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Career and even research field transition strategy is huge in science, and there is little, if any, formal education/knowledge on best practices. I've made a lot of major transitions in my career, and here are some of my thoughts to add to this great thread. 1/12 https://twitter.com/tuuliel/status/1194532942468526080
Seeing the "greener pastures" of another field is very common in science. It's important to be very introspective about whether a field/career change is active ("I want to do this") vs reactive ("I don't like my current field"). Both of these are valid. 2/12
But career changes should not be wholly reactive. Sometimes you have to bail for legitimate reasons, and that's okay, but it's v. important to start thinking about new goals (even small ones) before you transition. 3/12
It helps to develop goals in some sort of order, either short->long or long->short. Short goals are fast transitions, usually to somewhat related topics/fields. Long goals are big dreams. It's also important not to hem yourself in with specific goals. 4/12
Science can take a lot of twists and turns. You find unexpected things, get weird results, and hit unexpected impasses. Sometimes all you can do is say, "This isn't working, what do I know that will let me shift *right now*?" 5/12
e.g. short, me in mental health crisis: I would not survive my current career path and had to change. I still liked the idea of science (if not what I was doing), and I enjoyed writing and did it as a side gig. So I left immediately and transitioned to SciComm. 6/12
e.g. long, me after 4 years as medical writer: Writing is fun, but being "overhead" to MDs and PhDs was frustrating. Realize my fave parts of science (and most prod) are analysis, stats, and coding. Can I be a lead scientist doing those things? Yes! How do I get there? 7/12
You have to identify requirements to meet your goals and then implement them. Sometimes that's knowledge/skill, sometimes network, sometimes qualifications. 8/12
People often contact me and say they have significant skills but can't find a job. Why? No documented evidence of those skills. Private repos, no contrib to public repos, no PRs. If your goal is "Get Hired" & know you have the skills, you probably have non-skill reqs. 9/12
You have to think about your career goals with as much introspection as you think about experimental conditions. Where do you want to go? What gaps do you have? How can you fill those efficiently? 10/12
Going back to the original thread: if your goal is transition to a new field, a good PD is good for the "qualifications" segment. But what's a "good" PD? High impact pubs, productive, learn mentorship. What skill gaps do you have in meeting those goals? 11/12
Insufficient skill for high-impact pubs? Do a smaller skill-builder project. Not productive enough? Find work efficiencies or modify topic to enhance interest. No leadership exp? Ask for a UG/postgrad trainee. Do you have the skills to be a good mentor to UG/postgrad? etc. 12/12
