Transitioning from Research to Management

“Why would anyone who worked so hard to get an advanced degree even consider management?”

“Aren’t managers supposed to have special degrees? MBA or something?”

 “Can you get hired in the management without any experience?”

 “Is it worth it?”

These questions I would ask if someone had told me 20 years ago that I would become a manager. Now, many years later, I will try to answer them for those postdoctoral professionals who are considering the management path.

Before I continue, I would like to share a few disclaimers. It must be understood that this is not research but experience of just one person. So, take it with a grain of salt. Also, I am not talking about management positions in the biomedical industry; I am speaking here about the management of local businesses. My job was in the restaurant industry.

“Why would anyone who worked so hard to get an advanced degree even consider management?”

There could be multiple reasons why people with advanced degrees look outside of their professional area. In my case, it was returning to work after a significant career break due to maternity and being unable to relocate immediately. Since my location did not have any university with research relevant to me, and I was not ready for immediate relocation, I started to look for a temporary job locally. Someone suggested management in the hospitality area. “We need managers right now,”- I have been told.  And so, I applied. During the following interviews, I got details about salary, job stability, and expected hours. It turned out that the expected salary after training was comparable to one of the postdoctoral fellows.

“Wait, instead of struggling to get grants in academia and moving from city to city chasing new opportunities; I can stay here and watch the sunset with a pina colada on the beach every day!? And while doing so, I can wait until the perfect opportunity in science comes up.” I was sold at this moment: it sounded like such a good idea! It turned out later that not everything was as great as I thought, but salary and stability were definitely there.

“Aren’t managers supposed to have special degrees? MBA or something?”

 I had this misconception myself and heard it from people who were unsure if they qualified to apply. I cannot talk about all businesses, but the ones I am familiar with do not require special degrees. Some of them do not require any degree at all. The company I work for has a strong push to hire people with a 4-year college degree. Surprisingly, they have a real struggle to find candidates. They will employ a person in any major if they think he (or she) is a good candidate and will stay after training.

In my situation, I felt like my advanced degree and the absolute lack of any experience outside of academia made them wonder if I would survive in the stressful environment of a fast-paced restaurant, but I got hired anyway. As I mentioned before, finding someone with a degree looking for management in my little town is not easy.

“Can you get hired in the management without any experience?”

Absolutely. Although some experience is a plus, usually training is provided. Sadly, one does not get hired in management for being smart or having a special set of skills; one gets hired in management for being a hard worker. While my company searches explicitly for people with degrees, none of the operations are complex enough to require any degree. The degree is just an assurance for your employer that the candidate “can start something and finish something without quitting.”

“Is it worth it?”

Here, I will compare my experience as a manager with my experience as a postdoctoral fellow, pointing out some benefits and drawbacks.

Salary. Like the postdoctoral fellowship, the manager job in my company is the salary position. Managers are not paid by hours worked and are not eligible for overtime. Managers are expected to work overtime. Your paycheck depends on the bonuses. The salary with bonuses in my company matches or exceeds that of one of the postdoctoral fellows in academia. However, compensation in different companies varies.

Stability. The company where I work has stellar stability for management jobs. But this factor also varies between companies as well. In my situation, pay and stability are two benefits of being a manager.

Work-life balance. Maintaining a work-life balance is significantly more challenging in a management position compared to an academic role. This is one of the main reasons for the poor management retention in my company. Certainly, an experienced manager can complete his job quickly, but working on weekends and holidays, as well as always being on call, will eventually wear one down.

Advancement opportunities. Advancement opportunities depend on the company and even the area within the same company. You may need to relocate for the promotion. And all this time I was trying to avoid relocation by going into management! In case you are wondering, having an advanced degree does not give you any advantage for promotion over people without a degree.

Continuous education and self-growth. The biggest drawback of the management job is the limited learning opportunities. When I started training as a manager, I was learning new things and met many great people. It was rewarding at the time. However, eventually, I did know all the routine procedures. There are only so many ways you can cook an egg!  Even though a leadership position gives infinite possibilities for improving one’s communication skills, the day came when I asked, “What is next?”. In short, if continuous education is essential, you should avoid management.

Summary.

Management is an interesting detour from science jobs, which can benefit one's leadership and communication skills, but it will not work for everyone. I would especially not recommend management for those of us who remain scientists at heart.