What can I do 2 yrs before graduating PhD Life Sciences in non-target school to be a competitive ER applicant
I am doing my PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences/Toxicology in a non-target school in New York City. I am in line to have a solid publication record come graduation and have presented at several internationally recognized conferences. What are some things I can do (besides networking) that will help me stand out when I apply for jobs in 2 years? Also- being in a PhD and lab research field I do not know how to properly network or find people to network with. Any advice on how to establish this?
Thanks
Long-time lurker, first-time poster here. I'm a PhD in biochemistry at a target school in the middle of recruiting for a number of biotech ER roles at both MM and BB shops. In addition to networking, which is obviously the most important thing, I did a number of internships that I think bolstered my resume and increased the level of interest I'm now enjoying from recruiters.
Most universities will have a tech transfer office, some of which offer internships to business-minded PhD students. That can be a good place to start. I did that, which led to an internship at a VC fund affiliated with the university. Those internships led, indirectly, to about a year-long internship at long-only fund doing buy-side research on biotech equities. It's that last internship that keeps coming up in interviews – without it, I'm not sure I'd be receiving offers. In addition, to all that, I took two classes at the business school associated with my department (which is definitely a target B school). Not sure if the classes did much in terms of recruiting, but I learned how to do a DCF and a couple other things that proved valuable later on.
It seems to me that the most important aspect of these types of experiences is that they simply demonstrated my continued interest in ER over a couple years. I think it would be very tough to recruit for these roles without a strong demonstrated interest even if you somehow get up to speed on the technical skills by reading books/taking classes/etc on your own.
Would you PM me? I'd love to talk about your PhD experiences
Thank you very much for such a helpful response.
Are you aware of any NYC institutions that may have a part time or summer only internship for PhDs interested in ER?
My PI was completely unsupportive of my forays into business/finance, but his his attitude was, "As long as your productivity in lab doesn't drop off, you can do whatever you want in your free time." Realistically, by the time I started spending a good deal of time in these other internships, I was already so disengaged in my projects I was probably working 40 hours a week (despite spending significantly more time in the lab being unproductive). I have heard stories about PIs, particularly those with more hands-on management styles preventing grad students from doing interesting things outside of lab, but I was lucky.
In terms of finding time, it really wasn't that hard honestly. Spending 10-20 hours a week on top of my time in lab would have been really tough early on in my PhD where I was working 60-70 hour weeks just to tread water in lab, but later on, once my projects started working the way they were supposed to, I could get a lot of data in a 40 hour work week and found myself dicking around a lot in the lab. Having the extra time commitment of the internships actually boosted my productivity since I was motivated to get everything done as expediently as possible.
In terms of internships in NYC I have no idea. I would guess Yale, NYU and Rockafellar all have tech transfer offices and may offer opportunities for scientist although I'd doubt they recruit outside their own institution. However, there's certainly no shortage of investment funds/VCs/ect. that would be interested in exploiting the free labor of a PhD if you can get yourself in front of the right person. Good luck my man!
Thanks a lot so far for these words of advice. What sort of chance do you think do I have you think if I am unable to take time off from my research to pursue an internship? Is it uncommon to do an internship after my PhD that turns into a job (I can't imagine explaining to my family I have only an internship with a PhD). Also, my lab is quite overwhelmingly demanding. My PI had my quit my part time once a week on a Sunday afternoon job even because "it's time I could be spending in the lab..." Between my demanding PI and I have teaching responsibilities 16-20 hours a week during the year - I am not exactly left with a lot of extra time.
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