For Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows navigating their future career paths, Dr. Christa Heyward's journey so far is an inspiring reminder of how unconventional experiences can make someone a phenomenal pharmaceutical industry candidate.
She graciously let me interview her for this blog over an extended phone call. Our conversation meandered quite a bit, though I did start off posing the following questions:
- What attracted you to industry and how did you decide to pursue a career in industry?
- What are your current responsibilities as an Investigator at GSK?
- Are there key similarities and differences between working in industry and in academia?
- Has anything surprised you about working in industry?
- What were the experiences in your background that have been useful as you tackled your first job in industry?
- How can PhD students or postdocs prepare themselves for a position in industry?
- Any application or interview tips for PhDs who are interested in pursuing an industry career?
Read on to see how we tackled these questions and many more.
