RESOURCES

Books by David Giltner

It’s a Game, Not a Formula

Can a scientist build an exciting and rewarding career in industry? Absolutely! But most of us have no idea how to do it. Industry is very different than the academic research environment that we were trained in, and the thinking and working habits we learned in graduate school don't work so well in the private sector. This book will tell you just what you DO need to be successful.

New Audiobook version!

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Turning Science into Things People Need

My book "Turning Science into Things People Need" explores the journeys of 10 scientists who left the research lab to pursue careers in industry.

Driven by a desire to see their work give tangible results in months rather than decades, these people have all built exciting careers in a wide variety of roles.

Five of these scientists are successful entrepreneurs, starting their own successful companies!

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Shaping the World

This will be David's third book, on target to be published in early 2024. This book will contain select long-form interviews of many of the scientists he has interviewed through the last 12 years or so since his first book. The stories collected in that time are just too good not to get out into the world.

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Articles and Interviews

Articles by David

Partnering with industry can transform the impact of research

I suspect that every scientist hopes their work will have a positive impact on the world. Cather Simpson, professor of physics and chemistry at The University of Auckland and founder of The Photon Factory discovered that collaborating with industry allows her to make a bigger impact than she ever imagined.

Success in Industry is a Game - And a Scientist has an Awesome Role to Play

I learned a lot from my transition into industry after my PhD. Above all, I learned that working in industry is a fast paced game where I had to make decisions quickly and deal with more uncertainty than I was used to.

Transforming PhD experiences: The value of industry-academia collaboration

Collaboration between academic research groups and private sector companies has many benefits, including more research funding and more commercially viable research. But a very important benefit is industry exposure for the students and postdocs who will build their own careers in industry.

Preparing PhDs for a 21st Century job market

Some PhD advisors have found that industry collaboration is a great way to expose students to the pace and expectations of the private sector, while also providing their research groups with additional funding and other benefits.

What can sports players teach scientists about mindset?

Success outside the research lab is a very different game. And it turns out that this is a very useful analogy.

Why You Should Use A Product Development Process

Being successful in the private sector requires learning about some important tools that you likely didn't learn about in university.

Can a scientist be a good entrepreneur?

Many people assume that 'scientist' and 'entrepreneur' require completely different strengths. Not true!

A Satisfying Career: Academia or Industry?

Science researchers learn that they can turn science into “things people need” and find rewarding careers in industry.

Getting an industry job with no industry experience

Job descriptions requesting previous industry experience can leave PhDs wondering if their post-graduate time would have been better spent in industry. Fortunately, this is not actually the problem that it may seem.

How to escape a ‘paint-by-numbers’ career

Academia trains us to follow pre-defined paths when planning our careers, but the most exciting and rewarding careers are designed by their owners. If you’re willing to take some risk and create your own design, you can have a more exciting career than you ever imagined.

Increasing Employability During a Crisis

The year 2020 has not gone the way we expected. It seems everything is harder than it used to be, including building our careers. How are you going to respond?

The Autopilot Postdoc

Falling into a postdoc after a PhD is a waste of excellent credentials, say Karin Bodewits, Philipp Gramlich and David Giltner.

Essential Skills for a Career in the Private Sector

What can you do to be more employable than the other scientists and engineers who will be vying for the same jobs?

Improving the STEM PhD's transition into a private sector career

Written for professors and PIs, we discuss training approaches that help early career PhDs understand the behaviors that will bring success in their industry careers.

How to get research funding from industry

Written for academic researchers who want to build their research programs through collaborations with the private sector.

Science Careers: Career Fables

A series of entertaining career stories written by Karin Bodewits, with career advice and editing by David Giltner and Philipp Gramlich.

Articles about David

Taking Charge: Three key things you don’t need when moving from academia to industry

Academic research can put us in a mindset where we prioritize 'thinking' over 'acting.' This can present challenges not only in the transition to industry working practices, but also in making decisions about our career and what to do next. I had the privilege of talking to David Giltner, a real thought leader in the field, about this.

North-American physicist challenges students to work in the private sector

David Giltner shared some tips for the transition from academia to industry in a new session promoted by American Corner at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal.

David Giltner: "We are not afraid of the unknown or the unexplained"

Faculty of Science and Technology, in Caparica, hosted David Giltner, founder of Turning Science, for a series of lectures on how scientists can impact the private sector (in Portuguese.)