Gone beyond the Ivory Tower
Posted by Megan Bergtholdt on Tue, Jun 23, 2009
A guest post by Amanda Huang:
I was asked by younger women who have been trained in science and technology about the pros and cons of finding work in industry and government. The definition of sciences is physical sciences, such as life science, biochemistry, chemistry and such; the social sciences are not in the discussion here. More and more women are in the sciences and technology field and they need thoughtful plans to explore their own career paths. Hope this note will provide some insights and be helpful in determining the better approach for their career development.
The primary alternatives for a female scientist or engineer besides academia are industry or government. For much of the recent history, scientists have had two options, academia and applied science. While basic sciences have been viewed as pure and noble, untainted by the prospect of profits; the industrial has been seen as the refuge for those who could not make it in academia.
In fact, industry and government positions have many advantages over those in academia. In general, it does not require a post doc experience from candidates. Women in industry can start working for better salaries sooner, which help their lifetime earnings in long term financial planning.
On average, industry and government positions require fewer work hours than do those in academia.
Women in industry and government are more able to focus on scientific research than their counter parts in academia. The disadvantage is that work gets done has to be done by them personally because there is no support from students. Another issue is that scientists must work on whatever that management thinks is important. After all, the commercial application of the research overrides other concerns in industry or government.
Another trade off for women in industry and government is that they lack the job security that tenured professors have.
Discrimination, bias and isolation are also challenges for women in industry and government, particularly in more male dominated areas. Women who end up supervising men may have an even more difficult time.
Not having a problem with women in engineering is quite different from treating them the same as men. For the woman who needs to feed both the creative and technical sides of herself, there are not a lot of options. Women fare better in groups that have formal hiring and promotion practices. A network based organization offers many routes to be successful.
We are living in the world that is progressing yet women in science and technology do face many challenges in their professional lives. Making deliberate and authentic decisions will help young women in science and technology to be successful in their chosen careers.
About Amanda Huang
Amanda Huang has been living in Toronto, Canada for the past two years, where she is a business plan provider and a part time clerk with TD Waterhouse. Her specialty is Business Communication in Energy, Investment banking, Material, Government policy and University and Medical Imaging.
Amanda Huang started her career with Air Products as a design engineer, then sales and marketing. She enjoyed long productive business relationships when she worked for Air Products.
Amanda Huang taught an ELS class in the United States after she finished her master degree in Management and Administration Sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas. She lived in Boulder, Colorado; Austin, Texas and Denver, Colorado for 4 years doing research projects while teaching English.
She has applied her experience and skills in Business to Business with her cross functional analysis and business intelligence ability with Fugro Airborne Surveys Corporation Canada.
Connect with Amanda on LinkedIn.