Genomics Solutions Architect • Research Scientist • Bioinformatics Instructor • Mentorship, Sci-Comm & STEM Careers
I’m really grateful to have experienced doctoral training. As I progress in my career, the soft skills I developed during my PhD, prior to me quitting, have been integral to the successes I’ve achieved in the industry roles I’ve held. Yes, having a PhD means you’ve earned an esteemed credential and, if you’re lucky, a few first-author papers to your name but, I’m so fortunate to have learned things like: 1. Critical thinking • Perhaps the most important skill I’ve carried with me beyond the academy: really framing a problem from hypothesis generation, through method selection and data interpretation to eventual completion. Or measured in industry KPIs, “to eventual tangible business value add.” 2. Reading primary literature • I used to consider this so onerous throughout undergrad and even at the start of grad school. I felt like I didn’t need to read papers. But dissecting methods and inferring conclusions is a skillset I’ve leaned on almost daily to stay abreast with Computational Biology & AI innovations. 3. Learning deeply, quickly • Being forced to collaborate with folks in otherwise unrelated fields meant I needed to become an expert in a particular research area unlike my own, rapidly. This has made me extremely adaptable over the years. 4. Functioning autonomously • No one holds your hand during a PhD. You’ve got to fumble around in the dark for a bit before you [hopefully] find your footing. You are responsible for spearheading your thesis work to completion. Though daunting, it’s made me confident in my own capabilities, even in uncharted territory. Dean Lee talks a lot about this stuff in pursuit of making Comp Bio careers accessible through his Figure One Lab initiative. He inspired this recollection of mine. Check him out. _________ #compbio #research #data #careers #phd
Aneesa Valentine, MS. A PhD is a right of passage
Dean Lee
9mo
Thanks for the mention! Honestly anyone with this set of skills can already make PhD-level contributions in industry setting.
Daniel Ormsbee
9mo
Thank you for sharing your story in academia. These soft skills are incredibly important regardless of where you use them.
Senior Data Scientist @ Red Ventures | M.A. Statistics @ UC Berkeley
9moSo true Aneesa Valentine, MS. The biggest skill from school is the ability to learn new things on the fly, and it's a shame that so many ignore this aspect of education.