The Innovation And Commercialization Career Spectrum

Join Isaiah as he explains what is the innovation and commercialization career spectrum and how you can use it to find your target position

Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s episode…

• First, Isaiah presents the innovation and commercialization career spectrum and goes into details about the innovation side of the spectrum
• Next, Isaiah dives deep into the commercialization side of the spectrum
• Finally, Isaiah presents a list of PhD-level industry positions ranked on where they fall in the innovation and commercialization career spectrum

From This Week’s Show… 

What Is The Innovation And Commercialization Career Spectrum

All industry job titles can be considered in terms of where they are on a spectrum of innovation and commercialization.

This may be a new concept to you if you’ve been in academia your entire life where nearly two-thirds of all research is basic, so let’s break it down. The world of business has innovation on one side of a spectrum and commercialization on the other.

The innovation side might start with a company’s intellectual property (IP), or perhaps the very beginning of an idea before it becomes a company’s IP. It includes ideation (brainstorming ideas), validation (validating the best ideas based on what a company’s clients want, need, and might buy), and the creation of a value proposition (an offer to solve a problem that a client has).

The Commercialization Side Of The Spectrum

Across the spectrum, these phases of conceptualization (or innovation) slowly transform into production, or the commercialization of products and services.

There are many phases and job titles that span the middle of the spectrum, including ones in manufacturing, quality control, and quality assurance.

Once the product or service is complete, it would “go-to-market” and be put on shelves (physical, online, or otherwise) to be sold.

These products and services would then need to be supported by sales teams, marketing teams, customer services teams, and even installation and engineering teams.

Where Positions Fall In The Innovation And Commercialization Career Spectrum

I alluded to dozens of different careers, or job titles, as I was discussing the spectrum of innovation and commercialization above.

On the innovation side, an employer might need a Patent Examiner, Patent Scientist, Technical Advisor, and Patent Agent. They might also need a Regulatory Affairs Associate, or perhaps a team of Recordkeepers or Documentation Specialists.

As an idea is turned into a product, the company would need Project Managers, Product Managers, R&D Researchers, Scientists, Engineers, Quality Control and Quality Assurance Specialists, Data Analysts, Data Scientists, Informatics Specialists, Clerks, Technicians, Operational Support Specialists, and more.

Once production crosses from early stages of development to manufacturing and distribution, Manufacturing Agents, Product Engineers, and factory positions of all kinds are needed, such as Shippers, Truckers, Distribution Agents, and Delivery Agents.

Additional marketing positions would be involved throughout this process, including Strategic Marketers, Tactical Marketers, Marketing Communication Specialists, Medical Writers, Technical Writers, Marketing Education Writers, Editors, Translators, Portfolio Managers, and more Project Managers and Product Managers.

Once the product goes to market, Technical Support Specialists, Customer Service Representatives, Sales Associates, Sales Managers, Application Specialists, Retail Associates, User Experience Researchers, IT Specialists, and Storefront Support and Online Support positions of all kinds are needed.

The questions to ask yourself again are: what activities do you want to do on a daily basis and where do you want to be on the spectrum?

If you’re ready to start your transition into industry, you can apply to book a free Transition Call with our founder Isaiah Hankel, PhD or one of our Transition Specialists. Apply to book a Transition Call here.