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A successful transition from academia to consulting is possible. However, Ph.D. students may find themselves struggling to navigate both school and career even though they are highly skilled, extremely knowledgeable, passionate, and hard-working people.

I was like that –  I knew my subject and my research and was highly trained, but did not know the first thing about how to convert all that into being gainfully employed in a permanent and rewarding role.

I knew how to apply for postdocs and did apply to postdocs with success. But I also knew that a postdoc is not a career.

Postdocs carry academic research on their shoulders along with graduate students, however, they are not usually rewarded with a real career in academia. When the time comes (and it always does), they are hung out to dry.

It’s been some months now that I have transitioned from academia (I graduated with my Ph.D. in August 2018) into a position in the industry (somehow!)

Now, I’d like to help as many students/people as I can to find their careers going from academia to consulting – therefore, this blog!

Below, I address questions from a friend who is currently in graduate school!

How did you go about deciding to go from academia to consulting, rather than working directly with a specific company?

I did not necessarily decide that I wanted to do consulting. It was more like that I was a good fit for consulting and ended up getting a great opportunity that happens to be consulting.

I love it because I get to do the things I love (science and engineering) and feel valued as an expert. That’s what consulting is. You are an expert and different agencies are in need of your expertise.

Consulting is also a lot of research which is something Ph.D. students are specifically trained for – again, why I think I was a good fit for it and this was apparent to the people who interviewed me.

Lastly, I had the right personality for consulting – I was told.

What was the interview process like?

Great question! It was awesome. The interview process already started to show me the difference between academia and industry and helped me to choose industry over academia.

A friend who worked (and still works) in the company referred me. I had a phone screen, a phone interview, and lastly, an on-site interview.

I got a verbal offer the day after the on-site.

At the on-site interview, six people interviewed me – in pairs.

They were all people who had worked in the company between four to ten plus years. All in highly technical roles and obviously, experts.

I was asked questions on my physics research for two hours at the interview and I absolutely loved it. It was a stimulating discussion and honestly, kind of surprising.

I guess I did not know that industry people, too, cared about the same things that I had worked so hard on and trained for.

I felt confident after the interview that these guys would VALUE me as a colleague – something that is so hard to find in academia. That’s what did it.

If I can apply myself and my training in a more supportive environment where I can actually start a CAREER then why should I look back?

You mentioned you enjoyed the on-boarding process. What about it did you find impressive or inspiring about it (something you learned/felt/sensed)? 

My onboarding is still ongoing since it has only been three months. I think the best thing about onboarding and working so far has been the support of a great team. That’s the most impressive thing.

They are very good about hiring all amazing people, so there is no team member that is not excellent at their job.

There has also been a bunch of training to help me get integrated with the company and feel welcome.

How long did it take you to accelerate from new hire to positive contributor in your new role?

I think I am still a new hire but there is no reason why I can’t be a positive contributor as well. At least, that’s my goal. I am learning and trying to contribute wherever/whenever I can.

I hope I am a positive contributor, haha… that’s for my team members to say whether I am or not.

It’s been only three months but I have already received positive and tangible feedback. Steps to develop the next stages of my career here are already underway.. so I guess there has been good progress. I hope.

I usually just do. Whether I am doing well… well, that’s relative and for my team members to comment on.

What are your days like? How do you spend your time at this company? 

The biggest difference between academia and this job is the work-life balance. I can’t bring work home. Not usually. So, it’s really amazing.

At work, a lot of work I do – the science and engineering stuff – are both new AND familiar at the same time. I am applying everything I have learned in academia, learning some things much better, and working on projects whose goals are different from academic goals.

I am familiar with a lot of the tools and concepts like coding languages, software, fundamental physics, and physics-related techniques. This is thanks to the projects I have worked on during both undergraduate and graduate school. So, in that way, it’s sort of the same stuff.

But at the same time, it’s a whole new world and I am learning about it. It’s a LOT of learning and catching up which requires keeping a very open mind that is ready to learn. It can be quite exhausting. Being new to anything is just tough in that way.

I have definitely put myself OUT of my comfort zone by transitioning from academia to consulting. In many ways, I am starting over and although that’s difficult, it’s already paying off.

That’s the thing. In order to bring great improvement to life, one has to be open to a change of equal magnitude.

What I am doing is NOT a continuation of my Ph.D. project like it would be for many postdocs and I am happy and proud that I am still capable of learning and adapting to anything as needed.

It goes without saying that I really appreciate the time off to recover, rejuvenate, and do OTHER things. I really, really appreciate having a more multi-dimensional life. They encourage it here and that means a lot to me.

What I most enjoy about working with my team is that they are all brilliant as well as collaborative. I learn a lot from them. If you think academia is the only place where you will find smart and brilliant people, you are totally wrong and don’t know what you are missing.

The industry has so many excellent professionals. Learning from them and working together is a real pleasure. I also enjoy not being micromanaged while getting the help/feedback I need to get my job done.

Basically, the culture here is less toxic than in academia. Industry professionals do work and move on with their lives. Work is not all-consuming and there is less guilt.

There should probably be zero guilt but I am a recovering academic.

As always, please leave any comments and questions below. Your feedback is very helpful to me. Feel free to ask anything about transitioning from academia to consulting. I will try my best to answer it below.

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