Hi Steven, where are you currently based and what is your role? I work at a microbial genome sequencing company called MicrobesNG. I’m in charge of new service development (I take a service idea and help to develop it into something we can sell). How did your journey from academia to industry begin? I started a consultancy business as a side hustle, and I really enjoyed the nature of working with industrial clients; you often saw an immediate impact from your work, and it contributed to something very tangible like a service or a resource. In contrast to academia, where one of our papers was in review for almost a year, it was a welcomed change of pace. I started looking around at industrial posts, but I was still having a great time in academia, and I couldn’t find a job that topped what I already had. It wasn’t until a friend who worked for MicrobesNG contacted me with essentially my ideal job role, better pay and a permanent position that I really saw industry as a truly attractive prospect. What has been your biggest challenge so far? My experience with academia is that it’s relatively relaxed; you have the scope to make your own destiny, and in very general terms the quality of your career depends (largely, but not exclusively) on the quality of your output. In industry, just by the nature of needing to make money, you have a different set of priorities, drives and performance indicators. Your immediate output needs to be accessible across multiple departments, skillsets and knowledge bases, so it requires a much more structured and accountable form of working practice.
What has been your best experience so far working in industry? The people and the general buzz! I can’t speak for every company, but in a small or medium-sized enterprise like MicrobesNG it feels like you and your lab group decided to start a business – you still get an abundance of science and technical data to scratch that itch, but you also get an opportunity to contribute to a wide range of business needs, and there’s always something to get involved in. Finally Steven, do you have any advice for others considering a move from academia to industry? Network! Speak to vendors at conferences, let people know you’ld be interested in any jobs coming up, or just ask people for advice. In my experience, people are more willing to help than you might think. Many of us have been in your position, and we know exactly what it’s like. I’d also say that other than the people, I don’t miss academia – everything I enjoyed about life as a postdoc is present in industry, and I’m glad I moved! If in doubt, reach out to a scientific recruiter – see what’s out there and what’s possible.
Steven Dunn New Services Bioinformatician MicrobesNG, UK
mail@stevendunn.co.uk @StevenJDunn
13 Microbiology Today May 2023 | microbiologysociety.org
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