Hello guys,
I'm a STEM person and stayed in the academy during my whole professional journey. After finishing my Ph.D. I decided to leave the academy and adventure into the job market, then I discovered a Project Management career. I found out that I had already used many tools and developed skills in the matter, but I didn't know how to nominate them or even translate the knowledge into academic thinking. I would like to see your visions about the subject and to hear about other people who left the academy and succeeded in the market. Saving Changes...
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Stephanie, a few things to consider:
1) All soft / interpersonal skills are transferrable from the Academic field, to any other field.
2) We use project management in our daily life be it on a personal or professional levels but people with no background in project management do not realize this until they get into the field.
The shift from the academic field to other fields, while challenging, is very possible and can be smooth. My recommendation is to start with getting background knowledge in project management (CAPM is a good credential for individuals new to project management) and then look for a project coordinator role as this is a good position to get your feet wet into the field because you will be exposed first hand to various aspects of project management. Saving Changes...
Luis BrancoCEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, LdªCarcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal
Dear Stephanie The topic you brought to our reflection and debate is very interesting.
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
I am Ph.D with Major in Software Engineering earned from CMU SEI. Just my personal experience, to avoid what you state (and perhaps for a chance of the destiny) I made both things: studying my Ph.D while I worked in the practice with things that were part of my thesis. My recommendation: your "scientific eyes" will help you to see the world from other perspective but you will find that scientific methods/techniques sometimes are not applicable mainly from the point of view that you have to interact with people that could not understand what you are talking about. In my opinion that is the magic ability to develop. Saving Changes...
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