PhD Career Stories

PhD Career Stories

100 episodes

PhD Career Stories is a podcast where PhDs share their stories and experiences in life after a PhD, inspiring you to take the next step in your career development! Visit us at https://phdcareerstories.com/

Podcasts

#128: Interview with Flavia Sousa on Academic Mentorship and Transferable Skills

Published: Nov. 10, 2023, 7 a.m.
Duration: 35 minutes 16 seconds

Listed in: Business

#127: Interview with Gry Wester on Shifting Mindsets in order to Succeed

Published: Oct. 13, 2023, 6:24 a.m.
Duration: 43 minutes 24 seconds

Listed in: Business

#126: Katharina Schwaiger on Starting a Career in SciComm While Finishing a PhD

Published: Sept. 8, 2023, 8:07 a.m.
Duration: 30 minutes 7 seconds

Listed in: Business

#125: Carving Your Own Path: From a PhD to the Director of Business Development with Martin Trinker

Published: Aug. 11, 2023, 6:30 a.m.
Duration: 21 minutes 48 seconds

Listed in: Business

#124: Simon Rittmann on Innovating on Two Fronts: Founding a Company while Thriving in Academia

Published: July 14, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 33 minutes 39 seconds

Listed in: Business

#123: Round table discussion with EATRIS on the power of soft skills in your professional journey

Published: June 9, 2023, 6 a.m.
Duration: 52 minutes 43 seconds

Listed in: Business

#122: Joel Baker on exploring the capabilities and limitations of ChatGPT: Tips and Tricks

Published: May 12, 2023, 7:11 a.m.
Duration: 36 minutes 31 seconds

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Listed in: Business

#121: Interview with Bryan Quoc Le on stepping beyond ones comfort zone

Published: April 14, 2023, 3:37 a.m.
Duration: 35 minutes 49 seconds

Listed in: Business

#120: Interview with Thalyana Stathis on pursuing a postdoc career in the USA

Published: March 10, 2023, 7:30 a.m.
Duration: 43 minutes 15 seconds

Listed in: Business

#119: Interview with Sajni Haria on transitioning from a PhD in Chemistry to a Business Development Manager

Published: Feb. 10, 2023, 7 a.m.
Duration: 29 minutes 47 seconds

Listed in: Business

#118: Interview with Sara Andersson about the conflict between her PhD interests and her personality

Published: Jan. 13, 2023, 7:30 a.m.
Duration: 26 minutes 21 seconds

Listed in: Business

#117: Interview with Aditya Parekh on can you trust your gut to guide yourself in your career?

Published: Dec. 8, 2022, 12:21 p.m.
Duration: 38 minutes

Listed in: Business

#116: Interview with Priya Rangan on transitioning from academia while moving out of her comfort zone

Published: Nov. 11, 2022, 7:30 a.m.
Duration: 1 hour 2 minutes 14 seconds

Listed in: Business

#115: How did Marisa Pereira develop resilience and self-confidence during her PhD?

Published: Oct. 28, 2022, 6:30 a.m.
Duration: 20 minutes 46 seconds

Listed in: Business

#114: Interview with Andrew McKee: On quitting a PhD and a journey of self-discovery

Published: Oct. 15, 2022, 12:40 p.m.
Duration: 39 minutes 23 seconds

Listed in: Business

#113: Interview with Isabeau on strategies for making better career decisions

Published: Sept. 9, 2022, 5:30 a.m.
Duration: 44 minutes 45 seconds

Listed in: Business

#112: Mark Herschberg on how to train to become an entrepreneur: Tips and Tricks

Published: Aug. 12, 2022, 7 a.m.
Duration: 42 minutes 50 seconds

Listed in: Business

#111: Interview with Niba about the turning point in her career

Published: July 8, 2022, 7 a.m.
Duration: 35 minutes 42 seconds

Listed in: Business

#110: Interview with Headhunters from GE Hunter

Published: June 10, 2022, 7 a.m.
Duration: 39 minutes 45 seconds

Listed in: Business

#109: Kathleen Champlin Story

Published: May 13, 2022, 7 a.m.
Duration: 15 minutes 27 seconds

Listed in: Business

#108: Adriana Bankston Story

Published: April 8, 2022, 7 a.m.
Duration: 10 minutes 4 seconds

Listed in: Business

#107: Rachel Kindt Interview

Published: March 11, 2022, 8 a.m.
Duration: 45 minutes 41 seconds

Listed in: Business

#106: Joao Graca Story

Published: Feb. 11, 2022, 8 a.m.
Duration: 14 minutes

Listed in: Business

#105: Interview with Lauran Fuller

Published: Jan. 14, 2022, 8 a.m.
Duration: 41 minutes 53 seconds

Listed in: Business

#104: Interview with Barbel Tress

Published: Dec. 10, 2021, 8:30 a.m.
Duration: 50 minutes 52 seconds

Listed in: Business

#103: Interview with Adam Sierakowiak

Published: Nov. 5, 2021, 9 a.m.
Duration: 45 minutes 20 seconds

Listed in: Business

#102: Interview with Ofer Yizhar Barnea and Elena Itskovich

Published: Oct. 15, 2021, 7:30 a.m.
Duration: 55 minutes 9 seconds

Listed in: Business

#101: PhD Career Stories returns

Published: Sept. 16, 2021, 10 a.m.
Duration: 8 minutes

Listed in: Business

#100 Round Table Discussion

Published: June 12, 2020, 7:34 a.m.
Duration: 19 minutes 5 seconds

Listed in: Business

#099: Rui Cruz Story

Published: May 8, 2020, 7 a.m.
Duration: 12 minutes 36 seconds

Listed in: Business

#098: Evelina Kulcinskaja Story

Published: April 26, 2020, 7:36 a.m.
Duration: 14 minutes 16 seconds

Listed in: Business

#97 Natalia Bielczyk Story

Published: April 10, 2020, 8 a.m.
Duration: 59 minutes 58 seconds

Listed in: Business

#096 Ulrikke Voss Story

Published: March 29, 2020, 9:49 a.m.
Duration: 22 minutes 13 seconds

Listed in: Business

#095: Interview with Laura Pozzi

Published: March 13, 2020, 9 a.m.
Duration: 20 minutes 18 seconds

Listed in: Business

#094: Dr. Naresh Thatikonda Story

Published: Feb. 28, 2020, 8:49 a.m.
Duration: 8 minutes 34 seconds

Listed in: Business

#093 Sabine Englich Story

Published: Feb. 14, 2020, 9 a.m.
Duration: 14 minutes 56 seconds

Listed in: Business

#092: Francesca Capellini Tips and Tricks

Published: Jan. 31, 2020, 8 a.m.
Duration: 8 minutes 51 seconds

Listed in: Business

091; Francesca Cappellini Story

Published: Jan. 17, 2020, 9 a.m.
Duration: 28 minutes 52 seconds

Listed in: Business

#90: Interview with Sven Totte

Published: Jan. 3, 2020, 11:22 a.m.
Duration: 28 minutes 56 seconds

Listed in: Business

#089 Svante Hedstrom Story

Published: Dec. 20, 2019, 7:30 a.m.
Duration: 30 minutes

Listed in: Business

#88: Ben Hartwig Tips and Tricks

Published: Dec. 6, 2019, 8 a.m.
Duration: 7 minutes 48 seconds

Listed in: Business

#87 Kate Evans Story

Published: Nov. 22, 2019, 9:48 a.m.
Duration: 15 minutes 37 seconds

Listed in: Business

#086: Interview with Martin Blaser

Published: Nov. 8, 2019, 8:10 a.m.
Duration: 29 minutes 14 seconds

Listed in: Business

#85: Ben Hartwig Story

Published: Oct. 25, 2019, 7:09 a.m.
Duration: 7 minutes 59 seconds

Listed in: Business

#084 Sonia Jaeger Story

Published: Oct. 11, 2019, 8 a.m.
Duration: 15 minutes 31 seconds

Listed in: Business

#083 Matt Hotze Story

Published: Sept. 13, 2019, 8 a.m.
Duration: 20 minutes 11 seconds

Listed in: Business

#082: Pearl Osirike Story

Published: Aug. 30, 2019, 7:03 a.m.
Duration: 19 minutes 4 seconds

Listed in: Business

#081: Fabian Taube Tips and Tricks

Published: Aug. 16, 2019, 7:30 p.m.
Duration: 8 minutes 22 seconds

Listed in: Business

#080: We celebrate the three years anniversary and talk about resilience

Published: Aug. 2, 2019, 7:30 a.m.
Duration: 59 minutes 41 seconds

Listed in: Business

079: Presenting the team: Nika and Alice Stories

Published: July 19, 2019, 7:30 a.m.
Duration: 24 minutes 13 seconds

Listed in: Business

#078: Michalina Lewicka-Yammine Story

Published: July 5, 2019, 6:47 p.m.
Duration: 23 minutes 36 seconds

Transcript

Welcome to PhD Career Stories, the podcast about career paths inside and outside academia. My name is Rui Cruz and I am very happy to introduce Michalina Lewicka-Yammine to you.\\xa0

Michalina works as a Product Manager specialist for a biotech company located in Sweden and in today\'s podcast she will tell you how she transitioned from her PhD in Developmental Neurosciences to the world of marketing.

During this process, Michalina started her own consulting company and worked in different startups, while at the same time she gave birth to two children.\\xa0

Michalina will share with us important insights on the demanding challenges of being a mother while having the need to deliver and perform at work.\\xa0

Michalina\'s story shows us that with resilience, stamina and support from people around you, it is possible to have a healthy balance between career development and motherhood.\\xa0

We hope that her story will be inspiring to you and that you enjoy this episode of PhD Career Stories!\\xa0

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Hi my name is Michalina Lewicka-Yammine and I would like to share with you today my career story and how I got my PhD and why.

I\'m coming from Poland and during my master thesis in Krakow I decided to go for a student exchange and that was basically my first step to start thinking about the research projects.

I have to say I really enjoyed my time in Uppsala (Sweden) after one year exchange I decided to stay and take an internship project at Uppsala University where I shared my passion for science with three really nice people and basically due to them, due to Dan and Daniel who were my supervisor and colleagues who were following me during the project, I re-discovered that I would like to do a masters degree to take a PhD.

I graduated in June and searched for a PhD position... Now I know that June and July in Sweden are not the best months to get in touch with anyone. In September I was pretty frustrated about it but then it\'s kind of be up \\xa0and start going and I had some interviews.

I was lucky and happy to secure a place in Ola Hermanson group at the department of Neuroscience in Karolinska Institute and that\'s how I started my ride and with the PhD life in December 2013 if I\'m not wrong.

I have to say it has its ups and downs but I was really lucky I had a boss who let us experience science and really struggle ourselves, it was a bit more \\u201clets you swim\\u201d approach if you need guidance he will try to help you but he will not really tell you what to do which makes me learn a lot and let me experience, troubleshoot and don\'t give up.

I acquired a lot of skills, really valuable skills, I had also great colleagues in my group and as well as the neighbouring groups who were really open for discussion for troubleshooting together. I was really lucky that I met people who were really inspiring.

We made a lot of cool things together we were involved in some association, PhD associations, we were teaching.\\xa0\\xa0I enjoyed teaching a lot.

I made a PhD in development of neuroscience based on stem cell and biomaterials which was pretty cool because during that time there were people not only from karolinska institute but also from KTH which is a technical university as well as Link\\xf6ping University so I had a bit of more discussion between scientists, researchers as well as engineers who are working with a different biomaterial which is really cool way to perceive the projects and communicate with people who talk all the same thing but in a different way.

\\xa0

\\xa0The big advantage will say was about to travel. My boss always send us for some conferences and had a really good network.

\\xa0Which allows me to build my own network which I found it really valuable later on and not only for your future career but also for choosing or finding your options deciding what would you like to do after the PhD.

As every PhD I had my ups and downs.

I have to say that I had some doubts like \\u201cIs it really for me?\\u201d but I\'m one of these people who acts if I started I really want to finish it. I don\\u2019t like unfinished projects.

Overall I have to say it was really good time I learn a lot.

And it was definitely valuable even the down parts where project didn\'t work out and something went been totally wrong and you discovered it after few months of work and it\'s basically worth nothing differently teach I am kind of being more persistent to decide. Okay something didn\'t work but many other things went as planned.

It was very happy by the end. I would say the solution ends up really good

Meeting people from different backgrounds, different groups and different cultures help me not only to build up my friendships\\xa0 but also my research and continue with my research.

It helped me to build my\\xa0 social skills, networking skills and communicating science it was really important and still is really important for me I was involved in a nonprofit organization which helps communicating science to the general public\'

we had several events around Stockham city to show them what really researchers do and how daily work works and how the research that is perceived at Karolinska institute could be implementing in their live because I think it\'s a pretty big gap between what we do as researchers and whqt general science knows about\\xa0 research.

\\xa0It was a lot of fun, a lot of extra work which was not really counted as my PhD time but it was definitely a really valuable lessons, going for meetings with some kids to elderly people and talking about stem cell research about development in neuroscience to them.

\\xa0As by the end of my PhD time I wasn\'t really sure what I would like to do. I have seen one position that a professor who was presenting at Karolinska at one of the meetings, she said that they are searching for a postDoc and that sounds pretty cool.

I applied, I went for interviews in London and the plan was to move out in March, April to London to start a PostDoc there.

Overtime plan had to change and had to be changed because in January I discovered I\'m pregnant and in one way it was really a blessing I was already married for over two years and we wanted to have kids. However discovering that you\'re pregnant while moving out to a different country that\'s your project doesn\'t really include maternity leave for the first year changing a country where you\'re not really cover\\xa0 by the social benefits for the first year was a bit tough choice to do but for me being a mother was really important so I decided to stay in Sweden.

I continue for a short time in my old group of projects just two or three weeks before the due date I stopped working as a researcher.

\\xa0And I went on maternity leave but\\xa0 then I decided that well to kind of keep an eye open and see what I can do that if really academia is a choice for me.

I was really lucky because my husband open a company at that point and they wanted to market a bit around and he asked me if I could help them to share some information on social media so I said looking into that taking some courses online searching for some tips in reading and I discovered that in fact marketing it\'s not such a far fetched form of neuroscience. In marketing you use a lot from neuroscience and knowledge that we obtained

Like high tracing\\xa0 is really commonly used for advertising and following human brain and things and total behaviour changing this is all based on the research, purely neurobiology research.

\\xa0I really liked it and I started up by doing the marketing for xxxx and I had to say that it went very well.

\\xa0They get a pretty good coverage after being a year on the market as a company they were covered by a NewYork Times.

They get really good funding and it was a really cool way to work with a team at the same time being a mother.

I work mostly from home I basically did a lot of things on my phone while breastfeeding or having a walk with the kid.

I discovered that even though before I was really good multi tasking I had good time management and I was pretty adjustable in the sense of being able to adjust to the situation Being a mother teach you that in a different dimensions and so after my maternity leave mission to lay I continue working for a small start ups and helping with marketing and trying to find a way to revive markets research in which platform they could set up and work with.

I worked a bit too with a customer service support which is really good because it helps to see that stuff which for us is really clear and obvious they are might be not as easy to see for the other in the sense that maybe for me the bike is red but someone else see that the bike is lila or pink. Sometimes it\'s really hard to get on the same page with the customer and to understand them from a different perspective.

After working in a small company I decided to apply\\xa0 and be a teacher back at Karolinska institute and teach a marketing course.

\\xa0

That was pretty cool experience I worked for two years having a marketing course and a project management course as well as a practical placement courses.

That was Master level courses

\\xa0It was again really resourceful, a good way to apply my knowledge and testing it out in a different field as I said before I like teaching during my PhD time and teaching by yourself, being in charge of the course about the budget and financing it\'s a totally different difficulty but you have to handle with.

\\xa0It was really interesting, however after a while decide to move out with in Karolinska and go to Alumni office and try to see how we could get the alumni more involved and more visible for the benefits of Karolinska and it was again a really cool team, a really good experience.

Learning the structures of a big organization such ad Karolinska It was really beneficial for me to see how many different coins have to get together so how many different balls have to the jungles at ones and some parts of departments can take decisions.

\\xa0Which is totally different when I was working in small companies, small start ups really have like five max ten people team versus a hundred people who are management who have more regular meetings it\'s not like we just write what\'s happened, let\'s talk...

\\xa0I have to have a meeting with more structured way due to the size of the organizations.

I became pregnant and we bought a house at the same time, the houses a delay and it\'s going to come at same time as my second baby, it\\u2019s a baby boy.

Two months before my due date I get a phone call from them from my colleagues I was collaborating with during my PhD time,testing to biomaterials and she told me that their companies trying to go public and start selling and they need someone to help them up with a marketing.

When we talked on the phone and she was describing the position I was \\u201cGosh this is my dream job\\u201d. It is marketing, doing marketing for a biotech company. For a product which in fact I know really well because I was involved in the early stages of the research and partly I feel like I\'m definitely want to go and talk with them so I did.

\\xa0It was a bit funny because when I entered I was like two months in due dates.

\\xa0So it definitely could see it I was pretty huge at the time and my belly was sticking out much more in front of me.

I Didn\'t say much in the beginning and it was basically me who brought it up to the table telling them that yes the positions sounds good I would definitely be interested however yes my due date is soon

\\xa0We decided to all have a moment to think about and we talk to each other a week after. I was really thrilled that they decided to give me a phone call with the suggestion that they\'re interested and they are flexible for me to start working soon after my delivery but I could work out from home.

Help them up from a more distance things or bring the kids with me to work and I think this is a brilliant way because we are nowadays living in Sweden at least me I\'m living in Sweden and I think Sweden is very\\xa0 open for having kids, for having kids at work and for females working with a kid in an office it\'s not a big surprise and maybe some people still feel this with weird but many people don\'t see it as a problem and I end up pretty lucky to be in a company which says it\\u2019s okay this is totally okay with my four months old baby discovering the voice and kind of giggling on a side when we are having a conversation and discussion.

It\\u2019s definitely hard for me to juggle my maternity leave together with my work plus having a \\u2018four and a half years old which is full of ideas and active little girl which is definitely cannot stay in one place and play she\'s too active for that. It was also pretty tricking in the sense that I had to unpack the house, furnished\\xa0 the house and try to set it up and find time for myself.

\\xa0Which is definitely not so easy I thought that having one child definitely change my world and teach me a lot. Change my understanding of being a flexible and time management. But having second one basically you have to learn it again from scratch you have to experience it in a different way.

\\xa0Because the responsibility increase as you progress in your family life as well as your career.

\\xa0So the flexibility has to increase in some way too it is definitely hard, especially for me for a person who likes to have few plans, structure and doesn\'t like surprises.

Having two kids is full of surprises.

\\xa0Definitely work and motherhood can coexist.

\\xa0And you can have it all and there are moments where everything under the plan.

\\xa0If it feels like whoa, it\'s just too good to be true and know that soon something is going to go down or can go wrong.

\\xa0And this could be like a easy thing that it\'s a flu season and then one of the kids can get sick or bring a virus and the little one just have a running nose but you get a forty degree fever and you can\\u2019t move.

\\xa0You don\'t really have an influence on that.

\\xa0I\'m really happy and really thrilled that I have a partner,l friends and family who are really helpful.That can really rely on.

\\xa0And so this is not only my duty and my skills to juggle with all. We share responsibilities really well with my parents and my partner of taking care of the kids and taking care of the house or helping each others and a daily basis.

I think this is a huge blessing for me.

I\\xa0 know everyone don\\u2019t have this on a daily basis.

I read some studies that forty three percent of highly qualified women decide to leave the carriers for having kids and I think that definitely does not an option for me I\'m too active person, I always do a few things once.

As being a full time my mom at home, It\'s not really my thing I would definitely get a bit frustrated I mean I need things which are more stimulating and more pushing up from behind and challenging a bit more.

\\xa0As much as I love my kids and I love spending time with them.

I need the kind of more intellectual stimulation, some kind of me time.

\\xa0That\'s why I always try to stay updated with museum, theater, cinema. Try to read maybe now I have not so much time for reading but I switch to the audiobook and I\\u2019m listening at least in the way when I drop the kids to preschool, or driving to work or taking the bus or the train.

\\xa0

And so it\'s really really good time which you can use it for this kind of stuff.

\\xa0

\\xa0I have to say that at first when I was signing up the contract and it was like literally six weeks before the due date I was really afraid of how it\'s going to end up because how the little one didn\'t show up today, I was a bit afraid if he has a colleague or maybe I have a post partum depression or maybe I would not feel well or you know there\'s a tones of thought running in your head especially when you are pregnant and you see everything pretty black.

But in the end I was really happy at all clear it up well.

\\xa0

\\xa0My son is an amazing baby, a really happy baby. I started to work in february mostly from home.

Nowadays we are going more and more to the office and try to be at least once or twice a week in the office, having more personal meetings with my colleagues and discussing about product launch, the website and updates and things like that. I work a lot by night and this is again pretty good that I\'m an evening person.

\\xa0I am not a morning, I don\\u2019t like to wake up in the morning, so in the morning I just rather do things on autopilot and in the evening when the kids are sleeping in that house is basically under control and I have time to sit down and focus and continue with my task and fulfill my duties as an employee.

\\xa0I definitely can say that especially nowadays with all the digital media and digital appliances which you can just take along with you and you can reply to email on the playgrounds when the dotter is playing and the son is sleeping in the pram.

\\xa0You can keep an update with your website and keep in touch with your company and colleagues. It is definitely\\xa0 possible to have it all.

Having\\xa0 family and having jobs at the same time. It\'s not easy and sometimes it\'s a bit messy, complicated and overwhelming but\\xa0 in the end I think this is a life it\'s not really easy peasy.

\\xa0There are times up and down, I have to say that overall I fing my life really satisfying even though it is challenging but as I said before, I like challenges I definitely enjoy it

more when it\'s more.

I prefer the challenges than have it a bit boring.

\\xa0

I think this is for all of the females who are thinking like well should I try it or should I not try. I would prefer to try something and say okay this is for me or this is not for me than just sitting and thinking about what would it be if

So if you have a doubt about being a mother and having a career life, Give it a shot!

It\'s always better to say and okay I tried it didn\'t work out than to be later on fifty or sixty and thinking it would have been so cool if I would have done it like that twenty years ago.

I don\'t like speculation, I think that\'s kind of my research nature coming up in it.

I prefer to have facts so.

I tried it and I see if it works or not.\\xa0

In many ways I think work is the center of our lives.

Even though from my family is super hard for me. I wouldn\'t be able to provide for my family if I wouldn\'t have my work too because I need the balance between family time and work time which is a bit of my own time.

Which is the time I can really plan and predict because when you\'re at home you cannot predict with two small kids which is really resourceful you cannot plan your day.

I definitely learn a totally new set of skills even though I was good in time management and I was pretty flexible. I learned it in a new dimension because the life taught you a lot of things in a different time and maybe not times which you have definitely not plan it and it could be from illness to day off at school because they have some planning or schedule and so you have to deliver the unexpected.

Juggling few balls at the same time it\'s pretty, it\\u2019s really challenging.

The work life balance is hard I still managed to find some time for myself.

When my daughter was two I started dancing again I like dancing this is my thing, that\'s relax me.

I joined a group which is started class and we are dancing modern Jazz.

\\xa0We were lucky because we not only compete on a national level, we got to the second place in Sweden we went for the international competition competed for Sweden and got a third place which felt really cool especially for me because I\'m Polish and I was dancing in the Swedish national team and we get a third place\\xa0

It felt pretty weird also showing that the workplace nowadays it\'s so open, it\\u2019s so multicultural people moving and changing, adjusting to different situations.

I think we all should have our dreams and hopes in some way try to follow some plans but also take all the punches that comes on the way trying new possibility not to be close mine but pretty open to new options and suggestions.

Because I think if I would just chose just a career or just the motherhood I will feel excluded from the outer part.\\xa0

I can see that at least for now I can say for myself it\'s definitely possible and it was definitely possible for my mother, she kept her career and two kids in the home when I had really caring parents and the small of the cake at home and she managed to succeed in her career so I think that especially nowadays when the world get more open for that working mothers. That it\'s even easier and it\'s a pity not to try.

I\'m still having my own company and doing some small projects.\\xa0On the side I\\u2019m working fifty percent for a biotech company and fifty percent on maternity leave

As I said, don\'t give up! Try it!

\\xa0And see if it\'s for you and if you don\'t like it, try something else and try from a different angle \\u2013 try to find your balance and what suits you the most.

Take your life in your hands and then don\'t give up if it doesn\'t work out.

Just try something new.

Moving to marketing after PhD in neuroscience wasn\'t maybe to most obvious choice I soon found it a great choice and great solution for me especially nowadays when I work as a product management and biotech company where I can combine my research knowledge, my scientific skills combined with the marketing skills and try to communicate the product to the scientist which are our first customers, I find it\\xa0 really cool I find it is a good reason to wake up in the morning and continue it.

\\xa0

And that is it for another episode of PhD Career Stories.

As always, we would love to hear from you. You can contact us by commenting on our blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. If you like what we do, please subscribe to our show on iTunes or Spotify. So that\\u2019s goodbye for now, but we will be back with a new story for you in two weeks time.\\u201d

\\xa0

Key words: motherhood, maternity, career balance, family life, private life, PhD, marketing, neuroscience, teaching, alumni.

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Listed in: Business

#077: Anne Schreiter Story

Published: June 21, 2019, 5:10 a.m.
Duration: 8 minutes 19 seconds

Transcript

Hi, I am Paulius Mikulskis from PhD Career Stories. It is my pleasure to introduce Anne Scheiter. In today\'s podcast Anne gives tips how to set yourself up for a successful career even when you do not know where you want to be in 5 or 10 years.

\\xa0

Hi, my name is Anne. I hold a PhD in the social sciences and have been working in the non-profit sector for the last 4 years. Today I\\u2019d like to share two pieces of career advice that have proven true for me on my professional journey thus far.

Number one: Answer the question how much you are willing to suffer for a career in academia.

Asked by a career counselor shortly after I finished my PhD, this question really hit me. It triggered me to actively question my career and life choices and forced me to figure out what I really wanted - because, quite frankly, during my time as a PhD student I never really thought about the next career step. I somehow drifted into my program and later into the great opportunity of being a visiting postdoc at the University of California Berkeley. I guess I really loved the atmosphere in academia, I loved the exchange with tremendously smart people, and the flexible lifestyle. But soon the doubts crept in, and this crafty question made them very obvious. I wasn\\u2019t so passionate about my research that it outweighed the disadvantages of an academic life, such as instability, a narrow job market, moving around a lot, you name it. I wanted to live in Berlin, I felt that I wanted my work to have an immediate impact, and I was more interested in hands-on tasks. However, for many PhD students and young postdocs such as myself back then, academia is the only path they\\u2019re familiar with - even though statistically, academia is the alternative career for PhDs. Questioning my priorities in life helped me to make an informed choice. Once I knew that the hardships of an academic career were not for me, I could then lead my energy towards pursuing another path. If however a career in academia is the right thing for you \\u2013 go for it! But make it a proactive and informed choice. I can also highly recommend the TED talk by Ruth Chang on how to make hard choices.

Advice Number two: You don\\u2019t have to know what you want to do in 5 years \\u2013 but you can set yourself up for lucky coincidences.

I am currently executive director of a non-profit that supports scientists and researchers who want to pursue a career in Germany \\u2013 either in academia or in other sectors. My team and I do that by offering career coaching, facilitating career workshops, and developing and managing programs that fill gaps in the current funding landscape, for instance a leadership academy for academics, or a boost fund that supports independent and flexible research for postdocs. We\\u2019ve been building a network of PhDs, who work in all sectors, and are able to connect them with those researchers who are about to take the next step in their careers. I really like this job because it combines many things that I enjoy doing, while interfacing with a diverse intellectual community.

5 years ago, after having talked to the career counselor at UC Berkeley, I would have never guessed that I\\u2019d do what I do today. However, in retrospective the outcome wasn\\u2019t all pure chance and luck.

During my PhD studies I also worked as a research assistant. Back then I learned that I really enjoyed organizing workshops for fellow doctoral students, I enjoyed being an advocate for young researchers as representative on the university board, and that I was good at building and fostering networks. I felt more at home giving talks and managing people than evaluating data and writing on my own. That didn\\u2019t change while doing my postdoc. \\xa0

After I decided to look for a job outside of academia, I started to gather information on how to transition into another sector. I found resources in the United States, but hardly any in Germany. So I set up a blog about career topics and experiences for job searching beyond academia in German. Gaining traction with online visibility, I then conducted a bunch of informational interviews on life beyond academia, and landed some side hustles moderating panel discussions and writing. At the time, I was also working part time organizing a leadership program for students at a non-profit called Common Purpose. I got this job in Berlin after doing quite a bit of homework on how to build a CV and letter of motivation that appeals to the world outside of academia. Importantly, I highlighted my transferable skills and strengths, demonstrating what I could bring to the table in a non-academic sector with an academic background. There was trial and error in this process - before landing this job, I was rejected for positions I thought I was qualified for, but not having the right work experience wasn\\u2019t really helping that much.

However, only a few months after I got my foot in the door of my first non-academic job at Common Purpose, I received a call from a headhunter asking if I was interested in a leading position in a research management-related non-profit. As a sociologist with hardly any work experience in the sector, I was not at all used to getting this kind of call. Apparently someone working at the organization had suggested me as a potential candidate after talking to me at a conference and following my blog. I was curious and went through the application process. I honestly thought that I wouldn\\u2019t stand a chance of getting the job due to my lack of experience. But to my surprise, I did get an offer. I was intimidated at first by this new role \\u2013 I\\u2019d never led a team before, never was responsible for the finances of an organization, or raised funds other than my own stipends. However, I quickly realized that my previous training had prepared me at least enough to learn these skills on the fly, and I find myself constantly learning on the job. This is a \\u201etransferable\\u201c skill I carried with me from academia into my new role \\u2013 analyzing problems, solving them in real time, quickly adapting my thinking to new information \\u2013 that comes with PhD training regardless of the specific field. More important than the hard skills are communication and problem solving skills, the ability to deal with uncertainty, as well as understanding my target group of young academics.

To sum it up, whether you want to become a professor or do something else, it helps to make yourself visible and heard. And after a while you won\\u2019t have to chase opportunities, but instead they will present themselves to you. And by the way, I have no idea what I\\u2019ll be doing in 5 years. But I look forward to finding out.

I hope you enjoyed the podcast. Feel free to contact us on all the usual social media channels, have a great rest of your day and see you in two weeks!

\\xa0

'

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#076: Deborah Rupert Story

Published: June 6, 2019, 10:09 p.m.
Duration: 21 minutes

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#075: Fabian Taube Story

Published: May 24, 2019, 8 a.m.
Duration: 18 minutes 39 seconds

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#074: Tina Persson on the resilience during the job hunting

Published: May 10, 2019, 8 a.m.
Duration: 10 minutes 54 seconds

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#073: Interview with Anastasia Moiseeva on life coaching during and after a PhD

Published: April 26, 2019, 8:56 a.m.
Duration: 26 minutes 52 seconds

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#072: Aoife O Dwyer Story

Published: April 12, 2019, 8 a.m.
Duration: 17 minutes 19 seconds

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#071: Chris Armbruster on how (and why) to become a Data Scientist

Published: March 29, 2019, 9 a.m.
Duration: 19 minutes 5 seconds

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#070: Elvira Ganic on how to succeed in your job hunting

Published: March 15, 2019, 5:04 a.m.
Duration: 10 minutes 12 seconds

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#069: Chris Humphrey on how to break into finance and banking

Published: March 1, 2019, 6:53 a.m.
Duration: 10 minutes 41 seconds

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#068: Elvira Ganic Story

Published: Feb. 14, 2019, 4:43 p.m.
Duration: 18 minutes 43 seconds

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#067: Kajsa Hallberg Adu Story

Published: Feb. 1, 2019, 9 a.m.
Duration: 10 minutes 2 seconds

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#066: Interview with Magda Schiegl

Published: Jan. 18, 2019, 9 a.m.
Duration: 9 minutes 6 seconds

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#065: Ali Al-Sawalmih's Story

Published: Jan. 4, 2019, 11:27 a.m.
Duration: 10 minutes 2 seconds

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#064: Fulvio Caruso's Story

Published: Dec. 21, 2018, 6:15 p.m.
Duration: 15 minutes 41 seconds

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#063: Girish Kedar Story

Published: Dec. 7, 2018, 9 a.m.
Duration: 13 minutes 54 seconds

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#062: Andrew Quitmeyer Story

Published: Nov. 23, 2018, 9 a.m.
Duration: 19 minutes 19 seconds

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#061: Per Olof Arnas Story

Published: Nov. 9, 2018, 5 a.m.
Duration: 23 minutes 10 seconds

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#060: Joakim Muschott on making career choices with courage

Published: Oct. 20, 2018, 8:41 p.m.
Duration: 15 minutes 6 seconds

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#059: Tips&Tricks Tina Persson: on taking a postdoc position after a PhD

Published: Oct. 12, 2018, 8 a.m.
Duration: 12 minutes 48 seconds

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#058: Joakim Muschott on the topic of coaching

Published: Sept. 28, 2018, 4:59 p.m.
Duration: 11 minutes 54 seconds

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#057: Karin Bodewits Story

Published: Sept. 14, 2018, 4:30 a.m.
Duration: 8 minutes 35 seconds

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#056: Priya Revathikumar Story

Published: Aug. 31, 2018, 6:26 a.m.
Duration: 13 minutes 3 seconds

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#055: Tips&Tricks Maria Joao Pereira: how to get a job in industry after PhD

Published: Aug. 17, 2018, 8 a.m.
Duration: 10 minutes 48 seconds

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#054: Dennis Fink Story

Published: Aug. 3, 2018, 8 a.m.
Duration: 16 minutes 59 seconds

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#053: PhD Career Stories Two Year Anniversary: team discussion

Published: July 20, 2018, 7:07 p.m.
Duration: 25 minutes 55 seconds

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#052: Matthias Antonin Story

Published: July 6, 2018, 11:49 a.m.
Duration: 13 minutes 39 seconds

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#051: Luca Forcucci Story

Published: June 22, 2018, 7:31 p.m.
Duration: 29 minutes 9 seconds

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#050: Tips&Tricks Johanna Dutton: resume writing for researchers looking to transition from academia to industry

Published: June 8, 2018, 7:37 a.m.
Duration: 11 minutes 42 seconds

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#049: Martjin Bijker Story

Published: May 25, 2018, 4 a.m.
Duration: 29 minutes 2 seconds

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#048: Tips&Tricks Lina Tengdelius: how to find a job after a PhD

Published: May 11, 2018, 8:19 a.m.
Duration: 12 minutes 48 seconds

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#047: Erik Alexandersson Story

Published: April 27, 2018, 8 a.m.
Duration: 21 minutes 45 seconds

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#046: Magnus Eneberg Story

Published: April 13, 2018, 4 a.m.
Duration: 14 minutes 34 seconds

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#045: Max Planck Alumni Association group discussion

Published: March 30, 2018, 1:12 p.m.
Duration: 20 minutes 38 seconds

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#044: Wolfgang Nellen Story

Published: March 16, 2018, 6:58 p.m.
Duration: 10 minutes 52 seconds

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#043: Interview with Jon Tennant about Open Science

Published: March 2, 2018, 9 a.m.
Duration: 21 minutes 24 seconds

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#042: Tips&Tricks Anestis Dougkas: how to best prepare for an international career

Published: Feb. 16, 2018, 8:15 a.m.
Duration: 9 minutes 8 seconds

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#041: Gizeh Perez Tenorio Story

Published: Feb. 2, 2018, 7:48 a.m.
Duration: 8 minutes 1 second

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#040: Lina Tengdelius Story

Published: Jan. 19, 2018, 8:40 a.m.
Duration: 14 minutes 8 seconds

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#039: Alex Rutherford Story

Published: Jan. 5, 2018, 2 a.m.
Duration: 44 minutes 25 seconds

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#038: Katrin Franke Story

Published: Dec. 22, 2017, 1:14 p.m.
Duration: 21 minutes 59 seconds

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#037: Yorick Peterse and Maria Eichel on Mental Health of PhD Candidates

Published: Dec. 8, 2017, 10:47 a.m.
Duration: 16 minutes 2 seconds

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#036: David Alich Story

Published: Nov. 24, 2017, 11:48 a.m.
Duration: 12 minutes 48 seconds

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#035: Prateek Mahalwar Story

Published: Nov. 10, 2017, 3:01 p.m.
Duration: 13 minutes 54 seconds

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#034: Susanna Bachle Story

Published: Oct. 27, 2017, 3:43 a.m.
Duration: 12 minutes 36 seconds

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#033: Tips&Tricks Michael Gralla: what non-scientific skills are important for your career building

Published: Oct. 13, 2017, 4:30 a.m.
Duration: 4 minutes 52 seconds

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#032: Anestis Dougkas Story

Published: Sept. 29, 2017, 6:54 a.m.
Duration: 19 minutes 6 seconds

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#031: Jenny Zie Story

Published: Sept. 15, 2017, 4:30 a.m.
Duration: 11 minutes 31 seconds

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#030: Tips&Tricks Asa Burman: how to finish your academic work on time

Published: Sept. 1, 2017, 7:32 a.m.
Duration: 16 minutes 54 seconds

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#029: Alfred Orina Isaac Story

Published: Aug. 18, 2017, 8:51 a.m.
Duration: 10 minutes 21 seconds

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#028: Asa Burman Story

Published: Aug. 4, 2017, 7:43 a.m.
Duration: 22 minutes 30 seconds

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#027: Our 1 year anniversary: how it started and where we are heading

Published: July 21, 2017, 8:16 a.m.
Duration: 28 minutes 10 seconds

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#026: Michael Gralla Story

Published: July 7, 2017, 6:54 a.m.
Duration: 8 minutes 26 seconds

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#025: Sara Borniquel Story

Published: June 23, 2017, 4 a.m.
Duration: 19 minutes 33 seconds

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#024: Sam Dupont Story

Published: June 9, 2017, 4 a.m.
Duration: 9 minutes 57 seconds

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#023: Thomas Thestrup Story

Published: May 26, 2017, 4 a.m.
Duration: 34 minutes

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#022: Tips&Tricks Amanda Bengtsson: how to start preparing for a career after a PhD already in graduate school

Published: May 12, 2017, 6:31 a.m.
Duration: 6 minutes 23 seconds

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#021: Filippo Guarnieri Story

Published: April 28, 2017, 5:40 a.m.
Duration: 14 minutes 27 seconds

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#020: Dennis Fink Story

Published: April 14, 2017, 9:32 a.m.
Duration: 18 minutes 39 seconds

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#019: Gunes Ozhan Story

Published: March 31, 2017, 10 a.m.
Duration: 6 minutes 45 seconds

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#018: Umesh Gangishetti Story

Published: March 17, 2017, 4:18 p.m.
Duration: 8 minutes 14 seconds

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#017: Amanda Bengtsson Story

Published: March 3, 2017, 3:55 p.m.
Duration: 14 minutes 11 seconds

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#016: Fatma Guettou Story

Published: Feb. 17, 2017, 5:01 p.m.
Duration: 11 minutes 56 seconds

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#015: Tips&Tricks Johanna Havemann: when writing about your research, mind your audience

Published: Feb. 3, 2017, 6:20 p.m.
Duration: 3 minutes 25 seconds

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#014: Tips&Tricks Tina Persson: how self-assessment will help your career transition

Published: Jan. 20, 2017, 4:48 p.m.
Duration: 13 minutes 59 seconds

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#013: Johanna Havemann Story

Published: Jan. 6, 2017, 11:07 a.m.
Duration: 6 minutes 32 seconds

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#012: Tips&Tricks Sarah Blackford: how to kick-start your career planning

Published: Dec. 23, 2016, 2:59 p.m.
Duration: 8 minutes 30 seconds

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#011: Tina Persson & Maria Sjogren: PhD Career Stories - looking back and looking ahead

Published: Dec. 9, 2016, 7:32 p.m.
Duration: 11 minutes 5 seconds

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#010: Tips&Tricks Tina Persson: how to prepare for your next job interview

Published: Nov. 25, 2016, 9:59 p.m.
Duration: 13 minutes 12 seconds

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#009: Ania Gruszczynska Story

Published: Nov. 11, 2016, 5:22 p.m.
Duration: 21 minutes 13 seconds

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#008: Tips&Tricks Paulius Mikulskis: how to get started with your job search

Published: Oct. 28, 2016, 11:24 a.m.
Duration: 2 minutes 27 seconds

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#007: Samer Yammine Story

Published: Oct. 13, 2016, 7:54 p.m.
Duration: 4 minutes 26 seconds

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#006: Tips&Tricks Philipp Gramlich: how to get a map of the job landscape

Published: Sept. 30, 2016, 4:06 a.m.
Duration: 8 minutes 54 seconds

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#005: Kyriaki Liadaki Story

Published: Sept. 16, 2016, 7:29 p.m.
Duration: 13 minutes 23 seconds

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#004: Tips&Tricks Tina Persson: how to rewrite your CV

Published: Aug. 29, 2016, 7:47 p.m.
Duration: 9 minutes 56 seconds

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#003: Michele Manzo Story

Published: Aug. 19, 2016, 8:09 a.m.
Duration: 10 minutes 19 seconds

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#002: Tips&Tricks Maria Sjogren: how to boost your online presence

Published: Aug. 5, 2016, 6:03 a.m.
Duration: 3 minutes 40 seconds

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#001: First episode by PhD Career Stories: Tina Persson Story

Published: July 22, 2016, 8:14 a.m.
Duration: 19 minutes 17 seconds

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