Why I think quitting academia is the smart thing to do
By: Sarah Hein
Tags: Academia, Career Development, Phd Student, Startup, Biotech

Photo by Melani Sosa on Unsplash

I’m here to break some cows and kill some eggs. If you are a PhD but not yet on a professorship track, you should quit academia. Full stop. Now, you don’t have to go to startups, but let’s use that as a test case for how “risky” it is to quit academics.

You can never go back…

The assertion goes: If you quit academics, you can never come back because you won’t have a publication history. As we all know, it’s a dog eat professor world out there and if you don’t publish you will perish. Sure it seems hard now, but won’t you look back in your later years wishing you had just stuck it out? You can always quit later after all.

Lots of people go from biotech to academia. (Here’s a handful in Texas)

Perhaps more interesting is when tenured faculty leave to take positions in pharma. Often, they are at the height of their careers. What do they know that you don’t?

Startups are terribly risky (or are they?)

Only 1 of 10 who set out on this path will succeed. For years you will be underpaid, work 80 hour weeks, and be up against the relentlessly unreasonable expectations of people who control your destiny. And after sacrificing the best years of your life, time with your family and spouse, you could be left with nothing. A failure.

Oh wait. That’s academia.

Less than 10% of biology PhDs will become tenure track faculty.

If you do it right, as a startup founder or early employee you will be learning from seasoned executives and faculty. You will have the opportunity to raise your hand and take on responsibilities you wouldn’t otherwise be qualified for. Often, there are simply not enough people or money to get the work done, a prime opportunity for the motivated. And when you’re done, you can always point to the work you did regardless of outcome. The responsibilities you shared and milestones you delivered are yours whether or not the drug candidate or medtech product ended up working.

As a postdoc you are largely responsible for the failures of your project, which you may or may not have been able to choose. But you rarely share the credit. And if your project doesn’t result in a CNS publication (Cell, Nature, Science) you do a second or third postdoc, until finally you quit. By the end, you have a string of mediocre projects to show for your time and you quickly learn your expertise and experience is not highly valued outside of the academic system. Maybe you come back to your old boss and hope for a position as a research associate.

You lose money the longer you stay in academia

NIH postdoc salary recommendations start at $52k and go up to $64k. A research associate at a major biotech can expect to be paid around $80–100k.

As a founder, it gets a little tricky. At the seed stage you’re likely paying yourself very little if anything ($0-$75k). How your position grows as the company grows depends on your own skills, interests, and fit.

But don’t forget — founders get founders shares. So at worst you might make postdoc salary for a few years and fail, but learn enormously. At best, you could be looking at a huge upside, both economically and professionally.

This means that every year you stay in academia as a postdoc, you’re losing at least $30-$50k, likely more. But those are starting positions. Let’s say you are truly brilliant and would almost certainly become faculty. Should you stay at it?

Well, an associate professor is paid on average $80–150k year. A Director-level job in a major biotech would pay a cool $200–300k. The annual losses grow, not shrink.

And if you spend 5–8 years doing 2–3 post docs, you will almost certainly still be considered “starting” on the other side of that, even though you are 40 years old and have 12+ years of high-level technical experience. Your losses are compounding by the minute.

I’m going to say right now: Do not do anything just to make money. There are lots of ways to make money in this world. Do the work you want to do, and figure out how to get paid well for your time and contribution. If you do stay in academia, there are ways to enhance your earning power. But just know that at the baseline, your time in that role is less valued than in an equivalent roles in industry.

Sure, but I’m not interested in startups

I am clearly biased toward startups, that being my own career choice, and it makes a good comparison to academia for the risk to reward ratios. But the trade-offs are substantial, including on mental health, physical health, and family relationships.

The truth is that behind the startup hype is a highly volatile and stressful lifestyle.

So here’s a short list of other jobs you can and should consider instead of academia:

Research Associate at a pharmaceutical or biotech company

This path is similar to academia, except you can ladder up into project management and director positions readily if you are talented and have a knack for leadership. You may even receive training support for this.

This path is similar to academia, except you can ladder up into project management and director positions readily if you are talented and have a knack for leadership. You may even receive training support for this. Regulatory or manufacturing specialist

It’s easy to forget the nuts and bolts aspects of drug development, as we tend to focus on the invention and then the clinical trials. But experts in regulatory and manufacturing processes have the advantage of reliable work and good pay outside the success of any individual project. If you like the technical aspects of science as much of the discovery, this could be for you.

It’s easy to forget the nuts and bolts aspects of drug development, as we tend to focus on the invention and then the clinical trials. But experts in regulatory and manufacturing processes have the advantage of reliable work and good pay outside the success of any individual project. If you like the technical aspects of science as much of the discovery, this could be for you. Intellectual Property Law

If you enjoy reading technical literature and can spot holes and logical inconsistencies, consider going out for your law degree. An IP law associate can earn $100–200k per year, and partners can make much more.

If you enjoy reading technical literature and can spot holes and logical inconsistencies, consider going out for your law degree. An IP law associate can earn $100–200k per year, and partners can make much more. Technical Sales

If you really enjoy the teaching components of your life in lab, consider a job in technical sales and sales support. A great sales rep will highlight the benefits of a program rather than just speaking at people who frankly just showed up for the donuts. There is upward mobility into sales strategy and execution, critical to mature organizations.

If you really enjoy the teaching components of your life in lab, consider a job in technical sales and sales support. A great sales rep will highlight the benefits of a program rather than just speaking at people who frankly just showed up for the donuts. There is upward mobility into sales strategy and execution, critical to mature organizations. Medical Science Liaison

Similar to sales, being an MSL is a good one for the people persons in the crowd. You help maintain the relationships between pharma and academia, fostering collaborations in both directions for research projects or licensing opportunities.

Similar to sales, being an MSL is a good one for the people persons in the crowd. You help maintain the relationships between pharma and academia, fostering collaborations in both directions for research projects or licensing opportunities. Tech Transfer Offices

If you love startups and contracts, but don’t have an appetite for starting your own company, then this can be a good home for you. Although TTOs are often seen as a barrier by the academics and founders who interact with them, a great TTO knows they want to get deals where everybody wins out the door as quickly as possible.

If you love startups and contracts, but don’t have an appetite for starting your own company, then this can be a good home for you. Although TTOs are often seen as a barrier by the academics and founders who interact with them, a great TTO knows they want to get deals where everybody wins out the door as quickly as possible. Clinical Trial Coordinator

Clinical trials require a great deal of paperwork and technical knowledge to design and execute properly. Worse, a mishandled trial can destroy years of work, tanking a previously promising therapy. Consider this if you want to be at the forefront of helping patients.

And many, many more. Think we should do a job series? Hit me up on Twitter and let me know.