A Tale of Phases: From Industry to Academia (and Back Again)

2/2/2026 2:56 pm

Many substances in life move towards the path of least resistance: liquids, electrical current, and light bending. It appears, however, that I am resistant to the path of least resistance. In my ten-year career, I have switched between academia and industry multiple times. While many workshops, seminars, blogs, and career coaches focus on the switch from academia to industry, I’d like to highlight the opposite: switching from industry to academia.

 

First, I want to give you a little context on my own career.

 

Early Experiences in Both Flavors

In my first experience in higher education, I obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University, during which I dabbled in other topics such as biomaterials, human factors, robotics, and biomechanics – setting the scene for where I am now, 10 years on. Unsure of what career I wanted after graduating, I made a key choice during my undergraduate years: I pursued both academic and industry internships. I was fortunate to conduct biomechanics research at University of Pennsylvania one summer and work on the human factors team for Medtronic’s surgical robot (Hugo) for 6 months during my fourth year. These experiences gave me early knowledge of how to navigate both types of working environments. I learned the language of paper publications and the scrappiness required to get research studies off the ground in academia alongside corporate priorities and the conflicts that arise between the ethics and business of engineering.

 

First Foray into Industry

A newly minted engineer in 2017, I chose to join an engineering rotational program in product development at TE Connectivity. For any young engineer who is uncertain about where they might be happiest in the engineering design cycle (research, development, manufacturing, or quality), I cannot encourage rotational programs enough. From this program, I acquired a significant amount of knowledge, hands-on experience, contacts, and a general awareness of my preferred type of roles, which have been crucial to guiding my career pivots. This program led me to a role in sustaining engineering, where I was responsible for the manufacturing, maintenance, and performance of already launched products. While I thrived as a subject matter expert in the fast-paced, problem-solving demands of this role for two years, I missed solving problems about the human body. It was time to switch to pursuing biomechanics.

 

Entering Academia from Industry

While I was remaining within the realm of engineering, I was pivoting between fields – mechanical (manufacturing) to biomedical (biomechanics) – and between industry and academia. Much of my mechanical engineering coursework gave me a strong foundation for applying to graduate programs where biomechanics research existed, but I lacked some fundamental knowledge in anatomy, physiology, and biology. This is where my exploratory coursework and internships served me well. By drawing on my academic and industry experiences in a related field, I was able to find common ground in my conversations with academics, even as I realized there was still much to learn to complete my transition.

 

After I completed my undergraduate degree, I had a resume full of industry-focused accomplishments and successes that did not translate nicely into “academic speak.” Many universities were moving away from looking at GRE scores – which I had taken more recently and felt was a better representation of my studying capabilities – making my application reliant on my lower undergraduate GPA instead. I decided to get crafty here: I inserted many of these industry accolades (and my GRE score) as line items on my resume. I also learned how to write an NIH Biosketch and formatted my promotions and spot bonuses as scholarships/fellowships. This was an exercise in learning how to tout my skills using academic vocabulary (placement in an accelerated training program = fellowship, merit bonus = honor or scholarship, leadership in employee resource group = leadership in academic committee).

 

            Soft skills from my industry work were crucial in rebranding myself as a newbie academic and the working environment that came with it. By the time I left industry, I had gained experienced managing in both directions: “down” to newer engineers by sharing industry and company knowledge to support their decision-making and independence and “up” to my superiors  by providing fresh perspectives from the front lines and guidance on how to effectively support my work as an engineer. While working in industry, I also honed my communication style, emphasizing brevity,  accuracy, and timeliness in emails and meetings, which enabled others to support me more effectively and demonstrated a level of professional maturity that worked in my favor. Furthermore, my experience with a traditional 8-5 schedule fostered a stronger respect for boundaries (both my own and others’), resulting in greater energy and focus in the graduate lab setting.

 

One thing that served me surprisingly well was the fact that I was choosing to step away from an industry salary to pursue academia. While this amplifies the broader issue of lower salary for academics than they deserve, it earned me respect from people I spoke for making a choice to pivot that was not based on money, but on genuine passion for the field I sought to pursue.

 

Re-entering Industry Post-Academia

As I entered my last year of graduate school, I started my job hunt a year out from defending, casting a wide net. Knowing I did not want to pursue the academic route, I felt overwhelmed but mostly free to pursue a variety of career trajectories. I was open to not only traditional “industry” jobs in product design or research at places like Stryker or Brooks, but also consulting or even utilizing my newer skillsets in science communication and science policy. My ability to navigate both industry and academic sectors, as well as pivoting between fields, helped me advertise myself as someone fluent in multiple languages of business and science. And the network I had grown through my past experiences had aided me in finding potential job opportunities. A true support network will help you in any way they can, even if it’s not their wheelhouse.

 

The Road Ahead

Soon, I’ll begin a new role in engineering consulting, which I hope will be a marriage of all of the parts of my past career. In my interview for this role, my employer wanted not only to hear of my academic research, but also the expertise I had gained within the manufacturing industry.

 

My Recommendations

I am certainly no esteemed career advisor – everyone’s journey will be different. But here are a few tips that have proven successful for me in slipping between industry and academia throughout the past 10 years:

• Everyone loves to talk about themselves: In deciding whether or not – and eventually, where – to go to graduate school, I spent over 100 hours cold-calling, emailing, and Linkedin messaging people who had interesting careers or research labs. I asked them to tell me about themselves and their research and just listened and took notes. I especially noted when something they said sounded like me. I repeated this process when deciding on my next steps after graduate school too. It takes time, but I have never regretted asking about someone else’s experience as a way to hold a mirror to myself. These conversations helped me learn vocabulary of roles and industries the other person had already entered. Often, they also had a recommendation of who I should talk to next. Keep these people in your corner and updated on your career – you never know when they might be the key to your next endeavor (or just a great friend, too!)
• Learn the language and document types: In all of my transitions, I've found that speaking with the same vocabulary as the people you are trying to network with is a way to accelerate your access to information. For entering academia from industry, I needed to learn how to craft a CV or apply to a grant. Switching from academia to industry, I had to learn lots of technical standards and important governing bodies in my new field as well. While you can often learn these things on the job, it definitely makes you a more attractive candidate if you display comfort with them,
• Managing up and down: Think about how you like to be managed/supervised and how you best like to mentor. Communicating these things clearly can help to set you on the right foot in any new role, but especially when transitioning into academia where hierarchy can be much more clear-cut, but the trajectory of your growth is more up to you.
• Rethinking your experiences: Just because everyone else's resume looks one way doesn't mean yours has to. I have found that there is no “traditional” career path. But you do need to learn how to be creative in how you present yourself in a way that gets you seen.

 

Authors

Emma Coltoff, PhD (she/her) (Incoming Senior Associate at Exponent)