PhD Career Stories

Are you one of the people who feels shy about using LinkedIn ? Do you know about its potential but still hold back, in fear of having nothing worth sharing? You are definitely not the only one, and today's guest has some wisdom to share! Join our host, Elisabeth Reithuber , for an inspiring talk with Ashley Ruba , a psychology researcher turned UX researcher and career coach. Ashley is a psycholog...

Do you feel stuck? Do you tend to procrastinate taking the next steps in your career? If you want to find out why this happens and how to move forward, you should listen to today's conversation with Dr. Marie-Hélène Pelletier and our host, Dr. Tina Persson . Marie-Hélène is a trained psychologist who holds a PhD and an MBA from the University of British Columbia , Vancouver. Throughout her career,...

Has your academic path lacked solid mentorship and support? Do you feel that, in order to move up, you need management skills that weren't passed on to you during the PhD? Well, Flávia Sousa has "been-there, done-that" and in today's episode she tells our host, Tina Persson , how she is working on making it easier for you! Flávia Sousa holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from ICBAS , in Portugal, a...

Are you feeling frustrated and unproductive in academia? Do you feel compelled to quit and completely change your career? Join us for an inspiring episode hosted by Tina Persson , featuring Gry Wester , a fellow PhD Career Stories listener who transitioned from academia to consulting. Gry holds a PhD focused on health inequality and population health ethics, and she was a lecturer in bioethics in...

Are you a recent or soon-to-be PhD graduate trying to figure out the next steps? Have the events of the past few years gotten you interested in Science Communication? In this episode, you will hear from Katharina Schwaiger , who has been in a very similar spot! Katharina holds a PhD in Biotechnology from the Technical University of Graz and currently works as a science communicator at the Austrian...

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you realized the need for a fresh job title that better aligns with your responsibilities and skills? In this episode of PhD Career Stories, join our host Elisabeth Reithuber as she sits down with Martin Trinker , the Director of Business Development and Fundraising at the Austrian Center of Industrial Biotechnology (ACIB) to explore the intriguing...

You might have always wanted to be an academic, but what if your academic research brought up a groundbreaking technology that you knew could dramatically revolutionize industrial processes? Would you choose to stay in academia or pivot to industry and bring your idea to market? Well, it is possible to do both!  This episode's guest, Simon Rittman , shares with our host, Tina Persson , all about h...

Are you curious why soft skills are crucial for your career growth? Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting out, this podcast is your gateway to practical tips, real-life examples, and expert insights that will help you harness the full potential of soft skills. In today's episode, our host Tina Persson will have a roundtable discussion with our guests Patricia Carvajal , David Mor...

Are you feeling left behind, questioning if your traditional methods are outdated in this era of AI tools? Do you grapple with ethical concerns when utilizing ChatGPT for specific tasks, feeling a sense of cheating? Or do you proudly embrace ChatGPT as your go-to solution for all your needs? Tina Persson and Joel Baker explore the importance of striking a balance between these approaches and bring...

Have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone and excelled in something that you thought was not your cup of tea? This is one of the topics out of many that Tina Persson and Bryan Quoc Le share with us in this episode.   Bryan Quoc Le is a food scientist, food industry consultant, and author of 150 Food Science Questions Answered. He earned his PhD in 2020, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic,...

Are you looking forward to pursuing a postdoc career in the USA? Are you living in Europe, but dreaming of a long-term career in the USA? Are you looking forward to pursuing a postdoc career in the USA? Then this is an excellent episode for you as Tina Persson and Thalyana Stathis extensively discuss the application strategies for a postdoc position in the USA.  Thalyana Stathis is the Associate D...

During your PhD, have you ever thought if the world actually needs your research? Would people want to use your product? In this episode, Tina Persson and Sajni Haria discuss the entrepreneurial mindset that PhDs can train themselves with if they start thinking of the bigger picture of commercialising their research. Sajni also reminds us of how PhDs do not just have an academic skill set but also...

'I really never knew how I felt in the lab, what does it really mean [for me]?... I'm a creative person, I love to meet people [and] I realised that being in the lab can be quite lonely', Sara asked herself during her time as a PhD candidate. In this episode, Tina Persson , the founder of PhD Career Stories , interviews Sara Andersson , who tells us about her PhD journey and how she became a talen...

"[On average,] one farmer commited suicide every 30 minutes in India",  Aditya Parekh remarks as he talks to our host, Tina Persson . This fact is what changed his mind and sparked his interest in changing that reality. He knew he wanted to help them. In this episode, Aditya shares his journey and challenges in the academic transition from Oncology and Molecular Biology to Sustainable Farming in t...

In an age of misinformation, it has become essential for science to reach the public audience in a transparent manner. As a graduate in science, have you ever thought of communicating your science with the world? In this episode, Santoshi Devadas talks to Priya Rangan , who tells us everything about her journey to becoming a scientific communications specialist.   Priya holds a PhD in Biology of A...

Am I fit for a PhD? My experiments are going nowhere. Will I see the end of this PhD? I only have academic experience, how will I find a job in the industry? Have you ever been in these situations? Our guest Marisa Pereira had asked herself these same questions, but today Marisa has successfully completed her PhD and transitioned to the biotech industry as a Project Manager. She also is the co-fou...

Sometimes life hits you hard, and then you have to make new decisions you hadn't imagined making.  Previous goals and ambitions can evaporate, especially after enduring something emotionally, psychologically, and/or spiritually harrowing.  Our guest Andrew McKee was tested by tragedy, on top of career confusion, when he entered an MD/PhD program but realized midway he wasn't on the right track.  H...

Have you spent so much time thinking through career choices that  you could make but ended up making no decision at all? Sounds familiar? This is called analysis paralysis, which is very common among perfectionists. In this episode, one of our PhDCS team members, Santoshi Devadas , had the pleasure to interview Isabeau Iqbal who helps ambitious perfectionists in higher education. She guides them t...

In this episode, Tina Persson talks to Mark Herschberg about how to learn to become an entrepreneur. Mark's recently published book " The Career Toolkit, Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You " gives deeper insights into this topic. Mark has a diverse background ranging from Physics, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, and Cryptography, to extensive business expertise. His wide...

In this episode, Tina Persson interviews Niba Audrey Nirmal , a science communicator. Niba is dedicated to hosting and producing science videos related to plants, skincare and cosmetics. If you are curious, you can find Niba's work on her YouTube channel NotesByNiba . During the interview, she shares her career path and talks about her decision to not pursue her PhD further . She also tells us abo...

In this episode, Tina Persson interviews Grażyna Żywot-Ciecierska and Ola Samuelsson , who are co-founders of a global company called GE Hunter . They are experts in headhunting, recruitment and client advisory.  They have 20 years of international experience in finding talents for the pharma, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), medical,  industrial and more sectors. Ola Samuelsson specializes in r...

Kathleen Champlin graduated with a doctorate in Contemporary American Literature from Ball State University in Indiana (USA) in 2015. Currently, she is an online writing tutor with Pearson's Smarthinking and a copyeditor for several companies. In this episode,  Kathleen will provide an example of a disabled PhD's career transition in the humanities. From her story, you can learn how her disability...

In this new episode, Adriana Bankston tells us about her career story. Adriana is a Principal Legislative Analyst at the University of California Office of Federal Governmental Relations in Washington, DC, where she serves as an advocate for the university with Congress, the administration and federal agencies. Adriana grew up in a family of scientists, which made her interested in pursuing a rese...

In this episode, Tina Persson interviews Rachel Kindt . After a PhD in Biology and a postdoctoral fellowship, Rachel dove headfirst into the biotech world, working her way from the lab bench to the corporate boardroom over her 20+ year career. Leveraging her scientific training and acquired - some might say improvised! - business savvy, she led drug development teams and built high-performing orga...

João Graça holds a PhD in Biosciences from Cardiff University and currently works as an R&D Project Manager for LIPOR, the entity responsible for waste management in Greater Porto (Portugal). His current projects mostly concern the valorisation of bio-waste to high-value products. João has been involved in the creation and coordination of Smart Waste Portugal Young Professionals (SWYP). This group...