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Cleyde Helena

Academic Account Manager

Academic Account Manager, Analytical Solutions Consulting Group

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There is life after academia and I’m starting to like it!

I don’t know exactly when I started to change my mind about academia. Actually, I think it was a mix of things that lead me out of it. This past weekend, I finally emptied my office at the university. Although it did hurt to wipe everything off and leave almost 20 years of academia behind, I am happy with my job and the path my life has taken. Indeed, there’s life after academia, and I’m enjoying it a lot.

They told me that if I ever left, I would be a failure

I left academia about a year ago and started working in biotech, selling analytical equipment to researchers. It was a painful process, and at first I didn’t really want to leave – but life just lead me to expand my horizons and now I’m really happy with my new job. But still, when it was time to go back and visit my university, I thought I was still too raw and needed more training before I could face my former colleagues.

Two years ago, I broke up with academia

You know how they say that after you break up with someone, you need to meet that person again to see if you’re fully over it? Well, two years ago, I broke up with academia, ending a relationship of almost 20 years. And that’s exactly how I felt!

Three years after leaving academia, I don’t feel like a failure anymore!

My postdoc PI was extremely disappointed and he told me, “You know that if you leave academia, there’s no coming back.” After 3 years, I think he was totally correct, but for totally different reasons.

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