Reality Check

Calvin Blaschke
January 17, 2020
Illustration of someone's feet at a crossroads, signifying the need for a choice
Image from freepik

When I started my biomedical Ph.D. training, I thought that I would eventually go into academia in a faculty position. I did not know what my balance of research and teaching would be, but I would keep my mind open to the different possibilities. Sure, I would have to do a postdoc probably, but it wouldn’t be that bad! This is the same kind of thought process I heard from other people I knew going into their Ph.D.

It did not take long, however, for me to realize that the responsibilities of an academic position did not appeal to me. I first started to become disillusioned in the class “Principles, Practices, and Professionalism.” One class was devoted to looking at career paths and setting up Individual Development Plans.

“As I dug further into the possibility of working in industry, I became surprised that more people do not consider this as an option. ”-- Calvin Blaschke

I decided to further investigate other career paths to see what I could do with my Ph.D. While searching for alternative careers, I came to a striking realization. What I had been planning for — an academic position —  was in fact the alternative career path, because only a small percentage of those with a doctorate in biomedical science get a tenured or tenure-track faculty position. Thank goodness I was able to realize this early on and start looking at other career paths.

As I dug further into the possibility of working in industry, I became surprised that more people do not consider this as an option. For some positions in industry, applicants do not need to complete a postdoc to be competitive. An entry-level position in industry can pay double that of a postdoc, while probably requiring fewer hours. In the four years that I would have been doing a postdoc, I could gain a lot of experience within a company that I could use to set myself up for a promotion. Larger companies would offer a lot of opportunity for lateral moves to other departments to better fit my interest, whether it be sales, technical support, or research. All of this sounded very appealing to me.

I am not trying to convince everyone to go into industry, but I am encouraging Ph.D. students to explore other career paths. While securing a faculty position is not impossible, many of the advantages of such a position can be found in more attainable careers. For example, if students like teaching, they could teach in a high school or small liberal arts school. Overall, I don’t think that most Ph.D. students are aware of the reality of their situation, and they should spend some time early on in their training to determine which career paths most appeal to them. I think one way the school could help facilitate this is to provide the outcomes of their previous students. I am certainly glad that I got my reality check earlier than later.