We Fight For PhDs And PhD Careers

My PI’s funding was diminishing, and he asked me to look for a new job in the next 3-6 months. aI joined CSA and actively applied to positions using CSA strategies. Now, in my new industry position, I feel relieved, stress-free, and happy. My heartfelt gratitude to Team Cheeky and the resources they provide.

I had no idea how to transition into industry… It was helpful to see how similar [the Associates’] problems were. I wanted to give CSA a try, and I’m glad I did.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Senior Research Analyst at Open Health Evidence & Access!

Thanks to Cheeky Scientist, I went from being unemployed to one of the highest paying positions in industry. Before Cheeky Scientist, I did two post-docs and ended up unemployed. I received many rejections throughout my industry job search. Now, I’m a Senior Medical Science Liaison manager at Amgen. Thank you Cheeky Scientist for helping me escape the scarcity mentality of academia, learn the power of networking, and leverage my PhD to get my dream job for me and my family.

There were a lot of layers I need it to really work through, the structure of the program addresses those things. You’re really not alone, there was a lot of support in the network.
There was a ridiculously amount of content that’s just so rich, it’s been an enriching experienced honestly. I learned a lot and I know I still have a lot to learn but I’m doing well.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as European Portfolio Manager, Scientific Instruments!

The biggest challenge for me to start with, was just to get people to notice me, basically. You look on LinkedIn and see all these job advertisements and don’t know how to get your resume in front of the right people. That was really the first thing I needed help with, and once I joined the Cheeky Scientist Association and began learning the networking techniques, it really changed my whole job search.

Before joining the Cheeky Scientist Association, I felt like no one understood me, and I didn’t have a mentor to guide me towards what I wanted for myself and my career. Once I joined the Association, I flourished in the collaborative community. I enjoy receiving advice from PhDs that have gone through similar experiences. I also love being a mentor to others.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Scientist I at Tessera Therapeutics!

Once I joined Facebook and the community I realized the value. Where you can pitch an idea to someone and within a day you usually get 14-15 comments of advice. Most of the time they were great advice, it became a great avenue for advice and not only for application materials, resumes, etc. but also a mental health check. It was very uplifting. The advice and the commodity is genuine.

I didn’t even know how to write an industry resume before joining Cheeky Scientist… Fast-forward – now I’m a medical science liaison, an incredible position in a rapidly growing career field for PhDs. I can’t understate the difference between my new career and my old academic lifestyle.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as a RA CMC Biologics Associate Manager at Novartis! I wish I could say that my success was only due to my efforts. However, I would not have made it without the suport of incredible people who were always there to give me a confidence boost when giving up was the only option I saw tangible… despite it not being a possibility.

I didn’t know what was out there for PhDs… I was kind of lost. I was really struggling to find my direction. The Association provides tons of videos, slides, and you actually get a strategy for how to approach the job market. I learned how to assemble everything  – that’s when I saw potential.

The network that has been built in the Association is really the unique thing, the thing that separates this from other programs. There are other training programs out there, but they don’t have this kind of support network that’s built in. That’s really where the value comes in, because that group is constantly posting, they’re supporting each other, they’re doing mock interviews, people are posting about job opportunities all the time.

I am so, so thankful, relieved, and excited to announce that I have officially joined the exceptional team at NxGen MDx as the Medical Science Liaison for their pathogen portfolio! This is such a phenomenal opportunity and I still cannot believe my luck that this was the path forward. Thank you, sincerely, to everyone (especially ALL of the current and former MSLs!) who encouraged, advised, and helped me get here – and special shout out to Isaiah Hankel, Ph.D., Meerambika Mishra, M.Phil., Ph. D., Abha Chalpe-Ghosh, Ph.D., and all of the Cheekies for the unwavering support (and sometimes tough love). I don’t think I could have done it without you. Thank you.

Now that I’ve started working you get inundated with this whole new set of vocabulary, all these different abbreviations that if you’ve heard of them you don’t know what they mean, or you may never have heard of it and it’s totally foreign. So certainly getting exposed to some of those concepts in the SMBA, that was part of it, but also understanding different types of companies, what types of companies I want to go after, and what to look for when I conduct my job search. All that stuff really came into play.

There were two things mainly [from the Cheeky Scientist Association] that helped me in my job search. First, the first homework we get as associates is to refurbish our LinkedIn. My views jumped, I got contacted by a recruiter every week after changing my LinkedIn profile. The second thing was preparation for interviews–I had one interview, and I had one job offer. This was the first interview of my life, so I guess it really worked out with the CSA materials.

Extremely happy and delighted to announce that I have started working as a Global Product Manager with Hamilton Bonaduz AG. I will be involved in Product Life Cycle Management, Strategy and Innovation. I am eagerly looking forward to this exciting journey headfirst, ready to learn and grow.

I took a lot of things for granted when I finished my PhD. I thought I had a unique set of skills and I would get a lot of offers and I wouldn’t have to study any harder, and it would just flow from now on. But of course it didn’t. I applied to a lot of jobs and I didn’t have any interviews, and the very few times I did, I wouldn’t get the offer in the end. I was clearly doing something wrong. When I first joined the Association I was in the middle of interviewing, so I actually did the modules in reverse order. But it worked really well, I learned lots immediately because I had to dig into it deeply right away.

I joined Cheeky Scientist hoping to transition into a new career path. Suffice it to say… I did it! I currently work as an evidence evaluation specialist – a position I landed after responding to a job posting in the Cheeky Scientist private networking group.

Thrilled to share that I’m starting a new position as Research Associate II at Flagship Pioneering! Thank you for the smooth onboarding process Sofia Brites Boss Hozefa Bandukwala, Ph.D. Michael Askenase Ryan Kohn.Very much excited to start this journey.

I started following Cheeky Scientist on Facebook and was receiving a lot of really useful information like the CV Guide, the Transferable Skills Guide. One of the people on the team was very responsive to my emails, very interested in my personal situation, and she then sent me the Industry Guide, which was extremely helpful. I had no idea what positions were out there or where to start.

Sending application after application out and not even having them read was a really bleak feeling, but finding the Cheeky Scientist Association really helped me with that. As soon as I joined, just seeing how much content was available was really incredible. In fact it was a little overwhelming at first. But within a day or two, getting into some of the modules and seeing all the information about the potential jobs out there just completely reinvigorated my spirits as far as the job search went.

I just wanted to share some good news. I received a job offer (yay). I am very happy with it. The salary is at the high range for this position (according to my research) and they also offer full benefits. Thank you and the team for all the help/tips.

I was alarmed to realize how many people were stuck in postdocs. CSA’s call to action encouraged me to be accountable and take responsibility.

I started sending out hundreds of job applications and received many rejection letters. I was frustrated and confused; I hit a wall and didn’t know how to get out. I didn’t want to stay in academia. Once I joined Cheeky, I realized I needed to change my mindset. Breaking into industry is a process. I learned how to make my resume grab the hiring manager’s attention, create an eye-catching LinkedIn profile, and how to interview appropriately. The biggest takeaway was the networking strategy I gained. I learned that Internal referrals are the key to getting hired. I’ve carried these values through my first and second transitions.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Lead GPS Data Reporting and Analytics at Deloitte!

After working in research for about a decade, I decide it was time to explore new ways to improve myself. After joining Cheeky, I realized what I needed to work on due to my big knowledge gaps. I began to study the materials to improve my job search strategy.

I kept sending out my academic resume everywhere and received no response. I started to doubt myself. Once I joined Cheeky I learned how important it is to connect your soft skills to the job you’re applying to. I also learned how to understand a business which is very important when working in industry.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Formulation Scientist at Toralgen!

I knew I wanted to leave the academic track I was on, but I didn’t know where to begin to target an industry position. Cheeky Scientist provided me with the supportive network and goal-setting strategies I needed to confidently pursue the best industry career path for my ideal professional lifestyle. I know hold a top position as a Project Manager at Microsoft.

Before joining the Association, I was looking to transition into industry. I was attending seminars and workshops at my school, but there was nothing very specific, or tools to help me transition. Definitely the first “aha moment” for me was the “Top 20 Jobs for PhDs and Postdocs”. That opened my eyes, I saw all the possibilities that were accessible for me. And from that I was able to narrow it down to the top four positions that were interesting to me and aligned with my values. The other “aha moment” was in Module 1, where you ask us to picture the type of lifestyle we want. That really helped me to figure out my vision that I had for myself, and it helped me narrow down to what I really wanted to do.

I am very excited to announce that I started a new role as Behavior Designer at Boehringer Ingelheim. Greatly looking forward to the new challenge and meeting my new colleagues.

Before joining the Cheeky Scientist Association, I felt so alone and defeated in my job search. Once I discovered Cheeky Scientist and attended my first webinar, I was so happy that I even shed a tear. I immediately joined the Association, and felt comfort in knowing that I’m not alone. I am very grateful for the Association and am excited to start my new industry career.

I wanted to explore the real world. I was sure that I wanted to be in industry, but I didn’t know how to get there… Knowing my value as a PhD was an ‘a-ha’ moment. I got back my confidence after joining Cheeky.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Vice President, Technical Offer CGT & Biologics at Charles River Laboratories!