From Textbooks to Technology: The Wonderfully Winding Path of Careers in Industry
This sponsored blog post is delivered in partnership with 3M Canada.
“When do you finish?” And, if that wasn’t painful enough, “What do you want to do next?”
These two questions are a source of dread and anxiety for so many in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) training programs. While there are a variety of career options within and beyond the walls of academia, it can be difficult to know what those careers are really like, particularly if you’re a first-generation STEM student.
While exploring my own career options, I noticed ‘industry’ roles — referring to scientific careers in the private sector — were among the most popular among my peers. In fact, the 10,000 PhDs Project found that nearly 30 per cent of PhDs graduating from a physical or life sciences program between 2000 and 2015 at the University of Toronto ended up in a private sector job. But these were also the careers I felt I knew the least about. To better understand them, I interviewed three incredible scientists from 3M Canada.
Bethany Turowec: The Problem Solver
Bethany (aka Betty) is a competitive hockey player, skilled cupcake baker, and overall Jane of all trades who works as an Application Engineer at 3M Canada.
She liaises with a range of professionals on their fire safety needs, including architects, engineers and building inspectors. Some days that means answering clients’ technical questions over the phone, other days she’s on site advising on a diverse range of fire safety challenges.
Betty earned a degree in chemical engineering from Western University, followed by a MSc in EngSci biomedical engineering.
She remembers a time in her studies when she was left wondering, “What is the point of cramming all this info into my brain, why should I care?” A wise teacher told her not to worry because, “it’s not about the memorizing, the whole point is to practise how to learn quickly and then apply that knowledge.”
Betty applies this mentality through 3M’s 15% Culture, which encourages employees to set aside work hours to proactively cultivate and pursue innovative ideas that excite them. It has facilitated awesome inventions like Multilayer Optical Film and Post-It® Notes!
James Beswick: The Coordinator
James is a life-long guitar player and proud dad who works as a Technical Manager at 3M Canada, a role which he describes as “a real mixed bag.”
James’ role is an important part of the adhesive that keeps a lot of the different teams at 3M Canada in sync. He looks after the corporate services team, supports the core of business, analytical services, and the quality testing of products. His days involve everything from project management to looking over metrics for the R&D team — he wasn’t joking about it being a mixed bag!
He takes pride in always maintaining a state of self-evaluation, frequently considering and reconsidering what fulfillment means from a career perspective. He gets joy from being directly involved in 3M’s science-based solutions and is fascinated thinking about “what we haven’t discovered yet, and what is possible.”
Mitesh Chaudhari: The Communicator
Mitesh loves to cook, play cricket, and is a certified car singer (move over James Corden!) who works as an Application Engineer for Consumer Products at 3M Canada. Mitesh started off his journey at 3M Canada as a quality engineer for Scotch-Brite™ Scrubbers, then as a product engineer for 3M™ Duct Tape.
His current role takes him out of the lab and into the field, educating consumers about how these and other products work. To do this effectively, he contributes to analytical testing to figure out how to better assess and demonstrate products.
Mitesh completed his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in Mumbai, India, and his MSc in chemical engineering in Canada. He always pictured himself working on cool science projects, and he loves that now he gets to meet the people who benefit from scientific innovations.
Mitesh explains that the company’s brand platform 3M Science. Applied to Life™ means applying science to something and someone. But his favourite part? “Hearing people say ‘whooa, that is awesome!’ during my demos.”
Top Three Takeaways:
Betty: “Be open. If you’re studying as an engineer, you might have something painted in your mind, but keep it open. You can apply that knowledge in more ways than you can imagine.”
James: “A STEM education gives you a great platform upon which to take on anything, so never settle or feel you’re stuck on just one path if that’s not leaving you feeling fulfilled and happy.”
Mitesh: “If you just study for the sake of exams, you’ll be stressed out over grades. If you study to gain knowledge, studying science will be less scary. You can feel empowered and use that knowledge for innovating.”
