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General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: fast_and_bulbous on June 22, 2022, 11:55:13 AM

Title: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: fast_and_bulbous on June 22, 2022, 11:55:13 AM
A week or so ago it was like a little circuit breaker went off in my head, following a couple of unexpected expenses that will force me to borrow money I don't want to borrow. NEED MORE MONEY. And the path to that in my current position is a glide slope that does not even come close to matching the inflation rate in the United States.

I am well known in my subfield. I have industry contacts/collaborators. I have a specific target in mind and a specific set of skills that I will push. I'm learning how to write a business resume. That is the only thing keeping me from currently reaching out to one of my contacts.

I am not going to delay, even though this will inconvenience the lives of others that I collaborate with or advise. I am not going to burn bridges but I am resolute.

Damn this feels good and right.

I will report back.
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: Parasaurolophus on June 22, 2022, 12:24:58 PM
Good luck!
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: dismalist on June 22, 2022, 12:44:53 PM
Market working! Best of luck.
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: mamselle on June 22, 2022, 01:34:57 PM
Sorry for your recently constrained circumstances.

I hope things can work out well going forward.

Would some surreptitious information interviewing with discrete friends be useful?

Or maybe you're already doing that.

M. (who does not idolize "the market" but does respect feelings of certainty when they happen.)
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: Anon1787 on June 22, 2022, 01:57:10 PM
Quote from: mamselle on June 22, 2022, 01:34:57 PM
Would some surreptitious information interviewing with discrete friends be useful?

Or maybe you're already doing that.

I like my friends to be discrete and discreet.
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: mamselle on June 22, 2022, 02:36:44 PM
Oops...

M.
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: fast_and_bulbous on June 22, 2022, 03:12:01 PM
Quote from: mamselle on June 22, 2022, 01:34:57 PM
Sorry for your recently constrained circumstances.

I hope things can work out well going forward.

Would some surreptitious information interviewing with discrete friends be useful?

Or maybe you're already doing that.

M. (who does not idolize "the market" but does respect feelings of certainty when they happen.)

Thanks mamselle. I'm reading Leaving Academia: A Practical Guide and everything tracks. Most of the pieces are in place. I will be strategic.

It's not just the money. I'm done with the National Science Foundation Lottery as a sole funding source. If I never write another proposal again it will be too soon. Thankfully my skills should translate pretty obviously to the group I am targeting, and these skills are highly desirable to this group. We'll see. I am totally done with academia whether or not this particular group works out. I see it as a practical matter of survival in this crazy world. I have already left academia in my mind/heart and am ready for the next chapter. I. Am. Done.
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: mamselle on June 22, 2022, 04:04:26 PM
Good to know what you want.

And these are not intended to dissuade, but just for a reality check.

I've worked in several STEM-related industries as well as in academic settings.

There are dangerous doofuses in both.

There are really cool people in both.

You can sometimes get to do really cool stuff in industry that you couldn't at all do in academia.

You can sometimes be cut off, usually by the profit line, in industrial settings, which happens less often in academia.

The biggest discontinuity is the need to please shareholders, which translates to everyone being ready to move on every couple of years because some shareholder's group keeps pushing for some increased profit margin on their shares and the only way to do that is to do lay-offs.

I'm in an area where layoffs are so common that there's an understood protocol for recognizing when they're likely to happen, planning how to get through them (never keep more than two boxes worth of personal stuff on your desk at any time), and methods of optimizing your contacts at that job (collect contact information in advance) and ways of planning ahead for when you're all at some place across town with everyone in different reportage structures (a bench rat can be reporting to someone at one place and be their supervisor at the next).

Doesn't always happen, but it can.

And you should still do what you want to do, not saying you shouldn't, just know where the potholes are and don't get eaten by one.

M.
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: secundem_artem on June 23, 2022, 07:16:58 AM
2 things to point out:

1.  You really want to move to a sector where people won't get your Captain Beefheart reference?

2. I've worked in the private sector, they expect results! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9P_ShdLJmY)
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: Volhiker78 on June 23, 2022, 07:56:36 AM

[/quote]

Thanks mamselle. I'm reading Leaving Academia: A Practical Guide and everything tracks. Most of the pieces are in place. I will be strategic.

It's not just the money. I'm done with the National Science Foundation Lottery as a sole funding source. If I never write another proposal again it will be too soon. Thankfully my skills should translate pretty obviously to the group I am targeting, and these skills are highly desirable to this group. We'll see. I am totally done with academia whether or not this particular group works out. I see it as a practical matter of survival in this crazy world. I have already left academia in my mind/heart and am ready for the next chapter. I. Am. Done.
[/quote]

Good luck.  I went the other direction (industry to academics) but knew several people who did the reverse.  It went well for them.  All of them quickly gravitated to managerial roles with various levels of technical responsibilities.  I think it is because they had strong skills in teaching/mentoring/evaluating.   Also good interpersonal skills and the ability to network upwards.  Not sure this is what you are looking for but might be something you communicate in interviews. 
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: little bongo on June 23, 2022, 11:14:35 AM
Yes, best of luck. It's a big move, but it seems to be the best one for you.
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: Dismal on June 23, 2022, 11:39:32 AM
Sounds like a good plan. Yes, I hope you report back on the next step in your career.
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: bio-nonymous on June 23, 2022, 12:38:47 PM
 I completely understand your feelings about NSF, I feel the same way about NIH for my field. I sometimes think about leaving academia myself, occasionally skimming through Biospace jobs... For me, it is not just the broken funding lottery but also the broken manuscript peer review system. Good Luck and I wish you the best!
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: fast_and_bulbous on July 05, 2022, 06:44:27 AM
So, it is done. The email went out. Message received, and now I wait.

The last couple of weeks involved creating a (non academic) resume along with assembling the words I wanted to write to convey my interest in the specifics of the company.

I have second doubted myself more than a few times and considered bailing on this silly notion but I always came back to "I have to at least try."

Yoda can kiss my ass.
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: lightning on July 05, 2022, 07:20:54 AM
This sounds great. Good luck!
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: fast_and_bulbous on May 19, 2023, 04:53:21 AM
Well, well, well. How the turntables.
Not really. I am still in academia, and currently quite content.
Last fall I had an interview with a huge computery company and it went swell, although I learned what I was trying to "sell" wasn't really what they were interested in, which made my potential role there much less clear. And, really, it was a very short discussion because the company was under a hiring freeze. So, no go.
A month or so later, a grant came in, and some other stuff happened that made me much more content in my current (basically work from home) 'research scientist' position.
I also decided I kind of dodged a bullet. All the financial freaking out aside: I would probably die inside if I worked for this company.
So I am even more determined to kick academic research ass, and my collaborations are blooming and sh*t's getting done. So I am in it for the long haul, I guess. I figure a big-assed R1 university is probably going to stick around for a while, and the idea of getting laid off makes me want to vomit in fear.
Yay academia?
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: Puget on May 19, 2023, 06:43:07 AM
Quote from: fast_and_bulbous on May 19, 2023, 04:53:21 AM
Well, well, well. How the turntables.
Not really. I am still in academia, and currently quite content.
Last fall I had an interview with a huge computery company and it went swell, although I learned what I was trying to "sell" wasn't really what they were interested in, which made my potential role there much less clear. And, really, it was a very short discussion because the company was under a hiring freeze. So, no go.
A month or so later, a grant came in, and some other stuff happened that made me much more content in my current (basically work from home) 'research scientist' position.
I also decided I kind of dodged a bullet. All the financial freaking out aside: I would probably die inside if I worked for this company.
So I am even more determined to kick academic research ass, and my collaborations are blooming and sh*t's getting done. So I am in it for the long haul, I guess. I figure a big-assed R1 university is probably going to stick around for a while, and the idea of getting laid off makes me want to vomit in fear.
Yay academia?

Glad things worked out, and your are blooming where you're planted after all!

A lot of people I know from grad school/postdoc went into industry (data science mostly), and although they make WAY more than I do, I don't want their jobs. First as you note, they get laid off and sometimes fired fairly regularly. They always land new jobs fairly quickly (there doesn't seem to be much stigma as long as you've been in a job for about a year), but that would stress me the hell out. I also wouldn't want to give up doing mostly what I want for doing what my boss wants (which can change on a dime).
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: apl68 on May 19, 2023, 07:28:15 AM
Thank you for the update, and glad to hear you're doing well.

And isn't it neat how your update just happened to land at the top of the thread's second page!
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: ciao_yall on May 19, 2023, 09:23:28 AM
Quote from: fast_and_bulbous on May 19, 2023, 04:53:21 AM
Well, well, well. How the turntables.
Not really. I am still in academia, and currently quite content.
Last fall I had an interview with a huge computery company and it went swell, although I learned what I was trying to "sell" wasn't really what they were interested in, which made my potential role there much less clear. And, really, it was a very short discussion because the company was under a hiring freeze. So, no go.
A month or so later, a grant came in, and some other stuff happened that made me much more content in my current (basically work from home) 'research scientist' position.
I also decided I kind of dodged a bullet. All the financial freaking out aside: I would probably die inside if I worked for this company.
So I am even more determined to kick academic research ass, and my collaborations are blooming and sh*t's getting done. So I am in it for the long haul, I guess. I figure a big-assed R1 university is probably going to stick around for a while, and the idea of getting laid off makes me want to vomit in fear.
Yay academia?

Nothing like having options to make you appreciate what you have!
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: lightning on May 19, 2023, 06:51:03 PM
It looks like things worked out well for you. I also attempted to jump to the more lucrative "industry."

Unfortunately, my attempts to jump to "industry" didn't really go anywhere.

Congrats for getting far enough in the process to know enough about it to not go there.
Title: Re: I have decided to leave academia for industry
Post by: fast_and_bulbous on March 14, 2024, 12:55:03 PM
Some updates: Things remain in the air for me. I did interview recently with the big company and it went well, there will be more interviews. So the possibility remains of leaving. Other things in my personal life have blown up majorly and right now I am more open to change than usual, so I'll probably take an offer if it's given. My current funding situation remains OK - I am good until near the end of the year - and I've been "given permission" to dedicate a lot of time to grant writing to make up for a deficit that was caused by weird life things. So on the one hand I'm doubling down on the research life, while also looking to jump off the academic track to a corporate one. Right now I could see being OK with both options, but my prevailing attitude is that I could really use a change - a good paying work from home computer type job could just be the ticket.