Alternative Careers in Science (eBook)

Leaving the Ivory Tower

Cynthia Robbins-Roth (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: EPUB

2011 | 2. Auflage
320 Seiten
Elsevier Science (Verlag)
978-0-08-045498-6 (ISBN)

Infos

Many science students find themselves in the midst of graduate school or sitting at a lab bench, and realize that they hate lab work! Even worse is realizing that they may love science, but science (at least academic science) is not providing many job opportunities these days. What's a poor researcher to do !?
This book gives first-hand descriptions of the evolution of a band of hardy scientists out of the lab and into just about every career you can imagine. Researchers from every branch of science found their way into finance, public relations, consulting, business development, journalism, and more - and thrived there! Each author tells their personal story, including descriptions of their career path, a typical day, where to find information on their job, opportunities to career growth, and more. This is a must-read for every science major, and everyone who is looking for a way to break out of their career rut.
* An insider's look at the wide range of job opportunities for scientists yearning to leave the lab
* First-person stories from researchers who successfully made the leap from science into finance, journalism, law, public policy, and more.
* Tips on how to track down and get that job in a new industry
* Typical day scenarios for each career track
* List of resources (websites, associations, etc.) to help you in your search
* Completely revised, this latest edition includes six entirely new chapters

Inhalt

front cover 1
copyright 5
table of contents 6
front matter 10
Contributors 10
Preface 12
body 14
1 A SCIENTIST GONE BAD: How I Went from the Bench to the Board Room 14
SO HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? 16
HEADING OUT OF THE LAB 18
COMMUNICATION SKILLS BECOME IMPORTANT 19
ONCE MORE INTO THE FRAY—GOING INDEPENDENT 20
PUBLISHING GETS ADDED TO THE MIX 21
ALTERNATIVE CAREERS 23
SCIENCE AND INFORMATION 26
2 TECHNICAL WRITING: Making Sense Out of Manuals 28
WHAT IS A TECHNICAL WRITER? 28
WHY TECH WRITING IS A GREAT MOVE 29
COMMON PERSONALITY TRAITS OF TECH WRITERS 30
A TYPICAL DAY AT WORK 31
COMPARISONS WITH THE ACADEMIC WORLD 34
HOW TO BECOME A TECH WRITER 35
WHERE TO FIND TECH WRITING JOBS 37
WHERE CAN YOU GO AFTER TECH WRITING? 37
RESOURCES 38
3 SCIENCE WRITING: Communicating with the Masses 40
SHOULD YOU BECOME A SCIENCE WRITER? 40
A CHALLENGING FIELD 41
WHO NEEDS SCIENCE WRITERS? 42
HOW DO I BECOME A SCIENCE WRITER? 43
WHAT IS A TYPICAL WORK DAY LIKE? 44
IT IS SCIENCE, BUT IS IT NEWS? 44
HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN DNA IN THREE SENTENCES? 45
DO SCIENTISTS LIKE REPORTERS? 45
WILL ANYONE READ WHAT YOU WRITE? 46
THE LOGISTICS 46
WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFORMATION? 49
SOME INSPIRATION 50
4 CREATING A PUBLISHING EMPIRE: How I Gave up Academia and Became an Entrepreneurial Editor 52
HOW IT ALL STARTED 52
ON OUR OWN 54
SO HOW DO YOU GET THIS JOB? 57
WHAT DOES PUBLISHING PAY? 57
WHAT IS NEXT IN MY CAREER PATH? 58
5 BUSINESS INFORMATION SERVICES: Providing the Data for Industry 60
HOW MY PATH CHANGED DIRECTION 60
ENTREPRENEURSHIP 65
WHERE THE TIME GOES 68
WHERE BIOABILITY IS GOING 69
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS 70
THE FINANCIAL WORLD 72
6 BECOMING A VENTURE CAPITALIST 74
STARTING IN THE LAB 74
GETTING A TASTE FOR BUSINESS AND FINANCE 75
EVOLVING INTO A BANKER 78
DAILY TRANSACTIONS 79
FINALLY, VENTURE CAPITAL CALLS 80
WHAT THE JOB IS LIKE 81
7 INVESTMENT BANKING: Dreams and Reality 84
THE PLAN 85
THE MENTORS 86
THE FIRST BREAK 87
THE SKILL SET REQUIRED BY AN ANALYST 88
A TYPICAL DAY AS AN ANALYST 89
WHERE I HOPE TO GO FROM HERE 90
8 HOW I BECAME AN ANALYST: Science-Based Investment Advising 92
THE EARLY YEARS 92
BEGINNING A CAREER 93
THE BUSINESS OF SCIENCE 94
THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME 95
WHAT DOES A BIOTECHNOLOGY ANALYST DO? 97
POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES 102
HOW TO BECOME AN ANALYST 104
MY CAREER SINCE SBC WARBURG DILLON READ: MOVING TO THE BUY-SIDE 105
THE CORPORATE WORLD 108
9 ENTREPRENEUR AND COMPANY FOUNDER: Starting Your Own Company and Surviving 110
HOW DID I GET HERE? 110
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A CEO 111
A TYPICAL WORK WEEK 112
WHAT IT TAKES TO RUN THE SHOW 113
THE PROS AND CONS OF BEING THE BOSS 116
HOW CAN YOU GET THIS JOB? 116
THE CURRENT SITUATION 118
10 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Making Deals with Science 120
MY EVOLUTION 120
WHAT IS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT? 121
SOME OF THE CHALLENGES 125
WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 126
HOW DO YOU GET HERE? 127
11 THE GROWTH OF A MANAGER: From Pure Research to Policy Administration 130
WHAT IS ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT? 131
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME? 131
WHAT DOES A POLICY ADMINISTRATOR DO ALL DAY? 133
COMPARING THE WORK 134
WHAT’S NEXT? 135
UPDATE: 7 YEARS LATER 135
12 REGULATORY AFFAIRS: Keeping Product Development on Track 138
WHAT IS REGULATORY AFFAIRS? 139
REGULATORY AFFAIRS IN A BIOPHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY 140
WHAT JOBS ARE AVAILABLE IN REGULATORY AFFAIRS? 143
HOW DO YOU GET INTO REGULATORY AFFAIRS? 148
13 PATENT LAW CAREERS: Protecting the Intellectual Property of Science 152
PATENTS AND PRACTITIONERS 152
MY (CONVOLUTED) CAREER PATH 153
A TYPICAL DAY 156
ATTORNEY VERSUS AGENT 157
JOB RESOURCES 160
14 ENTERING BIOMEDICAL AND SCIENTIFIC CONSULTING 162
LEAVING THE COMFORT ZONE OF ACADEMIA 162
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO 165
A FOCUS ON BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 170
WOULD YOU MAKE A GOOD BIOMEDICAL CONSULTANT? 171
ADVICE ON BECOMING A BIOMEDICAL CONSULTANT 172
15 SALES AND MARKETING: So You Want to Sell? 174
HOW DID I GET HERE? 174
WHAT DO I DO? 177
HOW MUCH DO I MAKE? 178
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THIS SORT OF CAREER? 180
CAREER MOBILITY 182
WHAT ABOUT TRAVEL? 182
WHAT COMPANIES HAVE SALESPEOPLE? 183
WHAT SKILLS ARE NECESSARY? 184
WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE? 186
WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF THE JOB? 186
HOW OFTEN DO I HAVE A HAIR-ON-FIRE DAY? 187
WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING FOR 7 YEARS 188
16 FROM DOING RESEARCH TO MOVING RESEARCH: My Life in Tech Transfer 190
OFF TO THE CORPORATE WORLD 191
THE NEXT STEP: FINANCIAL CONSULTING 192
BACK TO ACADEMIA BUT NOT TO THE LAB! 194
THE LIFE OF A LICENSING OFFICER 194
DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER: THE BUSINESS OF IP 195
PROVIDING SERVICES TO COMPANIES 202
17 CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS: Helping Companies Sell Their Stories 204
MAKING THE MOVE 207
HOW DO I BREAK INTO THE PROFESSION IF I DON’T HAVE THESE SKILLS? 210
YOU HAVE THE JOB! NOW WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT? 210
WHERE DO I GO TO FIND OUT ABOUT PR? 214
HOW DO I PREPARE FOR A JOB INTERVIEW? 215
THE PERSONALITY PROFILE 215
DIFFICULTIES AND PLEASURES 216
WHERE CAN I FIND A PR JOB? 217
18 EXECUTIVE SEARCH: The Hunt for Exceptional Talent 218
BECOMING A RECRUITER 219
RESPONSIBILITIES AND ATTRIBUTES 219
A TYPICAL DAY 222
DAILY FRUSTRATION LEVEL 223
COMPENSATION, EXPERIENCE, AND ADVANCEMENT 225
THE REWARDS OF BEING IN THE EXECUTIVE SEARCH BUSINESS 226
WHY THIS INDUSTRY? 227
HOW TO ENTER THIS INDUSTRY 228
PERSONAL COMMENTS 229
19 CONSULTANT TO THE STARS: Advising CEOs for Fun and Profit 230
MY PATH INTO FINANCE 231
BECOMING A CONSULTANT 232
IT’S ALL ABOUT REPUTATION 237
20 BIOMEDICAL CONSULTANT: Specializing in Technology Assessment, Strategic Planning, and Grant Writing 240
HOW I GOT THERE 241
MOVE TO INDUSTRY 243
BECOMING A CONSULTANT OVERNIGHT 244
WHAT DOES CONSULTING PAY? 248
PROS AND CONS OF THE JOB 249
SKILLS FOR SUCCESS 250
MENTORING 252
BLURRING THE BOUNDARIES 253
WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES, ANOTHER OPENS 254
SCIENCE CAREERS IN GOVERNMENT 256
21 SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY: Translating Between Two Worlds 258
THE NEED FOR SCIENCE IN POLITICS 259
MAKING THE SHIFT 260
MY OWN PATH: TURNING A CONGRESSIONAL FELLOWSHIP INTO A CAREER 261
GETTING STARTED: WHAT SKILLS DO YOU NEED AND WHERE DO YOU GET THEM? 264
POINTS OF ENTRY INTO A SCIENCE POLICY CAREER 268
WHERE DOES A CAREER IN SCIENCE POLICY LEAD? 272
EARNING POTENTIAL 273
CONCLUSIONS 274
ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION 274
22 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR: Building a Biotech Industry for an Entire Country 276
A JOB I COULD NOT HAVE PREDICTED 276
HOW I GOT HERE 277
OFF TO NEW ZEALAND 278
WHALES LEAD ME INTO A POST-DOC 279
INTO GOVERNMENT SERVICE 280
I ENTER THE ENTREPRENEURIAL WORLD 281
LURED BACK TO GOVERNMENT 282
WHAT DOES AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR DO? 283
WHERE TO FROM HERE? 285
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO DO THIS JOB: HAVE YOU KISSED THE BLARNEY STONE? 287
A DAY IN THE LIFE... 288
HOW DID SCIENCE TRAINING HELP? 288
23 GOVERNMENT AGENCIES: Directing Science in the Military 290
HOW I GOT HERE 291
A TYPICAL DAY 293
WHERE CAN YOU GO FROM PROGRAM MANAGER? 298
WHAT OPPORTUNITIES EXIST IN THE MILITARY? 298
SKILLS NEEDED TO SUCCEED AS PROGRAM MANAGER 299
THE PROS AND CONS 300
HOW TO GET THIS JOB 301
back matter 304
APPENDIX: Information Resources About Alternative Careers for Scientists 304
index 306

Textauszug

Chapter 1 A SCIENTIST GONE BAD:

How I Went from the Bench to the Board Room

Cynthia Robbins-Roth, Ph.D.

Principal, BioVenture Consultants

It all began so innocently—back in 1984, I was happily running gels and killing tumors in mice. One year later, I was wearing grown-up clothes and hanging out with vice presidents and chief executive officers.

After that first move out of the lab, I founded BioVenture View, a monthly biotech industry newsletter, and BioPeople Magazine, the first biotech industry magazine about the movers and shakers building the sector; I became founding editor of BioWorld Today, the first daily online/faxed biotech newsletter; I started BioVenture Consultants, which still provides business, technology, and financial consulting services to start-up businesses and established biopharmaceutical (“biopharma”) companies around the globe; I started writing a regular biotech industry column for Forbes Magazine and Forbes ASAP, along with two books (this book and From Alchemy to IPO: The Business of Biotechnology). You probably noticed that bio is part of all of these endeavors. That early scientific bent remained a big part of all that I do. I have traveled throughout North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim, giving invited talks and working with governments and young companies. And yet, I haven’t done a hands-on experiment since 1984.

And I couldn’t be happier.

This completely unplanned-for transition has led me into a universe of opportunities to earn my living by spending time with world-class researchers pushing back the frontier of science and by communicating the excitement and promise of that technology to the rest of the world. And what other biochemist can claim to have been quoted in that respected scientific journal Town & Country?

When I crossed that line from scientist to “suit,” there were very few examples for me to study. Researchers in the biological sciences were just starting to believe that it might be okay to leave academia and go into the newly emerging biotech industry—but only as a scientist! I had no idea what a scientist could do outside of the lab. I had spent my entire career immersed in a very rarefied environment, surrounded by other biomedical researchers who saw the simple move from university to company lab as the most radical career move ever!

These days, with government funding for academic research still very much under pressure, with a dearth of academic jobs (with or without tenure!), and with a growing sense that there must be more possibilities out there, graduate students and other members of the academic community are beginning their search for life after lab much earlier. I find that many universities have active career seminar series that bring students and faculty into contact with former scientists who have entered a diverse range of careers. Many corporate scientists are looking for ways to grow beyond the lab.

This book gives you the insider’s story on 24 different ways to put that scientific training to good use away from the lab bench and away from academia. Each of our authors took an unexpected detour into worlds that were previously unimagined during their early training. And while each of these jobs took the authors far from their original paths, the key to their success and enjoyment of new careers was the critical role science continued to play.

Right now, it might be tough to see how a scientific background could be valuable to a stock analyst, publisher, or government policy expert. But, as you will learn from these personal stories, it’s the science that taught them all to think analytically, to structure an approach to new areas, and to forge ahead into new territory without fear (or at least not much fear).

The world is full of those with M.B.A.s who long to enter the growing biotech sector but who just can’t master the intricacies of the technology sufficiently to be useful to the companies or investors; of patent lawyers who struggle with applications because they can’t fully grasp the prior art in the scientific literature; and of information providers who don’t understand the information they sell and thus can’t always tell the difference between crucial and just interesting data.

Don’t let anyone tell you that science is a dead end, now that becoming a full-tenured professor seems out of reach. And don’t believe anyone who tells you that it is a waste of time to pursue a science education unless you plan to stay in the lab. There is a wide universe out there, just waiting for you to explore!

“And do not believe anyone who tells you that it is a waste of time to pursue a science education unless you plan to stay in the lab.”

SO HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

I was first bitten by the science bug in seventh grade. The teacher was showing us how dripping acid on a rock could determine if it was limestone. This simple-minded experiment had a huge impact on me. I loved the idea that you could do experiments to figure out something that you didn’t already know, that you could query the universe! This appealed to me immensely, in part because I already had a serious problem with authority figures and loved the idea that you could find answers independently.

While the specific field of interest evolved for me over time, the basic drive toward lab work never changed. At Bates College, my biochemistry focus shifted a bit when I took my first immunology course, taught by a young scientist fresh out of his post-doctoral position (“post-doc”) at Yale. Immunology was just on the verge of converting from phenomenology (okay, stick this stuff into a bunny and see what happens!) into a realm where a protein biochemist could have some fun and learn cool new stuff about how the immune system actually worked. That teacher was the first to let me into the wonderful world of hands-on science—I was in love.

I moved to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston for my Ph.D. work with Dr. Benjamin Papermaster, whose lab was focused on applying the tools of biochemistry to purify and characterize the proteins that carry messages (Kill that tumor! Wipe out the virally infected cell!) for the immune system. I was intrigued with the idea that we could use our work to find a way to provide cancer patients with the immune factors their own systems were not making, moving away from the incredibly toxic chemotherapy drugs that were the only treatment available at the time.

By 1980, it became increasingly clear that, while I loved the lab work, academia was not for me. If I had to listen to one more medical student whine about the lab work I had to teach them, I would be forced to throw them through a window—which would probably be detrimental to my academic career. I started interviewing for jobs at pharmaceutical companies, but I was discouraged by their overpopulation of middle-aged white guys in clean lab coats and ties who all went home at 4:30 in the afternoon. These companies seemed too conservative for me, and my little problem with authority figures had not gone away.

In 1980, while I was in the midst of a post-doc in the interferon lab of Dr. Howard Johnson, I got a phone call from a scientist at a newly formed company—Genentech, Inc., in southern San Francisco, California. While I had no idea what this “biotech” industry was, my ears perked up when he said the company was only 2 years old and had chosen cytokines—my area of interest—as an initial research focus. We agreed to meet in Paris at the week-long International Immunology Congress (really, ALL job interviews should take place in Paris, don’t you think?). To this day, I am convinced it was my ability to order him his first full meal in French that got me the job.

In spite of howls of “traitor” from my academic colleagues, Genentech turned out to be exactly what I was looking for, in many ways. The labs were packed with young ex-post-docs and those with recently received Ph.D. titles who had no commercial experience, along with just about every piece of equipment you could want. The company environment was very entrepreneurial—Genentech was one of the first biotech companies formed, and it changed the ground rules for doing science in a corporate setting. Dress codes were nonexistent, scientists kept whatever schedules they wanted (being ex-post-docs, we all worked 18-hour days, at least 6 days a week), and we didn’t have to write grants or teach medical students! I was working with some of the best scientists in a broad range of disciplines—protein chemistry, immunology, tumor biology, molecular biology, X-ray crystallography, assay development, and so on. I was in heaven.

At Genentech, my “jack-of-all-trades, master of none” personality, first nurtured in Johnson’s lab, really came into play. While I was supposed to be focused exclusively on assay design and purification schemes, I spent a lot of time wandering the halls and learning how to do amino acid composition and sequencing, RNA purification (and why you really don’t want phenol on your hands), and some really hard-core protein biochemistry. I learned about the problems in designing productive animal studies and the challenges a young entrepreneurial company faced when starting with 75 folks, who knew each other pretty well, and...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 28.4.2011
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Schulbuch / Wörterbuch ► Lexikon / Chroniken
• Themenwelt: Medizin / Pharmazie ► Studium
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik ► Berufspädagogik
• Themenwelt: Technik
• ISBN-10: 0-08-045498-4 / 0080454984
• ISBN-13: 978-0-08-045498-6 / 9780080454986