From PhD to Career Success

Explore how PhDs from a variety of different
fields navigated the decision to leave academia.

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Patent Agent Chose a Path Fulfilling to Her

Name: Katie White (she/her) PhD: Materials Chemistry, UCLA, 2024 What was your main area of research? I studied surface science at the...

Apr 29, 20252 min read

Medical Underwriter Urges You to Be Open to New Things

Name: Arbace Officioso PhD: Medical Biotechnology and Biochemistry, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 2016 What was your main area...

Apr 29, 20252 min read

Assistant Director for the Malaysian Ministry of Education

Name: Jarrod Sio Jyh Lih (he/him) PhD: Educational Management, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, 2020 What was your main area of...

Apr 25, 20252 min read

Technical Analyst Says to Learn to Speak Finance

Name: Ariel Hyre (they/them) PhD: Chemistry, Boston University, 2020 What was your main area of research? I studied the way electrons...

Apr 21, 20252 min read

Policy Analyst Works to Make People Healthier

Name: Krystin Carlson (she/they) PhD: Toxicology, University of Michigan, 2019 What was your main area of research? I studied the...

Apr 20, 20253 min read

Research Associate Values Her Intellectual Curiosity

Name: Tara Riggs (she/her) PhD: Political Science, Binghamton University, 2023 What was your main area of research? I studied sexism and...

Apr 20, 20253 min read

Senior Associate Left Academia After 6+ Years

Name: Gabrielle Filip-Crawford (she/her) PhD: Social Psychology, Arizona State University, 2015 What was your main area of research? My...

Apr 14, 20253 min read

Immigration & IP Lawyer Says to Go For It

Name: Melih Okan (he/him) PhD: Physics, MIT, 2018 What was your main area of research? I studied experimental atomic physics. My PhD...

Apr 14, 20253 min read

Communications Project Manager Still Feels Close to Science

Name: Amalia Verzola (she/her) PhD: Philosophy, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 2009 What was your main area of research? I studied the...

Apr 14, 20252 min read

Program Specialist Uses Research for Energy-Efficient Design

Name: Sara Sultan (she/her) PhD: Energy Science and Engineering, University of Tennessee, 2023 What was your main area of research? I...

Apr 13, 20251 min read

Environmental Biologist + Founder Helps the Natural World

Name: Silvia Pineda-Munoz (she/her) PhD: Ecology and Paleontology, Macquarie University, 2016 What was your main area of research? My PhD...

Apr 12, 20253 min read

Program Manager Is Making a Difference in the World

Name: Milena von und zur Muhlen (she/her) PhD: Microbiology, University of Sheffield, 2020 What was your main area of research? I did a...

Apr 11, 20252 min read

Department of Energy Fellow Changing the Energy Landscape

Name: Hannah Nedzbala (she/her) PhD: Chemistry, Yale University, 2024 What was your main area of research? My research was at the...

Jan 11, 20252 min read

Analyst for the Department of Energy & a Book Author

Name: Magdalena Sandoval Donahue (she/her) PhD: Earth & Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, 2016 What was your main area of...

Oct 12, 20244 min read

Soil Scientist Pursued Her Curiosity & Passion for Knowledge

Name: Wendy Peterman (she/her) PhD: Forest Engineering, Oregon State University, 2014 What was your main area of research? I studied...

Oct 1, 20243 min read

Data Scientist Encourages Coding Skills

Name: Lauren Carter (she/her) PhD: Geography and Environmental Science, University of South Florida, 2023 What was your main area of...

Oct 1, 20242 min read

Civil Servant for the Government of India Impacts Policy

Name: Dhananjay Singh (he/him) PhD: Business Administration (Sustainable Supply Chain Management), Indian Institute of Technology...

Sep 24, 20242 min read

AI Researcher Loves Working With Messy Data

Name: Victor Murcia (he/him) PhD: Materials Science and Engineering, Washington State University, 2022 What was your main area of...

Sep 21, 20243 min read

Chemistry Fellow Says Leaving Academia Is Not Failing

Name: Kimberly Villar (she/her) PhD: Pathology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, 2023 What was your main area...

Sep 16, 20242 min read

Associate Director Emphasizes Having a Positive Attitude

Name: Joelle Martin (she/her) PhD: Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health; Virginia Tech, 2021 What was your main area of...

Sep 13, 20242 min read