Pros and cons of working in industry before getting a PhD -- version 1.0

About the co-authors:

Tsach is a Senior at Yale University double majoring in Computer Science & Biochemistry with a minor in Statistics and Data Science. He is currently recruiting for machine learning research and engineering roles, with a focus on biotech and chemistry applications. He is also considering masters programs and returning to do a PhD after some time in industry.

Introduction

It’s fall, and graduate school applications are just around the corner. As you enter your senior year, you might be considering going directly to grad school or taking some time to explore industry. This post aims to help you evaluate the factors and criterion that can influence this decision.

Is grad school right for me?

I hope you’re not grappling with this question, but it’s something I personally struggled with during my undergrad. I had a less-than-stellar GPA and faced challenges in chemical physics coursework. My inner critic is still surprised I got into grad school at all!

In the end, I finished my PhD, and after years of experience in both academia and industry, my observation is this: the best predictor for success in grad school is curiosity—the “what ifs” that drive your desire to explore new ideas—and a genuine interest in research. High grades, GRE scores, and awards are poor substitutes for the grit needed to tackle long term complex research problems. If you enjoyed research during undergrad and often find yourself pondering “what if” scenarios, you’ll likely thrive in grad school.

Personally, I took a year off after undergrad to work in a research lab at Yale, mainly to strengthen my grad school application. Some may go straight into grad school, but if you’re still weighing your options, here are some points to consider.

Advantages of working in industry for a few years

1. Time to reassess long term goals: Working in industry gives you the space to reflect on whether biotech or drug discovery is where you truly want to be long-term. You might find that while the industry is right, the role isn’t—or that you’re in the wrong industry altogether. Better to figure that out before committing to a multi-year PhD or Master’s program.

2. Time to explore new roles: If biotech is the right fit but your role isn’t, industry experience lets you experiment with different paths that might not have been clear to you during undergrad. Drug discovery is a team effort, involving R&D, legal, business development, and clinical teams. Exploring different areas can help you find what personally gives you meaning. And in the end, all of it is needed to get drugs to patients.

3. Exposure to industrial problems & tooling: Unless your PhD advisor has strong industrial ties or collaborations, they may not be as in touch with problems that have immediate industrial relevance. You will also get access to tooling and resources, rarely available in academia, to solve those problems.
   Working in industry first can give you insight into the practical applications of research, which may shape your future studies.

4. Networking opportunities : Biotech and pharma companies are great places to build your network, offering conferences, happy hours, and meetups where you can connect with professionals 5, 10, or even 30 years ahead of you. You can learn from their experiences and gain valuable insights into the industry—or at least enjoy some good “back in my day” stories.

5. Saving some cash : Being a broke grad student is a rite of passage but you ameliorate that by working in industry for a few years. Even a little extra savings can make grad school life more comfortable — which can make a difference when in the most challenging parts of the process

6. Mentally recharge : Grad school is a long, mentally taxing journey. Taking time off to recharge can better prepare you for the next 5-7 yrs of your academic career. It can also provide an opportunity to gain some perspective on your time in undergrad and begin your graduate career more thoughtfully.

7. Learning to properly code : Many of us are poor programmers in undergrad and we take those bad habits with us to grad school. Taking some time off to work in an industrial role where they emphasize good programming practices will not only make you a better programmer but will likely improve your productivity in grad school.

Disadvantages of going to industry before starting your PhD

1. Re-adjusting to the classroom structure / environment : After a year (or more) in industry, transitioning back to a classroom setting can be a challenge. You will probably have to re-learn how to study and do homework.

2. Lost time if you want to be in academia : There is really no need to be taking time off to be in industry if you are mostly interested in teaching or academia. While a couple of years is less likely to make a major difference in the long run, breaks for longer periods of time can add up when factoring in the long process of grad school, fellowships, and pre-tenure teaching that lie on the path to a tenured academic position.

3. Loss of academic freedom : One of the greatest benefits of grad school is the intellectual freedom to explore almost any idea or topic. Industry tends to have more constraints—usually driven by commercial goals—which will limit such exploration.

4. Decreased sense of ownership Especially if working on a commercial-scale product at an established company, the work you might do in industry could be just a small piece of a very large project. Even after controlling for the complexity and type of work done in the project, contributing to a small part of a very big project can feel very different emotionally than contributing to the majority of a much smaller project.

5. Fewer publications / publicity While the culture around publication is changing, with organizations such as FAIR using publication flexibility as a recruiting selling point, on average, work done in industry is less likely to result in peer-reviewed publications, which, for better or worse, are the currency of academia and parts of industrial research.

6. Lifestyle changes : It can be hard to return to the financial limitations of grad school. It’s MUCH easier to upgrade your lifestyle than it is to scale back. This increased “activation energy” of the short-term transition can make it more difficult to commit to graduate school even if it’s more favorable to do so for you in the long run.

Summary

Mary Schmich once said that most advice is a form of nostalgia. Along your educational journey, you’ll receive countless pieces of, often contradictory, advice and wisdom. Take what works for you and discard the rest. In the end you will be okay.