Ipsa Jain
Visual Science Communicator at IpsawondersYou can contribute to science even if you are not on the bench!
You can contribute to science even if you are not on the bench!
Do informational interviews, they can be very helpful. Use your network to look for opportunities and learn about options.
Be open to diverse career paths. Your research skills are valuable beyond academia.
I also was beginning to feel like the entire breadth of my skills were not reaching their potential as an academic.
Academia, in most cases, prepares you well to take on most tasks. The only requirement is to adapt to a more commercially focused environment and apply those same skills in more flexible ways.
I really enjoy being challenged to think ambitiously and creatively about complex problems, learning from internal and external experts, integrating knowledge across sectors and seeing the impact of my work on a daily basis.
It might feel safe and comfortable to stay in a role you have become proficient in, but exploring other career paths can lead to exciting new opportunities.
I have always tried to understand what really motivates me and “gets me out of bed” in order to steer my decisions in that direction. It is also about taking opportunities that come by and sometimes taking a leap of faith
Use contacts to get advice and explore options. I wish I’d spoken to more people when I first applied for a medical degree as the advice I got was invaluable