Beyond Academia: Careers for Scientists in Industry

In a recent presentation, LuminexPLORE Lab scientist Frank Medina spoke about making the leap from an academic lab to industry

The path to science usually begins in academia, but it need not end there. For many scientists, there is considerable interest in venturing beyond the academic lab once their educational requirements have been met.

But most undergraduate and graduate scientific programs share a key trait: a lack of workshops, talks, and other information about career opportunities outside academia. The possibilities are virtually endless, yet they remain invisible to many researchers.

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Exploring the many opportunities beyond the traditional lab

This is unfortunate because there are many wonderful career options for scientists. From pharmaceutical research to policy positions, from IP law to technical writing, there are countless positions that can be interesting and rewarding for those with a scientific background.

In a recent presentation, Luminex’s Frank Medina spoke about his transition from academia to industry. After completing his postdoc in protein science, he began searching for opportunities beyond the traditional lab. He found a great fit at our ® technology overview” href=”/xmap-technology/#overview” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>xMAP® Technology.

As a scientist in the service lab, Dr. Medina enjoys the intellectual stimulation of his research projects, yet he also gets to see how his accomplishments have an immediate impact on clients’ work.

Focusing on education and interests is key to finding one’s career path

While the many career choices can be daunting, Dr. Medina recommends focusing on roles that fit one’s education and interests. In particular, he urges scientists to narrow their focus to career paths where they will enjoy those tasks they’ll be doing each day.

Dr. Medina also walked through several scientist-friendly career paths here at Luminex, many of which are broadly applicable across companies in the biotech industry. They include assay development, R∓D, applications support, sales, and marketing. Each offers its own benefits, such as plenty of travel for applications roles and a creative outlet in marketing. Check out our careers page to learn more.

There are also plenty of other resources to help scientists learn about careers beyond academia. Here are a few places to start:

Now that he’s successfully made the leap to industry, Dr. Medina longs to help other scientists explore the full career universe for themselves.

Watch the full presentation here:

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