by Parker » Tue Sep 22, 2015 9:01 am
I think most people's difficulties with the job search process stem from the fact that you come out of academia not knowing what challenges lie ahead out in the real world. Not everyone develops an attitude problem, but most people have problems with the job search because they don't expect it to be this hard. In academia you get the message that while industry pays more, industry jobs are for "losers" because they are easy to land. That's where that entitled attitude comes from. That's certainly the message I got from my academic professors i.e. if you don't make it in academia as a professor, that's no problem at all. Just go into biotech and there will be a high paying job waiting for you and it will be so easy and it's all roses and rainbows. They don't realize how competitive industry jobs are and that employers are always looking for a specific set of skills and particular background that you don't have because you spent all your time developing academically relevant skills. The assumption is that you will walk in with your shiny new PhD and everyone will love you because you are so smart and will be willing to pay you a ton of money for it. When I was going through this transition, I tried very hard to make my advisor realize that it's not so easy. I think that now she recognizes that industry is not for losers and the less gifted but I don't think she is still very informed as to the particular challenges involved in a job search. And you can't fault the professors. Probably that's how things were when they were in grad school.
Last edited by
Parker on Tue Sep 29, 2015 1:10 am, edited 2 times in total.
