WK 12 - Translating Academic Skills to the Private Sector

Session Description: This workshop aims to capture how ecologists can translate their skill sets to industry. A degree in science offers multiple pathways. While academia may be the most favored route, private industry can also provide purpose and fulfillment for individuals looking to apply their knowledge to regulation and policy. Understanding what skills are needed for this career path can contribute to quick success in competitive job markets as well as improved metric accomplishments within the workplace.
The workshop is designed to be an interactive discussion between the attendees and the speakers. Each speaker will present a short overview of their role in commercial sciences and develop an interactive component with the attendees. This will take the form of round-robin discussions, examples of opportunities, and business plan development. Each speaker will develop both a presentation and the interactive elements of their topic.
The workshop will commence with an overview of commercial science and the consulting industry. This will include: a presentation on how current firms and business are structured. Discussion on the difference between larger and smaller firms and how size may affect opportunities. A second discussion topic will be how company/project size and workload impact the day-to-day job duties. This includes a discussion of expectations both from the commercial firm and the project team members. A third topic will be focused on business management. As many academic students have not had exposure to business practice and needs, this topic will bring workshop attendees into a role of project manager and work around how can individuals use their knowledge base from college and graduate school to manage budgets and projects. It will also cover the importance of understanding financial metrics in the workplace. Lastly the workshop will close with how individuals can translate academic skills to the private sector. This includes applying writing skills acquired in academia to industry. The importance of understanding the audience and good use of graphics will be discussed. Attendees will work on a business plan to gain knowledge and experience when approaching commercial organizations.
This workshop will give attendees a unique opportunity to learn what is needed to enhance their current skill set in order to be more competitively placed in the job market.