Food Consultant Created His Own Career

Name: Bryan Quoc Le (he/him)

PhD: Food Science, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2020

What was your main area of research?

I studied if certain sulfur compounds from garlic and onion could help with inflammation. Many of these compounds are what give garlic and onion their flavor, but they do not last very long at room temperature.

What is your current job?

I am a Founder & Principal Food Consultant for Mendocino Food Consulting in Mendocino, California.

I help food startups and companies develop new food products, improve formulations, address food safety concerns, and design production processes.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

There is a lot of variety and the impact is clear, because I work directly with founders and company R&D teams involved in projects.

What is the most important skill you developed or experience you had during your PhD that now helps you in your current position?

Learning to get back up when there's failure.

How did you build the skills necessary for your current role?

I learned to communicate scientific data and information to individuals with non-scientific backgrounds by first writing blogs for my professional society (Institute of Food Technologists) as a graduate student and later publishing a book during my last year in graduate school. I also spent my free time consulting for companies for a nominal fee as a graduate student.

How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?

I created it myself.

PhD Graduate ➡️ Unemployed ➡️ Founder & Consultant

If someone is interested in a similar role, what would you recommend they start doing now to prepare?

Reach out to startup companies and see if they could use a free consultation. It is nice to have some experience under your belt, and it also shows you what provides value to these companies.

Over time, you can build a portfolio of companies that you've worked with and showcase projects you've done, which you can leverage for paid consultations.

Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia?

My professor did not think I was a good fit for academia, and I also have a short attention span, so I like short projects with immediate return.

What advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?

Do what you can to get experiences outside of the research lab, whether that's taking a business bootcamp, writing for a nonprofit, doing an art project, or speaking in front of school kids. The more interactions you have with the general public, the more likely you will be able to leverage your knowledge to support others when you see an opportunity.

Are there any components of your identity you would like to share, including how they have impacted your journey?

Before I transitioned to the field of food science, I was briefly a graduate student at Stanford pursuing a PhD in Chemistry and an MS in Medicine back in 2012. However, I quickly learned that that was not the path for me and decided to leave the program. I am grateful that I made that difficult decision, because much of the successes I had today would not have been possible had I pursued that alternative path.