Navigating Early Career: Young Researcher Edition
At 27, am I late to the ‘quarter-life crisis’ party?
The other day, my dental hygienist asked me, “So, how’s it going for you?” And with a half-open mouth, I replied, “I don’t know why I thought my life problems would suddenly end the day I graduate,” and he just cracked up.
The Post-Graduation Illusion
A year ago, I graduated with my MS in Physiology. It was a big moment; I will never forget the day I defended my thesis. I felt like I had taken over the world.
Every time I prayed to the universe, asking it to grant a wish, I saw that the universe always gave me something bigger and better, at times making me feel that I was not worthy of it. Yet, by the time it grants my wish, I have already lost the excitement, or, to put it not-so-nicely, I am almost dead on the journey, despite being just a few miles away.
The delay is unnecessary, but is it avoidable? I guess not. It is very easy to stay positive during our highs; I bet the motivation and mindset would be very different in our lows. Personally, I prefer not to stay overly optimistic during my lows because I feel that I don’t allow myself to fully experience my emotions. I surely do not want to validate all my negative thoughts, but I have no intention of suppressing them either. I should be, and I am my safe space.
Everything’s fine; nothing’s on fire.
Living on a visa is different yet difficult, and I for sure know that I cannot fight my destiny. But my father is a big believer in the fact that willpower can fight or alter your destiny, and growing up, I have witnessed it a million times already. Unfortunately, everybody goes through their fair share of struggles, and it’s just a stepping stone, not the end of the world.
Career Building Is Slow — But I’m Not a Sloth
The other day, I googled, “What are the superpowers of a researcher?”
Though the AI overview had an impressive list, consisting of hyper-focused, enhanced cognition, and exceptional time management, I thought to myself, “What superpower would it take to think about your next career move while performing surgeries on mice, juggling 10-hour angiogenesis assays, and praying your gels don’t fail—just months before your defense?”
Two years ago, I began reaching out to my peers because I wanted to create a roadmap for myself, starting with the correct time to begin writing my thesis, editing, refining, and making it into a final draft, while preparing for the industrial positions, tailoring my CV/Resume to roles I was suitable for.
Follow the Herd
The first step was simple: I contacted a friend from a neighboring lab- a PhD student and asked how he envisioned transitioning into the biotech industry. The goal was to borrow someone else’s roadmap, follow their lead, and ultimately end up where I wanted to be. It wasn’t laziness, but smart, or at least that is what I thought. Why should I do the homework if someone else has done it already?
To my surprise, I began to realize that most of my peers weren’t headed in the same direction at all. Some of them were preparing to get into medical school or gearing up to take the USMLE to begin practicing as physicians, while the rest saw themselves in academic roles. As days passed, I began to realize that I was the outlier, one of the only students thinking about getting my foot in the industry, with a dream to bridge the gap between science and entrepreneurship.
Paving the Path: A DIY
The thought of reinventing the wheel gave me anxiety. Though I had not defended yet, I felt uncertainty about my future. I somehow had gotten comfortable in my lab and felt safe while performing experiments. I did not have to think about networking, browsing through open positions, editing my resume before applying to match the job description, and I definitely didn’t think of sending out cold emails to recruiters or getting referrals. It all felt distant and exhausting as these were never a part of my training.
That was a wake-up call. If I wanted to grow, I had to take my networking beyond the lab and connect with professionals across the U.S.—people in diverse roles, with varied levels of experience, who could help me see what was possible beyond the bench.
Loop versus Spiral
Eventually, I started working as a research assistant, and I thoroughly enjoy my role, which provides me with a fair amount of exposure to tasks beyond the bench, including managing the lab and collaboration. Despite this, I often wake up with questions surrounding my career, looping in my mind:
- Did I make a wrong decision in choosing an MS program over a PhD?
- Is working at the bench, something that I would like to do for the rest of my life?
- If not, then what opportunities can I explore beyond the bench? Is getting into a business program likely to give me some clarity?
- If yes, then I need to gain a solid 3 to 4 years of work experience to target top B-schools.
With a list of all these questions, I knew I had to break the loop and slowly turn it into an upward spiral. They say the intent is important than the action, and I could see half of my problems disappearing just when I decided to create a step-by-step guide for myself.
The struggle of not sounding weird: AI to the rescue
Before I began reaching out to people in the industry, I found myself turning to AI for advice on how to start those conversations. What an irony, talking to a machine to learn how to talk to humans. But in a way, it gave me a safe space to test out words and work through the hesitation that often comes with networking. Sometimes, too much information can blow them away, or too little could make you look underprepared.
Being in a city that is not necessarily the epicenter of the biotech and life sciences industries, I decided to make the fullest use of LinkedIn and reach out to people related to my field. I began giving prompts to AI tools and got feedback on how I should navigate my way into the industry.
I have been fortunate to receive responses from people at different stages in their careers- some currently pursuing a PhD, others recently graduated, some working as scientists, and others combining their scientific background with an MBA. I have also connected with individuals transitioning into analyst or consulting roles, and those who have advanced to leadership positions, including CEOs.
A few things I learnt from my two-year-long experience of building my network and trying to get my foot in the door would be something I would like to share-
- Communication is Your Most Transferable Skill: Regardless of your field—science, business, or somewhere in between—how you communicate matters. Things like making eye contact while talking, having a set number of questions ready before conducting an informational interview, taking down notes, modulating the tone of your voice, and the speed at which you talk cannot be taught in class, but only through practice.
- Feedback is Free—Use it: After conducting a bunch of interviews, I made a habit of asking for feedback and learnt that not everybody needs to know that I am working on a diabetes project if the goal of the conversation is to learn how to transition into research analyst roles. Avoid jargon and talk straight to the point.
- Desperation versus curiosity: Don’t get in touch with people only because you are desperate-this is something that I did, and it did not work well for me. The difference that I observed is that when I am desperate, I tend to revolve a lot more around my problems, but when I am having a conversation out of curiosity, I listen more and talk less. I learn about their journey or how they cracked the code, and gain insights rather than nagging about the job market.
- Stay Curious, Stay Informed: You must keep yourself updated. For example, to stay informed about what’s happening in the biotech hub, I need to connect with people who currently work there. I would prefer to contact five individuals working in five different roles rather than one specific role. The aim is to gain an overall perspective of the market and assess how well I could prepare myself.
- Pyramid Communication, the New No-Nonsense: Lastly, do not over-explain, something I learnt when I had the opportunity to meet the CEOs of start-up companies. They only want actionable solutions, not long stories. Start with the main conclusion, provide key supporting arguments, and then give out detailed information. A simple example, if a given task wasn’t done because of some reasons, don’t explain the story. Just plan and execute. Explain only when questioned.
We often assume that career progression is a straight line. Well, it isn’t. It could be modular, hybrid, or sometimes messy—and often more fulfilling that way.
It’s completely okay if you haven’t landed your dream role yet. Most of us are in the same boat. What matters is preparing ourselves for the best. Because who knows? That dream role might not even feel so dreamy once you’ve put in the effort to build yourself, rather than just throwing darts in the air.
To all my readers, what part of your career journey feels the slowest right now?