Hey friends,
Recently, I saw someone getting his PhD from my university and looking for a job on LinkedIn
The recurring questions I see:
Do you stay in academia? Move to a postdoc? Transition into industry?
I had the chance to work in different environments and different sectors: the industry and Academia
Based on my experience, I can say the skills researchers built during their PhD are far more valuable than just the papers they’ve published.
And they are exactly what can open doors, whether in academia, industry, or something in between
First, you have what we call transferable skills
During your PhD, we learned how to:
• Solve complex problems
• Analyze large amounts of data
• Manage projects under tight deadlines
• Communicate complicated ideas clearly
These aren’t “academic-only” skills
They are real-world skills
And companies, nonprofits, and postdoc programs are actively looking for them
Think of your PhD as a training ground for critical thinking, project management, and creative problem solving, not just producing a dissertation or scientific papers
Step 2: Focus on real-world impact
When you’re pitching yourself for a postdoc or an industry role, frame your experience in terms of problems you’ve solved and outcomes you’ve delivered, not just experiments you ran.
For example:
• Instead of: “I ran 300 experiments on specific chemical compounds and published an article in journal ABC”
• Say: “I designed and executed experiments that improved process efficiency by 20%”
This shows that you can take scientific rigor and apply it to practical challenges.
Step 3: Map your PhD to career paths
Your work as a PhD is like a puzzle
Each piece, research, publications, collaborations, mentoring, coding, presentations, fits into a bigger picture: your career.
Ask yourself:
• Which parts of my PhD are directly relevant to postdoc research?
• Which skills translate to industry?
• Where can I demonstrate leadership, problem solving, or innovation?
By identifying these pieces, you can position yourself strategically for the next step
Step 4: Build your network
Networking is still one of the most effective ways to move forward
Reach out to:
• Alumni from your program in academia or industry
• Conference contacts
• People whose work you admire
Ask about day-to-day work, required skills, and how your experience maps to their roles. Even 15 minutes of conversation can uncover paths you hadn’t considered
Step 5: Keep learning, keep adapting
Finally, remember: your PhD taught you how to learn
That’s the most transferable skill of all. The industry moves fast and you will have to consistently learn to stay up to date..
You will be able to learn a new coding language, project management tools, or understand regulatory frameworks
Your PhD is not just a degree
The skills, resilience, and problem-solving mindset you’ve developed are exactly what not only postdocs need but also industry roles
That’s all for next week
For those of you interested in working in the industry, tell me what you think
I read every response
See you next Sunday,
Jamal