Industry Transition Spotlight: Bishnu Joshi, PhD
What is your name, your full job title, and the full name of the company you work for?
My name is Bishnu Joshi, working as a Scientist in Agenus Inc. for the last 7 months.
What is your biggest or most satisfying career goal you’ve reached since transitioning into industry?
Before joining this position, I had many transferable skills, but no idea where my skill set fit. I was highly motivated to contribute my leadership and technical skills to support cancer research. After joining this company, I have found a place for myself as a skilled problem-solver and project manager. I have mastered new technologies that I had never worked with before and I am more confident than ever that I have chosen the right career path.
What’s been your biggest learning experience or Ah-Ha moment since transitioning into your new role?
One Ah-Ha moment for me came when I began working on new topics that I had never worked with before. This has fascinated me and made me think about the future trends in this field and other possible opportunities.
How is your current industry position different from your academic postdoc or experience as a graduate student?
The goals and approaches in industry are more distinct than in the academic setting. In my experience, academic researchers tend to ask questions of broad interest but the industrial researchers consider a more practical view. Also, industry is rich in resources, and combined efforts of scientists from different disciplines can be easily applied towards a particular problem. But more often, this requires external collaboration in the academics.
If you could go back in time, to before you received your job offer, and give yourself one piece of advice or encouragement, what would it be?
Focus on your key strengths and weaknesses. Identify your most valuable skill. Then, begin to think about how best to present yourself and these advantages to potential employers.
What do you see as the next step in your career?
I would like to move into a senior scientist or project leader position.
How has the Association and the Association’s members helped you continue to achieve your career goals?
I got tons of valuable advice. I got feedback on my resume, script-writing, LinkedIn summary and how to keep yourself persistent in the transition process.
I have learned various soft skills through interaction with other associates, transition modules, and webinars. The webinars from experts and other consultants were great resources and helped me be more productive, strategic, focused, and prioritize my target companies. The CSA helped my transition plan become more strategic. As a result, I got the job that I’ve always wanted.
Now that you’ve spent some time working in industry, what is the biggest takeaway(s) you’d like to share with those who are still executing their job search?
I have personally found great satisfaction in applying my own technical and scientific strengths to the pursuit of discovering new medicine for the wellness of human health. I believe industry offers many exceptional opportunities for those who want to contribute to human health, other advanced technologies, and cutting-edge research.
To learn more about how you can transition into an industry career like Bishnu, including instant access to our exclusive training videos, case studies, industry insider documents, transition plan, and private online network, get on the wait list for the Cheeky Scientist Association.
