Changing career from academia to industry or to other organisations in the private or public sector is a challenging step for many researchers. Numerous uncertainties are connected to it – will I regret leaving academia? How can I find a job I really like? Do I have the necessary skills?

In this expert talk, our expert Yasmin Dolak-Struß will discuss common doubts and challenges for researchers considering leaving academia. She will present some important facts about life after academia, discuss what we can learn from individuals who moved successfully to the private sector and explore what everyone can do by themselves in order to move step-by-step towards a successful transition. The talk will be complemented by the experiences of two alumni of the LBG Expert Internship Program, Lisa Bierbaumer and Loan Tran, sharing their insights about working in industry.

Yasmin Dolak-Struss is a trainer and systemic coach for researchers. She studied technical physics and holds a doctorate in biomathematics. After several years in research, she switched careers to a large research funding organization, where she was advising and training international researchers on European funding programmes and career development for more than 16 years. As certified systemic coach, she offers support for work-related challenges, such as guiding researchers through difficult career decisions and assisting them in finding a successful and happy career path.

Lisa Bierbaumer is a Molecular Biologist, who holds a PhD in „Malignant Diseases“ from the Medical University of Vienna. During her academic career, she has worked on several experimental research projects in Oncology and Rare Diseases. For her last research positions, she worked as a PhD student and later Post-Doc at the St.Anna Kinderkrebsforschung. After her Expert Internship at Novartis, she became a Medical Manager at CAKE – a Communication and Marketing Agency specialized on the pharma- and healthcare sector. Lisa was later promoted to Head of Medical and successfully leads the Medical team today. In addition, she voluntarily worked as Community Outreach & Marketing personnel at the podcast „PhD Career Stories„, a podcast collection of career possibilities after a PhD.

Loan Tran’s academic path began with a Bachelor’s degree in Cell Biology and Genetics from Bielefeld University, followed by a Master’s degree in Biomedicine from Karolinska Institutet. With a focus on cancer epigenetics, she pursued a PhD at the Medical University of Vienna, where she conducted research on colorectal cancer. After completing an Expert Internship, she transitioned into her current role as Digital Science Communication Manager at Amgen, a leading biotechnology company that develops innovative therapies to treat serious illnesses, focusing on areas like oncology, cardiovascular disease, bone health, and rare diseases.

RESEARCHERS BEYOND ACADEMIA by Euraxess

Created in collaboration with the Researchers Beyond Academia (REBECA) Hub by EURAXESS.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme within the framework of the ERA TALENT Project funded under grant agreement No 10110347.