Client Support Specialist
Promega Corporation
I received my Ph.D. from the UConn Health Center in 2015. At that time, I was focused on pursuing an academic career but only because I really didn’t know what else to do. During my first Postdoc at Yale, I was surrounded by 7th year postdocs – people who lived in the lab, but really still didn’t have a clear path forward. And these people were very capable and hard-working. As a father of 3, and no real desire to spend every waking hour in a lab, stressed out about funding (or lack thereof) and all of the other peripheral duties of managing your own lab, I realized that I needed to focus more on designing my future.
At Yale, I became increasingly interested in alternative careers, joining groups that supported this cause. It is when I was in my second Postdoctoral appointment at the Jackson Laboratory in Farmington where I really went all-in on trying to figure out – and to pursue – my next steps. I attended every career roundtable and networking event I could. I had a list of the things that I wanted in a career and this was the most effective way to vet my choices. The more events I attended, the more I realized what positions I would want, which positions I definitely don’t want and, most importantly, what networks I need to build to pursue my options.
The AIOG was instrumental in all of these steps. I attended all of their functions I could make it to. I not only learned what jobs were a good fit for me, I also learned that I was actually a lot more qualified for jobs I thought were out of my reach. The more I talked to people who were in my shoes in the not-so-distant past, the more I realized that my career as a Graduate Student and as a Postdoc gave me a number of skills that I never realized. This gave me an incredible amount of confidence in applying, while helping build up my network.
In Early 2019, I attended a career speed-dating event hosted by the AIOG. This event was so well thought out, with such a diverse set of alternative career professionals, that I was able to decide on a potential career that night. I had spoken to a Sales Manager for Promega Corporation that evening. The more we talked about the role of a Sales Rep in that company, the more I realized that this job checked off all of my boxes. We spoke extensively after the event and I submitted my application the next day. I now work for an incredible company, helping scientists do great science with an amazing work-life balance. I wake up every day thankful for this job. This is what the AIOG has done for me. Thank you!
