Don't do a postdoc. Do this instead!

Video Description

⚛️ 🔬Are you a scientist trying to decide if you should do a postdoc or get an industry job? If so, my book 'It's a Game, not a Formula: How to Succeed as a Scientists Working in the Private Sector' will help you figure out if industry is for you! 📘 https://www.amazon.com/Its-Game-Not-Formula-Scientist/dp/1510644164 📘 -- Connect with me -- Find me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidgiltner/ ► Check out my latest book "Shaping the World: The Vital Role of Scientists in Industry" here: https://www.shapingtheworld.tech/ ---- If you want an industry career, don't do a postdoc. Do this instead! ---- If you are a PhD scientist planning a career in industry, I do not recommend doing a postdoc. By the time you get a PhD, you’ve spent enough time in academia. You need to get out there and get some real world experience. The longer you spend in academia, the less people in industry will believe you actually want a real world career. Don’t waste your time! What I do recommend is that you develop a clear position regarding what is right for your next career step, and begin telling your story. Here are the three steps: 1) Define your Target - What do you want to do and where do you want to do it? 2) Meet people working in your Target Area - This will help you develop a better understanding of what it is like to actually work in this field, but it will also help you develop a genuine enthusiasm for what you are about to do. 3) Tell your advisor - This is your opportunity to make your case for what you want and why you want it. By telling your story in a confident manner, you will build your own confidence in your career plan. Are you nervous about telling your advisor? Here's an outline: ---- The conversation outline ---- a) Bottom line up front (BLUF). Something like “I’ve decided that I want a career in industry, and so I do not plan to do a postdoc.” b) Why are you going to industry? Make this factual, not emotional. Something like: “I want to make things people can use” or “I’ve realized that the life and career of a professor are not for me.” or even “I’ve realized that there are so few academic positions available that I don’t want to spend years chasing it only to end up in industry anyway.” c) Why are you excited about industry? d) Why is a postdoc the wrong next step? Something similar to “Given that I’m going to work in industry, a postdoc is not the right next step. I’ve already been in academia longer than most other people who work in industry. Now I need to get out into the private sector and learn how it works.”