself in a laboratory where "we were able to take the small molecule that we were working on on at the bench, and actually treat patients and start a clinical trial." The experience was transformative. "Nothing was as great to me as ... being there when that first patient was treated," says Richon, adding, "It's really then that I decided that ... what I wanted to do was drug discovery."

Rather than applying for jobs with different companies, Richon followed her project, first with the small biotechnology startup that formed to develop the compound, then with Merck, the pharmaceutical company that bought the startup a few years later. Most recently, Richon has moved into management, directing the cancer research program at Merck.

Feng's transition was somewhat different. Initially trained as a chemical engineer, she went to work in the oil industry, but quickly grew tired of the lab. "I just wasn't someone who liked to be in the lab. I don't have the patience for it ... but I did see a lot of technology that was sitting around and wasn't getting used properly," says Feng. Playing to her strengths, she headed for a career in intellectual property law.

Law school can be a very good deal for scientists.

For scientists, law school can be a very good deal, since demand for scientifically trained patent attorneys is extremely high. A firm will often pay for a researcher's legal education, in exchange for a commitment to work for that firm for a period of time. As legal careers go, patent law can also provide a relatively relaxed lifestyle. The emphasis is on "relatively." After saying that her firm allows her to work part-time, for example, Feng clarifies: "I work from nine to five, five days a week. That's part-time for an attorney."

The road less traveled

Panelist Prem Das also ended up in the world of patents, but by a much more circuitous route. Indeed, judged solely by the number and magnitude of his career transitions, he appears to be the panel's most expert member. Following training and research work on two continents, in both academic and industry environments, on topics ranging from plant biology to genomics, Das was in a bit of a fix.

"When you diversify to the extent that I did, it's ... hard to find an academic position, because ... academia is looking for experts in a particular field," says Das. Large pharmaceutical companies are similarly interested in specialists. Fortunately, he found a position with a startup company, and followed jobs through a series of corporate changes and acquisitions. Das later left industry for academia, but with a twist: rather than running a laboratory, he runs the Office of Technology and Licensing at Harvard, where he helps faculty members patent and commercialize their research.

Corporate culture is very different from academic culture.

Even with a diverse background, scientists entering industry should be prepared for some surprises. One of the biggest may be the fundamental cultural differences between the academic and business environments. As all of the panelists agree, corporate thinking is ultimately linked to the financial bottom line. In the private sector, even researchers must develop clear plans and timelines, and show measurable progress toward specific goals. Curiosity-driven digressions are not in the budget.

Postdoc, ergo proper doc

For traditional career tracks, the PhD is no longer considered enough—both academic and large industry research jobs virtually require applicants to have postdoctoral experience. "I think if you'd like to stay in science at all, I would highly encourage all of you to do a postdoctoral fellowship. We don't hire people that don't have a postdoc in the Merck research laboratories," says Richon.

Even investigators who ultimately want to enter management in the pharmaceutical industry would do well to pursue postdoctoral training, according to Richon. For a PhD, it is much easier to enter a company as a scientist, then move into management later, than to compete with business school graduates for entry-level management positions, she says.

However, less traditional career tracks may not require postdoctoral work. Citing a recent study, Das pointed out that half of science doctoral graduates from Harvard, considered by some to be the top graduate school in the nation, do not take postdoctoral fellowships.

Half of all Harvard PhDs do not pursue a postdoc.

"Where are they going? A lot of them are probably going for a second ... professional degree like an MBA ... or straight to law school," says Das. Some may also be taking research jobs at smaller startup companies, or pursuing other "alternative" careers. At least a few Ivy League PhD graduates have gone directly into fields like journalism and public policy with little or no additional training, but the wisdom of that career strategy is open to debate.

Flexibility is an important characteristic in the modern job market, especially in the corporate world, but too much flexibility might lead to a loss of focus. "Jeremy and I are in a sense poster children for what I would call an accidental career," says Das, adding that "it's actually harder to do it this way. It's easier if you plan ahead."