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So although I really enjoy pushing back the frontiers in
science and doing basic science research, I was more interested
or passionate about seeing those scientific breakthroughs or
discoveries translate into actual commercial products.
Be they drugs, vaccines, other therapeutics or pharmaceuticals.
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That was kind of interesting.
So I actually never submitted an application.
A postdoc that I worked with previously,
he spoke with the hiring manager at his current company and
they had a position open.
So I was actually recruited into the position, my first position.
So I didn't put out any cover letters and submit resumes or
an application, they actually came and sought me out.
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So there's a lot of variety in my current position.
I have to interact with clients, so
sometimes I will conduct actual face to face meetings.
Where we're discussing development reports and
the progress of their work, the projects that we're doing.
And then where I work it's a contract development and
manufacturing organization.
So essentially we try to really bridge the gap between academic
discoveries and actual commercialization of products.
So there's times
when I'm in the laboratory actually performing experiments.
So exercising my technical skill set that I learned
here at Hopkins.
And then there's other times when I'm just drafting
documentation and having to use some of those soft skills.
So I think it's really important to think about
what transferable skills that you have here and
start thinking about what you're niche is.
If you really enjoy writing things, then perhaps you might
be successful as a technical writer.
That's a large part of what I do,
just drafting documentation so that people can adequately see
the development in the work that's been done.
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So the one skill I think that you need to possess,
regardless of the job that you're applying for, you need to
have good communication skills, both oral and written.
For most of these positions you're,
gonna have to interface with a variety of different people.
They could be subject matter experts,
they could be physicians, they could be stakeholders,
they could be venture capitalists.
So you need to be able to communicate to a variety of
different audiences.
In addition to that,
you also need to have good written communication skills.
You need to be able to draft documents
that clearly articulate the views or
the points that you're trying to express or relay.
In addition to that, depending on what the position
actually is, if you look at the duties or the responsibilities
that they expect you to perform, that will often
clue you in to the skill set that they expect you to have.
So, for instance, if you're looking at a job announcement
that says that they expect you to have
good chromatography skills or great separation techniques.
Then that's something that you should have.
But I think that'll be specific to the position or
the job that you're looking at.
It just depends on what your niche is, and
what you feel most comfortable doing.
But quite often,
if you look at the key words listed there, that'll give you
a clue as to what you need to demonstrate to them.
Because although you might not have a,
say a degree in project management.
If you had to juggle several different
dissertation projects while you were here,
then you have some experience with project management.
So just trying to think of your transferable skills,
that could be applicable in a variety of different positions.
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So one of the myths that I was told about industry is that you
wouldn't have the opportunity to be creative.
Everyday in my position I have to be creative.
I have to come up with innovative approaches,
methodologies, ways of doing things that require me to think
outside of the box.
So this position hasn't hampered my creativity in any way, and
I have great flexibility in terms of what I do.
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