Some clear-eyed orientations to choosing your next step after your degree.
Academia can feel like the natural next step after your degree. It’s familiar, intellectually stimulating, and it’s what you’ve been trained for, right?
But before you commit to a PhD, another postdoc, or start chasing the elusive tenure-track dream, here’s something worth considering:
Staying in academia just because it’s convenient is not a good reason to stay.
If you’re considering a long-term academic career, ask yourself honestly if you’re prepared for these realities:
1. It’s more about grit than genius
Academia rewards persistence, not just brilliance. Long hours, weekend work, and chasing funding often matter more than how smart you are. If you don’t want your life to revolve around work, you might feel out of sync with the culture.
2. Publishing takes priority over purpose
When it comes to securing a professorship, your success depends more on where and how often you publish than on the long-term impact of your research. If your drive comes from solving practical problems or seeing real-world results, this might wear you down over time.
3. The path is uncertain and geographically challenging
Although this depends on where you live, academic positions are generally scarce and competitive. You might need to take a junior position at a small university in a town you’ve never heard of before you can move somewhere you actually want to live.
And even if you land a professorship, only ~20% of your time might be spent on research—the rest is often spent writing grants, teaching, and handling admin work.
This should not discourage you if you’re certain an academic career is for you—tenure tracks do still exist. But a professorship is not quite the dream we imagined when we first started studying. This realization is important, even if it’s inconvenient.
Assuming academia isn’t the right path for you, what then?
Which Career Path Outside of Academia Is Right for You?
If you’re a science student or early-career researcher considering a career beyond academia, you’re not alone—and you’re not without options.
To help you narrow things down, we’ve organized five core career paths where science-trained minds thrive—and broken them down into concrete roles. Each section ends with a question to help you reflect on whether it’s a good fit for your interests and strengths.
Disclaimer: This is not an exhaustive list—some people land jobs as Sci-Fi Advisors. Just because a role isn’t listed here doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. These five paths simply offer a general orientation:
- Information and Analysis
- Sales and Marketing
- Research and Development (R&D)
- Clinical and Medical Affairs
- Business, Finance, and Policy
1. Information and Analysis
This path is perfect if you love gathering, analyzing, and structuring knowledge.
If you’ve ever enjoyed digging through papers for a literature review, translating complex topics into digestible formats, or helping others understand new innovations—this might be your sweet spot.
There are three distinct sub-paths here:
➤ Science Writing and Editing
Turn technical information into clear and compelling content. You might write manuals, simplify academic findings, or edit research communications.
Sample jobs: Technical Writer, Scientific Editor, Communications Specialist
➤ Intellectual Property
Work on protecting scientific innovations so they can be commercialized. You’ll help register patents, evaluate the novelty of inventions, and bridge science with legal systems.
Sample jobs: Patent Examiner, Intellectual Property Analyst, Technology Transfer Officer
➤ Information and Data Management
Use your analytical skills to extract insights from data. This can range from structuring internal company databases to complex data science tasks.
Sample jobs: Data Scientist, Research Analyst, Business Intelligence Specialist
👉 Ask yourself: Do I enjoy digging into information, organizing complex ideas, and making sense of data or documents for others—without getting overwhelmed?
2. Sales and Marketing
If you’re energized by interacting with others, explaining technical products, and guiding decisions—this track might be for you.
In these roles, you’ll work with existing products and help communicate their value to clients, customers, or internal stakeholders. You’ll need strong communication skills and the ability to translate science into business benefits.
Sample jobs: Application Scientist, Technical Sales Specialist, Product Manager, Marketing Associate
👉 Ask yourself: Do I enjoy presenting, networking, or helping others understand the value of a product or idea?
3. Research and Development (R&D)
Still excited by experimentation, hypothesis-testing, and pushing the boundaries of knowledge? R&D allows you to stay close to the bench—just in a more commercial or applied setting.
Here, you’ll develop new products, technologies, or therapies that don’t yet exist. If you enjoy designing experiments and seeing tangible results, this is worth exploring.
Sample jobs: R&D Scientist, Project Manager, User Experience (UX) Researcher, Product Development Scientist
👉 Ask yourself: Do I like the idea of creating something new that solves real-world problems—even if I have to give up some of the freedom of academic experimentation?
4. Clinical and Medical Affairs
This is a strong option if you’re interested in translating science into medicine—especially if you enjoy cross-functional communication with healthcare professionals.
You might support clinical trials, explain product benefits to medical stakeholders, or ensure that new drugs meet regulatory requirements.
Sample jobs: Clinical Trial Manager, Medical Science Liaison (MSL), Clinical Research Associate (CRA), Regulatory Affairs Specialist
👉 Ask yourself: Am I interested in bridging science and medicine, and do I enjoy collaborating with clinicians or navigating regulations?
5. Business, Finance, and Policy
If you’re interested in solving large-scale problems, shaping policy, or applying your analytical mind to finance or strategy, this route offers immense impact.
It’s especially good for scientists who want to step back from the lab and work on the structural systems that support innovation, business, and research funding. Also, the pay is typically higher than in other roles—especially in the financial sector.
➤ Financial Services
Use quantitative skills to model financial trends, assess investments, or manage risks.
Sample jobs: Quantitative Analyst, Equity Research Analyst, Risk Analyst
➤ Business and Strategy
Help companies grow, restructure, or solve major organizational problems.
Sample jobs: Management Consultant, Business Development Manager, Strategy Analyst
➤ Policy and Funding
Influence science policy, funding priorities, and public research strategies.
Sample jobs: Science Policy Advisor, Grant Facilitator, Government Research Analyst
👉 Ask yourself: Am I drawn to broader, strategic thinking? Do I want to shape how science is funded, applied, or governed?
As mentioned, other valuable career paths exist beyond the five main ones. For example, a product manager typically works at the intersection of science, business, and engineering—overseeing the development and lifecycle of a specific product, aligning it with customer needs, and ensuring its success in the market.
In contrast, a program manager focuses more on coordinating projects, timelines, and teams—often overseeing multiple related projects or research efforts to keep everything running smoothly.
If you’re drawn to broader impact, you might also consider becoming a government science advisor or working with an NGO on science policy, where you can influence decision-making and shape scientific or health policies at national or global levels.
Final Thoughts: What Do You Enjoy Most?
When choosing a career path, consider what kind of environment energizes you. Ask yourself:
- Do I want to work independently, or do I thrive on teamwork and communication?
- Do I want to create new things, or would I rather help others understand, progress, or improve them?
- Do I prefer fast-paced, competitive environments—or slower, detail-oriented ones?
PS: Be honest with yourself—even if your answers feel embarrassing.
For example: “I’m competitive. Success makes me happy. If I’m on a team where others drag me down, I’d rather fail alone than succeed by chance with them.”
That’s totally fine. You’re not the only one out there.
Most importantly, don’t feel pressured to pick just one path.
Corporate environments tend to be more flexible than academia. If you end up in a smaller company or even a startup, you’ll probably wear multiple hats anyway. 😊
Your training gave you a toolkit. Now it’s time to figure out where you’ll apply it best.