My First Months in Academia

Each person has a unique set of expectations walking into a job. Adjusting to a new role, particularly during the first few months of a new job may feel stressful or daunting, but it is all part of one’s personal transition into a career. This learning experience will vary greatly from one person to another, and it will depend on several factors which can include the type of job, level of skill required, location of workplace or coworkers. I believe the best way to prepare for a job is to avoid setting specific expectations and instead settling into the role gradually, taking it one day at a time and truly allowing yourself to adapt and grow beyond what you may know.

After the completion of my doctoral studies, I dreaded the period of job searching. Filling out endless application forms and resumes, all in the hope of getting an interview, is the first and most difficult step after graduation. However, this was not the most challenging aspect for me, as part of considering the next step for my career required extensive soul-searching and asking myself the difficult question of whether to leave academia and embark on a financially rewarding industry job or stay in the academic field and pursue my dream of making it as an early career researcher in a faculty position.

Many believe that those who decide to enroll on a PhD program typically have an academic position in their sight and a life devoted to research, however this is far from reality. Some individuals actually use their professional degree as a steppingstone in securing  senior positions in the industry sector or aspire towards long-term management roles. In my case, like many postgraduates in similar positions, I decided to look for a postdoctoral program that was related to my field and allowed me to expand my skill set, whilst gaining valuable networking and collaborative opportunities.

I landed my first job through a scientific recruiting agency who reached out to me regarding a postdoctoral position from an academic research center that was branched out of Stanford University. At first, I was hesitant to accept, as the position was outside my field of expertise, however the opportunity to train in biomarker drug discovery and collaborate with industry leaders was an exciting prospect and despite putting me out of my comfort zone, I decided to pursue it and accept the job offer. It is important to recognize that not all jobs are tailored towards your skill set and experiences; sometimes it is beneficial to put yourself in an uncomfortable setting if the right job comes along in an accelerating field, as it can offer tremendous career growth and a full training will be provided in the first few months of the position.
My first week at the job was thrilling, yet unexpected and surprising. On one hand, working alongside senior scientists and experienced staff showed me a glimpse of what to expect and how work was carried out in the group, but on the other end, I realized that I was assigned a completely different project. This was contrary to what I had initially anticipated from the pre-employment discussions that I had with the principal investigator. I also realized that my manager would be absent for the first quarter of my start date and that I would no longer be able to work on our agreed projects. These challenges tend to occur in academic positions, as group leaders often face the difficulty of shuffling projects depending on fundings and grant allocations. However, what surprised me was the manner in which it was handled and the mismanagement in the processes and projects, particularly since a lot of the work involved both academic and industrial collaborators. Working on an undiscussed project can be frustrating at first, but it can ultimately teach you how to cope with the pressure of delivery and adapt to unexpected work settings. This builds character and, in my case, made me more independent and resolute. I also discovered one of the projects that I had been assigned to work on had been abandoned for the past two years and I was given the responsibility of resurrecting it which posed its own problems and challenges as a new postdoc.

It is important to pay attention to the bottlenecks of an academic position prior to an agreement and realize how critical it is to reach out to existing members of the group before making an informed decision. Having a principal investigator present from the start of a project is integral to career development, not only for the progression of a project, but for character growth and mentorship. Understanding who your colleagues are and how inclusive they are is also an incredibly important consideration, as they play a big role in helping you adjust to the work settings and shape your experiences, especially in the first few months on the job.

Despite all the challenges my role presented me with, I was able to steer through the obstacles and get the projects to a good place, an experience that felt painful at the start, but proved extremely rewarding towards the end. It is thus important to understand that every workplace has its own culture, and a unique way that things are done. Sometimes there is no standard procedure and just performing the written responsibilities of your job cannot get you to your target goal. This was a learning curve for me, where in addition to conducting the research, I often had to manage projects to keep up with the assigned deadlines. This is why, although it is important to have goals and personal expectations, it is often more important to have an open mind that will allow you to wear a number of different hats. Ultimately, the skills I gained through this, led to my eventual departure after a year in the job to pursue a career outside academia and into industry. There is always more to learn, skills to gain and opportunities for growth in life. I learnt very quickly that mismanagement, disorganization, or difficult peers can exist in any role, but recognizing the challenges as opportunities for growth is what pushes you forward. Maintaining reasonable expectations to avoid disappointment was the biggest lesson I learnt in my early career, an insight that propelled me in my future positions and allowed self-improvement.