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Industry Transition Spotlight: Samantha Shelton, PhD

An interview with Samantha Shelton, PhD

What is your name, your full job title, and the full name of the company you work for?

My name is Samantha Shelton, and I work as a Support Scientist at 10x Genomics.

What is your favorite part about working in industry?

I enjoy working with so many highly intelligent, interesting people. I get to work in many different cross-functional groups at 10x, which allows me to get to know people from every area of the company.

Can you describe what a typical day at your job looks like?

I work on a lot of different things, so it really depends. I’ll usually answer customer emails and help them with troubleshooting their experiments for about 2 hours in the morning. I’ll usually have at least 1 group meeting a day, where I’ll work with my colleagues to figure out how we can best support the products we’re working on launching. I’m given a reasonable amount of flexibility to take on new projects when I feel ready, so I try to devote an hour or two in the afternoon to developing new content for the company that I hope will be helpful for our customers!

How is your current industry position different from your academic postdoc or experience as a graduate student?

Well, I’m no longer work at the bench, which is probably the biggest change. I get to interact with people so much more, which I find very rewarding. I really missed that face-to-face interaction and collaboration when I was in graduate school.

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?

I wish I had worked harder at negotiating my salary! Ultimately, I was happy with the offer, but I feel I could have gotten more. If I knew then what I know now, I would’ve pushed a bit harder for more.

What was the most memorable moment for you (so far) as a Cheeky Scientist Associate?

I really had several a-ha moments while watching the CSA modules. Learning how to re-format my LinkedIn and CV so that they really put my best foot forward was so important. Once that was done, networking became a lot easier, and ultimately I think a strong network made me more visible on LinkedIn and greatly improved my chances of landing this position. 

What do you see as the next step in your career?

I’m not sure yet! This role gives me a lot of opportunities to interact with other groups at 10x, so I’m learning a lot. I may be interested in going into marketing communications or product management in the future.

How can the Association and the Association’s members help you continue to achieve your career goals?

I think the Facebook group is still super great. People are still so responsive and helpful. I really appreciate how thoughtful and encouraging the advice given there is. 

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?

Take your time with your job application and do your homework. On the other side of the interview table, it’s pretty clear when someone hasn’t put in the time to make something polished and relevant for the posting. Taking the time to do something right can make a world of difference.

To learn more about how you can transition into an industry career like Samantha, 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.

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ABOUT ISAIAH HANKEL, PHD

CEO, CHEEKY SCIENTIST & SUCCESS MENTOR TO PHDS

Dr. Isaiah Hankel is the Founder and CEO of Cheeky Scientist. His articles, podcasts and trainings are consumed annually by millions of PhDs and other professionals in hundreds of different countries. He has helped PhDs transition into top companies like Amazon, Google, Apple, Intel, Dow Chemical, BASF, Merck, Genentech, Home Depot, Nestle, Hilton, SpaceX, Tesla, Syngenta, the CDC, UN and Ford Foundation.

Dr. Hankel has published 3X bestselling books and his latest book, The Power of a PhD, debuted on the Barnes & Noble bestseller list. His methods for getting PhDs hired have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Nature, Forbes, The Guardian, Fast Company, Entrepreneur Magazine and Success Magazine.

Isaiah Hankel, PhD

Here's What Others Are Saying

"Thank you so much for all the help. I got so much help and inspiration by joining Cheeky!"

Hasala Lokupitiya

Hasala Lokupitiya

Senior Polymer Scientist

at Lyten

"I’m excited to share that i am starting my new job as a technical support engineer at lumencor, inc. the ultimate goal is to grow potatoes on mars by 2050 and make other advaces for mankind."

 Andrii Repula

Andrii Repula

Technical Support Engineer

at Lumencor, Inc.

"I'm happy to share that I'm starting a new position as Scientist in Pharma Division at NeoGenomics Laboratories! After all the trainings and advice I could get a 25% increase in my salary! So I’m very happy for that."

Maribel Donoso

Maribel Donoso

Scientist in Pharma Division

at NeoGenomics Laboratories

"I am happy to share I am starting a new position!"

Tharcisse Guedegbe

Tharcisse Guedegbe

Policy Researcher

at African Bank Development Group

"I attended the Transition CHALLENGE and VIP Modality and, as a result, in less than 2 months I have participated in 8 interesting interviews and been offered a wonderful job full of opportunities! Thank you so much for all the great and necessary work you do!"

Veronica Pascual

Veronica Pascual

Research Projects Coordinator

at SEMERGEN

"I'm happy to share that I will be starting a new position as MSL at Sanofi! I want to thank everyone that took the time to speak with me about their MSL experience and to help me land this position!"

John Crawford

John Crawford

MSL-Vaccines

at Sanofi

"'....all the modules and associates really helped me understand the job and interview aspects really well. Meera specially helped me a lot prepare for the 8 interviews (written, analytical, on-site, assessments). She was very prompt in responding to my questions and concerns and really helped me keep my morale whenever I felt I might loose this position.... This is something I was looking for in a job so it is perfect for me."

Haymanti Bhanot

Haymanti Bhanot

Editorial

at Elsevier

"I'm happy to share that I'm starting a new position as Senior Manager, Project Management -Medical Affairs at Horizon!"

Geeta Peverada

Geeta Peverada

Senior Manager, Project Management - Medical Affairs

at Horizon

"I’m happy to share that I started a new position as Medical Science Liaison at Ashfield this January, part of UDG Healthcare (now Inizio) supporting Avita Medical. Thank you to all my mentors, colleagues, and friends who have been incremental in making this dream possible for me.....It is an exciting space/time and I can’t wait for the future."

Mimi Borrelli

Mimi Borrelli

Medical Science Liaison

at Inizio

"The made an offer and I accepted it. I am excited and nervous to start a new job and leave academia!"

Valentina Dallacasagrande

Valentina Dallacasagrande

Sr. Scientific Advisor

at reVision Therapeutics, Inc.

"I got an offer at Estée Lauder! I accepted the offer since it is a great company and less than 15 min away. I don't have to worry about relocating."

Ivan Peran

Ivan Peran

at Estée Lauder

"I picked the Planet job! It ended up being the better fit for me... Thanks for all of your help!"

Emily Martin

Emily Martin

Hardware Systems Engineer

at Planet

"I aced the interview, I signed yesterday and begin next month!"

Sinduri Vuppala

Sinduri Vuppala

Field Application Specialist

at Bruker Daltonics

"BIG NEWS!! Lufthansa offered me the gig!!"

Marco Milesi

Marco Milesi

at Lufthansa

"I am happy to share that I'm starting a new position as a European Portfolio Manager at Scientific Instruments!"

 Shikha Acharya

Shikha Acharya

European Portfolio Manager

at Scientific Instruments

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