I'm a former scientist who shares which career paths for scientists exist and how to identify, apply for and get your dream job.
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Science Careers – How to Find Out What You Want
Published 3 days ago • 5 min read
Hi Reader, have you ever asked yourself which job might be the right one for you?
As you might have experienced, thinking deeply about what you enjoy doing is often difficult and frustrating.
I believe there are much easier and more effective ways to figure out your future.
Here are an approach that might help you:
Finding Out About Your Future
What many forget is that you cannot know what you like if you don’t know what opportunities exist.
Here is an overview of the most common career paths for scientists, including a number of positions for each.
To give you a basic understanding of potential career paths, refer to the overview I put together for you here.
Beyond knowing the names of positions, it’s important to understand what each role truly involves.
This is because we will now filter options according to your preferences:
Question #1 – How, Not What
Normally, you are advised to figure out what you want to do, but that rarely yields valuable results.
My tip: rather ask yourself how you enjoy working.
In other words, what kind of work environments do you prefer?
The point is that in almost any job, you type on a computer - but what you type about, and what your work ultimately leads to, makes the difference.
Here are a few examples of factors you might want to consider:
Do you like working in teams or do you enjoy your freedom?
If you like teamwork, is that directed towards frequently new people, e.g., when working across departments, or do you prefer a close-knit, almost family-like environment?
Do you enjoy working in a detail-oriented way, or do you thrive when you can make progress quickly?
Do you prefer clear structures, or do you thrive in more flexible, creative environments with less structure?
Are you someone who is very ambitious and outcome-driven?
There are several personality tests, such as those from Ball State or Truity (based on the Myers–Briggs indicator), that can help you find a path as well. For some people, these might actually be helpful, just don’t expect too much.
Also, think beyond the work environment itself.
If you are very ambitious, you might find that being able to make things happen is more important to you than the specific task you take over.
If work is not your main priority in life, highly competitive roles or jobs requiring significant time investment, such as consulting, might not be a good fit.
Ask yourself what kind of problems you enjoy solving.
Put differently, which problems have you encountered that didn’t annoy you, even though they frustrated others?
Our mind speaks a language we don’t necessarily understand. Why don’t we ask what motivates you? Because it’s too abstract. Your mind can’t answer it emotionally. However, emotion is what creates real excitement. What actually drives you isn’t money or doing good itself, but the feelings you associated with them such as power, recognition, or safety. What you can do to approximate your passion is to think whether there is a cause or larger mission you feel compelled to contribute to? Conversely, what do you compete for and what frustrates you when you cannot get it?
While we all enjoy watching a good series, not everyone enjoys talking to customers or writing reports. However, it’s the latter, the solving of problems, that you will get paid for.
Moreover, you will be much more in demand if you work in a field where you are willing to take on tasks others don’t like.
For example:
If you see deeply technical challenges as puzzles that make you lose track of time (such as searching for a bug or figuring out the right settings for an analysis), you could be a good fit for innovation-focused roles or research positions.
You might realize that you enjoy paperwork related to bureaucracy and regulations, as you don’t mind deep work and structured environments.
You might consider reaching out and making new connections as a challenge whereas for others the feeling of intimidation or discomfort is too much.
I would encourage you to be courageous. We often learn and grow through the challenges we face.
If you play (role-playing) games, you likely enjoy taking risks because they challenge you. Why not get inspired by this approach in your actual job search?
It’s not about finding a position that is entirely convenient, but rather one where you see a “problem” as a challenge - not an issue.
Question #3 – Your Strengths
There are several things we enjoy doing, and therefore several things we don’t mind doing.
However, your best chances of landing a position are in areas where you truly stand out.
Therefore, the next step is to figure out what you are genuinely good at.
Think about different career paths and roles, where do you already have an advantage that you can easily turn into a valuable skill? In contrast to pursuing a degree, you don’t need to spend as much time researching, reading, writing, and analyzing. In industry, the paths are more focused.
If you have specific qualifications or skills, this is straightforward. However, many people need a bit of a prompt.
Ask yourself what people who do not like you would still have to admit you are good at.
If you simply ask yourself what you are good at, your mind will often try to humble you. Furthermore, we tend to mix up what we like with what we are good at.
For example:
People who don’t like you may criticize your projects but stay silent when you give a presentation—because of your eloquence and design skills.
When you are motivated, you can work 14 hours straight to achieve a better result than your classmates.
You may be slow at times, but you have never submitted an assignment with a single typo, and your reports are often kept and reused by others.
What you want to identify instead is what makes you stand out compared to your peers.
It's Reflection and Intuition
Once you have explored yourself through these questions, you will have a much clearer idea of which positions truly fit you.
If you have one to three potential positions that excite you, well done!
From a boy in a village to a bodybuilder in America, to a film star with an accent, to a politician. As he mentions in some of his speeches, Arnold Schwarzenegger faced countless naysayers and ridicule - but did it stop him?. If you struggle to envision what could excite you, it may be because you feel bound by expectations. Try this: if you were gifted five years (like a dream) what would you do? If money were no concern, what would you do? Imagine you’re in a movie set ten years from now, who are you? Are you a top manager, a traveling speaker, or an artistic designer of marketing content? Use your daydreams to leverage your subconscious.
However, don’t worry if some uncertainty remains - you can never know unless you try.
As long as you keep moving, life has a way of gradually guiding you toward a field you enjoy.
What matters is that you have an idea of what excites you about your future role.
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