R&D Manager Says to Never Back Down on Your Worth

Name: Jean-Pierre Dib (he/him)

PhD: Electrical Engineering, Université Grenoble Alpes, 2023

What is your current job?

I am a R&D Project Manager for Energy Pool in Bourget-du-Lac, France.

My job entails several things:

• Respond to internal client requests for development and support.

• Develop asset and portfolio models. Develop internal modelling tools.

• Create and push internal R&D roadmaps, support R&D project development and continuation.

• Respond to EU project workpackages that include the company.

• Draft patents.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I love the flexibility and time management.

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

Autonomy

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

Throughout the Ph.D., all the skills I need to do my current job were learned directly or indirectly throughout my research work.

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

Searched and applied online.

PhD graduate ➡️ current position

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

• Familiarize yourself with your soft skills and how important they are.

• Try to relate your experience and soft skills in research with what the position might ask of you in a concrete way (give examples).

Never back down on your worth, you have a PhD. Be proud of it!

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

The decision came quite easily. Academics are paid scraps in France, and there is a lot of competition for positions.

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

• Build up your confidence and make your PhD experiences relatable to industry experts.

• Talk to someone you know in the field if possible.

And for those interested, what was your main area of research?

Long-term planning of electrical networks under uncertainty. I investigated investment timing and trigger optimization to reduce the effect of uncertainty on economic viability (economics and finance). I also researched power system modelling within a probabilistic framework (electrical engineering).