Why We Started an Industry Mentorship Program
By: Emma Briars & Breanna O’Reilly
It wasn’t long after starting a PhD program that people started asking us, “so what’s next – academia or industry?”. In fact, the dichotomization of our future prospects has become the mantra of graduate school, and we find ourselves pondering this question at multiple turns – when we meet a new lab mate, talk to a faculty member, or even when we chat with friends at the local watering hole. For some students, the answer is as clear as day: I want to be a professor and an academic for as long as I shall live! However, for many like us, the answer lies somewhere in “industry.” The path here is less clear though, and we have realized that – in order to pursue a career in industry – we need to gain a deeper understanding of the scientific and business landscape we live in. But, how does one go about doing that?
For so many PhD students, a career and life in industry is equivalent to the great unknown. We have, time and time again, seen our peers start job searches at the end of their training, only to struggle to grow their network quickly and effectively, find a job that fulfills them, and transition smoothly on to the next stage in their careers. We decided that this does NOT have to be the case: that your experience in graduate school can transcend your dissertation, and can be a time of immense professional and personal growth. This is why we decided to form the Biological Design Center Student Program for Industry Networking (BDC SPIN), a program that strategically connects graduate students to mentors who have navigated the industry landscape and successfully transitioned to it from academia. Professional development can always be daunting, especially since the majority of PhD training programs – across most disciplines – tend to be geared towards careers in academia. However, among the many important lessons we’ve learned through the first year of BDC SPIN, the most crucial take-home message has been that meaningful mentorship is key to finding the right next step and to develop the personal goals that will get you there successfully.
Opening Up the Industry Black Box
The first major goal for BDC SPIN is to educate graduate students on the breadth of careers in industry. A 2017 study of STEM PhD students from 39 tier-one U.S. research universities showed that 40% of their graduates were interested in careers outside of academia [Ref: 1]. However, despite how popular non-academic careers seem to be, the mechanisms for pursuing them remain embedded in a black box. To address this, the BDC SPIN program matches trainees with mentors who represent diverse areas of industry – from consultants to research scientists to CEOs. Students have the opportunity to build valuable mentee-mentor relationships, and are not only exposed to careers they were previously unfamiliar with, but can also build the skills necessary to seek and secure a job that is a good fit for them. Interestingly, the overwhelming response we received from our industry mentors when we launched this program was, “I wish this existed when I was a graduate student”. This simple sentiment was a powerful message to us.
Prepare for the Transition to Industry During Graduate School
In addition to providing students a foundation of knowledge about industry careers, the second major goal for SPIN is to prepare students for an academia-to-industry transition during graduate school. While building this program, we sought to gain a deep understanding of our colleagues’ needs; in the process, we realized that traditional academic programs rarely address out-of-academia transitions. Many of the skills that employers in industry seek – such as working with a team, delegation and project management, interviewing skills, and industrial scientific rigor – are not emphasized during graduate school. Sure, some might find that their networking skills may get passively honed by attending conferences or the rare networking event, but the process is not structured or instructive. As for other skills – such as building a LinkedIn profile, preparing for an interview, and team management – they may end up getting ignored altogether. At the BDC, we are fortunate to be part of a community that values the importance of these skills, provides opportunities for us to learn about them, and exposes us to the world of translational research. Nonetheless, even here, where we feel like we have support from our Center in this regard, we have demonstrated a critical need for BDC SPIN: with guidance from their mentors, students have found a safe space to hone their skills, as well as set and evaluate their goals on a regular basis.
Discovering What Mentorship Really Is
At the outset of this program, we hoped that mentors would teach us about industry careers and help us build the skills necessary to transition from academia. We were able to make great progress towards these goals during the first year of the program, and fortuitously, learned that effective mentorship means so much more. An effective mentor can serve as a catalyst by asking questions that lead you to realize both your strengths and weaknesses – with this newfound awareness, you are better equipped to identify, create, and achieve tangible goals. Moreover, a mentor provides a system of accountability for continuous personal and professional development.
For the two of us, conversations with our respective mentors have led us to discover potential – and achievable – career paths in industry, and we feel empowered to set short-term goals that will get us there. It is important to note that mentors do not always have definitive answers. For instance, they can’t “tell” you whether you should get a postdoc or whether a company is a good fit for you – however, they often provide invaluable insight based on their experience, and connect you to people or resources that can offer additional support. Finally, the mere act of talking to someone who has “gone through it already” helps alleviate some of the anxieties related to transitioning to industry!
Looking Forward
The path to industry does not need to be arduous or scary. To ensure this, we are working towards building a network of incredible mentors that can facilitate your professional and personal growth. Just remember that your path ahead can be broken down into the following steps: first, understand what jobs are out there; second, identify what you are interested in; and finally, create a list of tangible goals that can help you move in that direction. And of course, BDC SPIN is here to help you crush it!
To contact BDC SPIN, email bdcspin@bu.edu
References
https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/2018/nsf18304/static/report/nsf18304-report.pdf