Name: Ben Thomas (he/him)
PhD: Cardiovascular Biology, University of Edinburgh, 2022
What was your main area of research?
I looked at sex differences in the heart and fat in response to calorie restriction (in mice). It was a mix of lab work, animal work, surgery, and computer work & data analysis.
When mice are calorie restricted, males lose fat and maintain muscle, whereas females lose muscle and maintain fat - plus males get a big improvement in blood sugar handling, whereas it's a moderate improvement at best for females.
Now, I use the mindset I developed then, but I do more office/computer work now - no more wet lab experiments!
What is your current job?
I am a Scientific Marketing Manager at Genedata in Basel, Switzerland.
I split my work between a few main focuses.
One big focus is communications. I take lots of complex data & biological science concepts and re-write them to be 1) understandable by anyone, and 2) so people doing something related realize they can have their problems solved.
I also work in multinational teams, so I help colleagues translate what they mean into this easy-to-understand writing style. I help with posters, mailouts, application notes, papers - anything with written text. I developed a data mindset when I studied my PhD, including some programming skills. Some of my work involves automating things that help me and my team. It's a relaxed setup, and I get to explore all things related to writing and communications.
I didn't realize how much better my writing got during my PhD, until I looked at examples before compared to my thesis. Now I find it easy to communicate science & write, so I get to jump on interesting projects and tasks to help support, with a skill that's valuable to the team. It means things stay fresh, and there's lots of flexibility to explore what I find interesting.
How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?
A friend recommended Genedata. I applied for a DIFFERENT job inside the company. My last slide of the interview presentation was an attempt to blitz all of the skills I could, to show I was a well-rounded candidate. They said they didn't want me for the original job, but based on the presentation etc. asked if I would be interested in the job I now have - and the rest is history!
PhD Graduate ➡️ Scientific Marketing Specialist ➡️ Scientific Marketing Manager
Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?
I got the offer for a postdoc position at the same time I got the offer for this job. At that point, it wasn't a choice between job A or job B, but between academia or industry. I made a pluses and minuses list to decide between them, and this job won out with all the positives like better work life balance, better chances of career prospects, etc. At the end of the day, it came down to the rest of life, not the jobs themselves.
What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?
Do something outside of core academia that develops you and your skills. For instance, I wrote some pieces for a student newspaper/magazine. They weren't great, but they were the steppingstone to getting better - which is what got me this job!
Be fully open to a job even if the title doesn't sound appealing. The same title will be an entirely different experience between different companies.
Your network can be the best thing for finding a position. Don't be shy in expanding it, and don't be afraid to speak with people and complete strangers. Everyone is friendlier than you might think!