Do it! PhDs acquire many incredibly valuable skills which are still very rare in society. (…) Do not be deterred! Your skills are rare and valuable, and your insights will be appreciated. The grass is indeed greener on the other side…
Don’t hesitate for this transition, if you really want. You do know about how to work hard and you do have all the necessary skills to do this.
I am grateful that I get to wake up every day as my own boss, able to help researchers who do want to achieve academic career success go as far as they want to.
My academic background allows me to understand the main issues related to the job and the research project, and how to offer potential solutions to that.
Understanding what really motivates me and gets me out of bed in the morning tended to steer me in the right direction and enabled me to realise my calling.
When the job is highly related to my PhD field, I’m able to ramp up faster and apply my domain knowledge to the job. When the job is less related to my PhD, self-learning and soft skills are generally useful.
I want to see our research outputs eventually translated to help our patients.
My research training set me up to… Organise my time and available resources efficiently and understand the value of determination and perseverance.
My research training set me up to… be resilient!
For my students, the possibility to interact with a teacher who can tell them how science works and how it develops is really stimulating and positively challenging.
I started a process of self-awareness to understand where I could apply my skills and which were my main motivations from a personal and professional point of view.
The PhD is a hidden superpower, not a ball and chain.
