By Adriana Macko, Integration Research Associate (NGS Automation) at Illumina
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriana-macko-289643194/ Instagram - @macadree Email - mackoinbox.lt
Hi everyone, I’m Adriana and I would like to educate you about your career opportunities outside academia. I have been working in the genomics industry for 2 years now and want to share my exciting journey with you!
What do I do?
Let’s start from some background - I’m working in NGS (next generation sequencing) leading company Illumina. I work in the commercial department, meaning that I focus more on customers’ needs than the research side. My role is mainly lab-based, however, I get to meet a lot of new people, travel to customer sites and collaborate with vendors outside Illumina. Currently, I’m testing different library preparation methods on liquid handling robots. I couldn’t tell you what my typical week looks like because it is always different. Usually, I design an experiment and run it on one of my robots, then have to troubleshoot it and present the results to other team members. Additionally, I train field application scientists on NGS automation. I also have many meetings with scientists to discuss issues and understand customers’ needs outside Illumina. I get to travel to customer sides to help them implement our technology or troubleshoot automation.
My experience as an undergraduate and my first full-time job
After the second year of studies, I managed to get a 12-months internship at Illumina. I had to take a gap year and pause my studies as my degree was without a ‘year in industry' option. As a laboratory scientist intern, I gained valuable experience and knowledge about NGS and genomics. After an internship, I asked for a part-time job that I could do during my 3rd year of studies as I enjoyed working in the company. It was not easy to balance my job and studies at the same time, but I’ve enjoyed the journey and secured a full-time job after graduation!
Advice for students who want to work in biotech
There are many departments within biotech and my advice would be different for each of them. If you want to work on the commercial side, I would strongly recommend gaining ‘people’ skills. You will have to be good at communication, collaboration and networking. Don’t worry if you don’t have these skills yet, you can learn them along the way. Just keep in mind that outside academia your personality is as much important as your knowledge.
Resources and job hunting
Some job websites are advertising internship opportunities.
Here are some places:
1. Indeed.com
2. graduateland.com
3. ratemyplacement.co.uk
This might give you a chance to look at what the market is offering and to understand where would you like to do your internship. Choose your field of interest - would you like to work in genomics? Oncology? Immunology? You don't to have to be 100% sure what you like the most. You will discover this during your journey. I suggest choosing a few fields, so it will be easier to look for an internship. When you know what fields are interesting to you, search for a specific internship on google (e.g. internships in genomics UK, etc.). You will find companies that work in the area of your interest.
There is another tip - find companies that look interesting to you and check their recruitment websites directly. You might be surprised how many opportunities are not advertised publicly. And do it for each company that you would like to work for. This will take some time to google and familiarise yourself with big companies in the industry.
If you really like the company and cannot find internship offers - try to contact them directly and ask. Please, do not be afraid of doing this! Listen, you are a student looking for experience and showing initiative is always plausible. Email them and they will redirect you to the right person. In the worst case - you won't get any reply and that is completely fine too. Do not stop looking and asking.
Now, you MUST have a LinkedIn profile! Firstly, go and follow those companies. If you research further, you will notice that some people are promoting job/internship opportunities on LinkedIn too. They most likely are a part of the Talent Acquisition team - employees that looking for people like you. Their job is to find the best candidates for job/internship positions. If you connect with some of them on LinkedIn, suddenly your LinkedIn feed will become full of opportunities.
Here is another thing - always talk about your intentions to other people that might help you. If you have a chat with your lecturer - mention that you are looking for an internship, he might have something to suggest. Networking is an amazing tool to get what you want and find out about the newest opportunities.
If you need help
I’m extremely happy to talk to you about internships or graduate positions in biotech. You are more than welcome to contact me on LinkedIn/Instagram/email if you want to have a chat! I’m based in Cambridge – if you prefer a live chat with a cup of coffee.
Good luck with your career journey!