The great skill migration

One of the most common questions I am asked by PhD students who are thinking about transitioning out of academia into other industries, is knowing how to go about bridging the skill gap. Often they ask whether they need to follow up their PhD with an MBA (Masters of Business Administration) or other courses in order to make the move.

My answer is, it depends. There are those who insist that you need to do an MBA if you want to communicate effectively with business minded people and there is definitely merit in that (communication is key when executing and managing a project). I would however argue that it can also depend on what your role will be within the business. There are many skills that can be learned along the way or alternatively, you can work with people who are knowledgeable in certain areas or outsource roles in which you lack skills. It also helps to reframe how you think about the skills that you already have.

Usually when we are listing our skills on a resume, CV or LinkedIn, we often write about our technical skills that enable us to do the tasks we are generally paid to do. However, quite often we neglect to consider and include those otherwise referred to as “soft” skills that help the day-to-day function of our work outside of our technical focus. In the past, these soft skills such as; time management, communication, problem solving, teamwork, etc., have been undervalued by employees (and some employers), when it is these very skills that can become the catalyst in helping you transition towards working in different industries.

For example, much of my role as a researcher involved managing projects, time management, writing reports or manuscripts, collaborating with researchers from other disciplines (much credit to the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale Biophotonics for this one), communication, teamwork, managing budgets and problem solving. The very same skills I use as a Managing Director* of BOA (Bio-Optics Australia/Woven Optics).  However, it took some time for me to truly appreciate the significant value of these skills in my newfound position.

In case you haven’t read the previous blog post, allow me to take a step back and explain how I came to be in this Managing Director*/Co-founder role in the first place (you can read the Origin Story blog post here). After many years working in medical research, I found myself wanting to be able to do more with the tools I was working with at the lab bench, and translate it into solving problems in the medical field (and/or other fields).

This led myself and my co-founder Dr. Ben Pullen to enrol in the University of Adelaide Tech eChallenge, an entrepreneur course created to take candidates through the processes of designing a tech-based solution, assessing its feasibility and then developing a way to build it. Throughout the course we met people from the Australian wool industry who approached us to discuss how we may use our medical research skills to solve agricultural problems. Once we understood what the problem was, we proposed to create a device that could capture data of wool fibres and provide a quality measure in real-time. This was based on techniques that Ben and I were familiar with from our medical research training and the rest of the required technical skills, we knew we could fill by teaming up with others to test the feasibility of our idea. After testing our idea in the lab and determining there was a real need for our device in the wool industry, we established Woven Optics (a subsidiary of Bio-Optics Australia) in 2018.

Since then we have been building our team, sourcing funding and have continued our research and development to create functional prototypes of our device.

Back to the topic on hand, I have used my medical research skills while managing Woven Optics’ R&D projects to solve problems, collaborate and build relationships with our partners, write grants and reports, read relevant literature about wool fibres and testing, manage budgets, and communicate with wool growers about our technological solution. Everything else I needed to know about running a business I am learning along the way and have an amazing team of business and entrepreneurial mentors to guide us. Also, never underestimate the utility of the local start-up community and how much the right people are willing to help you. There are many great hubs (The Innovation Factory, ThincLab, Stone & Chalk, Lot14 and others) and groups (Agritech Meetup SA, and other such groups in various sectors such as FinTech, MedTech etc.) in Adelaide that cater to the start-up community, including an annual start-up conference that brings together all aspects of starting, building and growing a business (Southstart). Be sure to look up these kinds of groups and conferences in your local area. 

My transition into business didn’t happen overnight and I spent at least 3 years working part-time in both medical research and business while I worked on BOA/Woven Optics. I’m not suggesting that a slow transition is best, but it worked out that way for me. For other people, jumping in both feet works just as well, but it helps to have a safety net. However, if you are thinking of switching industries/careers but don’t think you have the required abilities for the new role, I challenge you to think about which skills align between what you are currently doing (think both professionally and personally here), and what you want to do next. You may be pleasantly surprised. Of course, these skills may not apply to every sector and technical knowledge is critical in many roles, but it can also be learned via on-the-job training.

I have provided some examples below of how the skills I developed throughout my years in research and PhD training were transferable into the start-up business world. 

If you are a PhD student reading this, I challenge you to do the same and compare your current skills to the role you want to move into. If it helps, chat with someone who is already doing that role and ask them which skills they think helps them the most in managing day to day activities. If you don’t know anyone, start reaching out to people and offer them a coffee for their time while you learn about what they do.

As you can see from the above table there are many parallels between the columns.

The gaps in business skill which I had to develop (and am still very much learning) include:

·       How to write a business proposal

·       How to read a balance sheet and create sales forecasts 

·       Business jargon (such as key terms used in that sector, especially acronyms)

·       How to determine key stakeholders in a market

·       How to determine a value proposition

·       How to read a business contract and create a counter proposal

·       Knowing what good (and fair) business terms are when negotiating with investors

At the risk of repeating myself, it is key to note that as our business evolved it was important to include people in the team who were experienced in Business Development and strategy which could mentor us and teach us about running a business. This was deliberately done to help bridge the gap in knowledge. 

Another question I am often asked is how to get in front of people to create networks and opportunities for collaborations outside of academia. My response is, go talk with industry people and tell them about what you are researching and the skills you use. Then ask what problems they are facing and listen carefully to their responses. You may find yourself thinking of ways to help solve their problem which could be the start of a collaboration or new role for you. Remember, my own journey wasn’t planned, but rather an opportunity born from a chance conversation that spawned an idea that grew to a R&D project that is now heading towards commercial sales.

There are many ways to engage people, and other than the hubs, groups and conference listed above, universities will often run networking events for HDR (Higher degree research) students. Be present at these events and aim to talk with 2-3 people each time, that way you have the opportunity to practise introducing yourself and telling people what you do. Equally important of course, is being an active listener and identifying potential opportunities for collaboration.

To conclude, it is my humble opinion that researchers tend to dominate in critical thinking and problem solving skills as it is at the very core of what we do. Quite often these skills also align well with business and entrepreneurship. Therefore, if you are a PhD student, take a moment to think about what other industries your so-called ‘soft’ skills could be transferred into, you may be pleasantly surprised. 

Stay curious :)

Vicky 

*At the time of writing this article I was the Managing Director, I have now transitioned to Director of Operations. 

***Please note, these articles are based on my own experiences and opinions stated are my own and do not represent the opinion of any institution or group mentioned in the article.***