We Fight For PhDs And PhD Careers

All the advice from Cheeky Scientist was very very useful. I would get advice that I would never get from anyone else. Nobody was answering my emails and calls and only after joining Cheeky Scientist programs, it was almost like a miracle, something changed all that. I followed all the Cheeky Scientist advice and it worked out.

I’m a social scientist and got hired with Cheeky Scientist. But before joining the Association, I found myself in a period of career ambivalence before becoming a Cheeky Scientist member. Cheeky Scientist’s programs motivated me to re-visit my industry transition plan, invest in my career and recognize my true value. I now hold a top position as a Research Scientist at Evidera and have Cheeky Scientist to thank.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Inside Sales Representative at Weyerhaeuser.

As a Cellular and Molecular Biology PhD, I struggled a lot with impostor syndrome. I didn’t have confidence. Cheeky Scientist changed all of that for me. I mastered the Cheeky course materials and fully engaged with their private networking community. Long-story-short: Now I’m a field application scientist.

Even though I knew how to network and I knew how to present very well, and all the science, I didn’t know how to sell myself. The Cheeky Scientist Association really helped me in that sense. It helped me with strategy and with understanding what the industry was looking for. Also there was a rich network of people. They tell you their experiences, encourage you, and also tell you what not to do. I had a very academic CV, so I put it there and everyone told me “Hey, you have what it takes, you’re just not putting it there correctly.” All of this really made an impact.

After months of informational interviews, applications, and interviews (so many interviews!) I got offers from two companies almost simultaneously. I am so glad I had Cheeky Scientist’s help and guidelines. I could not have navigated this alone so efficiently.

I want to thank the CSA team since I never would have made it to this point without you! I have been a member since Jan 2018 and began seriously applying to positions in June, so it took me about 3 months and 3 interviews before finding the right fit.

Having a strategy that helps motivate you and takes you through these steps and also helps you realize how much help you can get, it’s really overwhelming at first. There’s so much positive help. Just the private group by itself is worth the investment and worth the time.

After five months of applying, I got 4 job offers. I chose the one which is more suits to my skills and interestes. I am happy about this industry job and regret at the same time as I wasted time on doing three years postdocs.

After a year in a postdoc, I realized that was the wrong place for me. After months of rejection, I knew something was missing in my job search strategy. Once I joined Cheeky, I got recruited by a company and continued to climb the industry ladder.

I knew I wanted to go into the medical writing field, but the biggest hurdle I faced before joining the Cheeky Scientist Association was knowing where to start. After stumbling upon Cheeky Scientist via LinkedIn, I discovered that they offer a Medical Writing Organization Program. After joining the association, I was introduced to LinkedIn and was able to hone in on my networking skills. As an introvert, I am one of the more quieter PhDs, but I found my voice and received a lot of support from the exclusive membership Facebook Groups.

Yasmin Alkhlaif

I didn’t even know I could go to professional conferences and events made for networking. My LinkedIn profile and resume needed help, and I was able to get help with those through CSA. I needed a peer group where I could share my experiences and questions with my peers: other PhDs. Luckily, I found that here in CSA!

In the beginning, I was skeptical of CSA. But once I joined and began doing the modules, my anxiety went away little by little. I realized other PhDs felt the same – everyone was depressed in academia, and it wasn’t just me. It was natural, and CSA taught me how to fix my job search to get hired in industry.

I accepted my job offer today. I was able to get 5k more (195k) + the exact PTO package I wanted. I am very happy and very thankful for everything that I learned through the program. I plan to stay involved with Cheeky as I love what y’all are doing and I’m still learning.

I realized I didn’t want to stay in Academia anymore, but I had no idea what to do. Once I discovered Cheeky Scientist and joined, it was life-changing. I went from desperation mode to having all of these options to start thinking about what I wanted for myself. Cheeky’s methodology helped me create the career I wanted and would work for me.

My resumes and job applications were constantly being rejected before becoming a Cheeky Scientist program member. Now I’m in a prestigious industry position as a Research Scientist. I am grateful for everything that Cheeky Scientist taught me and for the network that I continue to have access to through Cheeky Scientist.

I am happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Scientific Writer at CrowdPharm!

I joined Cheeky Scientist after submitting my resume to countless companies. I had been hoping for a fulfilling career, but no luck. With the help of the CS community, I learned to confidently network and finally became an associate manager of medical writing at dMed Biomedical Company.

My biggest reservation was the misconception that I’d be turning my back on what I’d been doing for almost a decade, but that really hasn’t been the case. A lot of the skills that I picked up during my studies have definitely helped me during this transition. I haven’t been lacking in intellectual challenge in my new role, which was another thing I was quite afraid of.

Excited to announce my new position as a Beauty Research Clinical Investigator at Amway!

I didn’t know what my value was. Once I found CSA existed, I finally realized that my training was valuable. I was able to use the Cheeky career map to get a job… Everyone in CSA is there to learn – they’re very supportive.

My mindset was very academic based. Once I joined Cheeky, I caught on to things I needed to change for my mindset to move forward into an industry position. It was great to have support and an accountability partner. I landed my job by getting an internal referral.

They made a modification to the contract and I accepted the offer. Thank you for your advice and support.

I’ve always been a lifelong academic, and I was just ready to break out of the ivory tower and do more meaningful and more impactful work. Having access to all the Cheeky Scientist resources enabled me to immediately take the actions that would lead to my eventual job offer.

I never had a hard time finding a job until PhD was on my resume. Then there were *crickets*. My biggest challenge was my resume and finding the right format. What was extremely helpful was connecting with as many people as possible and network.

I am going to be an Epidemiologist with California Health Medical Reserve Corps. This is a hybrid, remote position, mostly working from home and only reporting on site as needed.

First I went to the career development center at my university, and I was very disappointed with the feedback that I got. The main issue with career development centers at various universities is that the advice they give is tailored for undergrads. While going through this process I was trying to find some organization or some person that would be able to give me the proper advice. The whole concept of Cheeky Scientist being by PhDs, for PhDs, and how to transition out of academia, these three things are very unique. I wish that I had got this before graduating, but I’m getting it after graduating and now I’m in a position to help others.

My main difficulty was not knowing how to approach a job search. The eye-opening stuff that I came to know from the Cheeky Scientist Association is that there is a method to this madness. You need to have an Excel sheet, you need to target certain companies, you need to know who are the contacts that you have in your network, all those things.

Today I joined WuXi as a Director, Technical Service

I spent 20 years in academia, and I realized that I was not going to get tenure. I started to apply for jobs but wouldn’t make it past the interview stage. It made me feel like I was a total failure. After joining Cheeky, I realized I was answering all of the interview questions wrong -I was not talking the industry language.

Before joining the Cheeky Scientist Association, I didn’t know where to start in my job search. Once I joined the Association, my goal was clear after seeing the Cheeky Scientist comprehensive transition plan. I love the material and the networking strategies that the Cheeky Scientist Association has in place. This is my 2nd Transition! This shows just how valuable the material is even after my 1st transition.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as a Chemical Engineer

Thanks to all the Cheekies who have supported the CSA private group and given so much to this community. Thank you!! There is still so much more to learn, and I hope to get back in the group and contribute.

Cheeky Scientist helped me target my job search and land multiple job offers from large companies, which I was able to leverage into creating my dream career. Now, I’m running a Medical Writing consultancy and loving every minute of it.

I just negotiated and signed as a field Application Scientist. Thank you for your help in landing this role.