Tina Seelig’s post-PhD transition

I came across this recently:

Soon after earning my PhD in neuroscience, my sights were set on working in a startup biotechnology company. The only problem? I wanted a job in marketing and strategy, not in the lab. This seemed nearly impossible without any relevant experience. The startup companies with whom I interviewed were looking for individuals who could hit the ground running. I interviewed for months and months and often got close to a job offer, but nothing came through.

Eventually, I got an introduction to the managing director of the San Francisco branch of Booz Allen Hamilton, an international consulting company. My goal was to impress him enough that he would introduce me to some of the company’s life science clients. I walked into the meeting and he asked me why someone with a PhD in neuroscience would be a good management consultant. I could have told him the truth—that I actually hadn’t considered that option. But on the spot, with nothing to lose, I outlined the similarities between brain research and management consulting. For example, in both cases you need to identify the burning questions, collect relevant data, analyze it, select the most interesting results, craft a compelling presentation, and determine the next set of burning questions. He arranged other interviews for later that day, and I walked out that evening with a job offer. Of course, I took it. In fact, it turned out to be an amazing way to learn about business in a wide range of industries, and I certainly did leverage my prior training as a scientist.

From Tina Seelig, What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20: A Crash Course on Making Your Place in the World (New York: HarperOne, 2009), 60-61.