I hit LinkedIn in search of inspi-
ration. My approach was similar
to a kid in an arcade with a messy
fistful of tickets: What can I get
with this neuroscience Ph.D.? I
searched for jobs that matched my
research experience—familiarity
with molecular techniques, writ-
ing, some programming—but the
results were overwhelmingly var-
ied. After a couple of weeks with
50 tabs open, I didn’t feel any
closer to finding a plan B.
It slowly dawned on me that
I didn’t just need to identify a
plan B job, but an entire plan B
career path. It was time to close
the tabs and take a more funda-
mental approach.
I began to think deeply about
the work experiences I had most
enjoyed up to that point. I re-
membered that in college, I loved
working in the math depart-
ment’s drop-in tutoring center, helping students with any
problems they brought through the door. In grad school,
I felt the same purposeful warmth when I worked with
peers to develop ways to measure biological phenomena.
In my own research, I was more interested in rigorously
applying methods than deeply investigating a particular
research area. As I thought about it more, I realized help-
ing other scientists learn from their data was more allur-
ing than leading a lab of my own. In search of my backup
plan, I instead found a new contender for plan A: help-
ing scientists make their own science better by providing
quantitative support as a statistician.
I wasn’t ready to close the door on an academic career—
perhaps I could fit statistical consulting into my work as
a PI. But I knew that either way, I would benefit from ad-ditional training to broaden the
analytic skills I had developed
during my Ph.D. To keep the
doors to both plans propped open
while I deliberated, I decided to
pursue a master’s in statistics
part-time during my postdoc.
It was a grueling balance of re-
search and study. But the further
I advanced in my statistics de-
gree, the more certain I became
that I had found what I wanted
to do. I returned to LinkedIn, this
time with a steadier hand and
clear goals: to meet statisticians
and learn about opportunities.
I applied for jobs that I felt
underqualified for, having not yet
completed my statistics degree—
and in some cases was rejected
without an interview. But I also
got some encouraging responses.
Interviewers from outside aca-
demia told me they valued my
Ph.D.; it showed I know how to solve problems and can
drive projects forward. They were also impressed that I
had taken stock of my goals and changed direction. I even-
tually found a perfect union of my knowledge and inter-
ests as a biostatistician in public health at a research firm,
and I’m on track to finish my statistics degree in 2023.
As for that first postdoc interview, apparently I didn’t
blow it with my sputtering about my career plan B. The PI
still offered me a position, which I accepted. And despite
my angst in the moment, I’m grateful he challenged me to
think about my career development. It was just the push
I needed. jAlexandria Hughes is a senior biostatistician at Westat in Washington,
D.C. Send your career story to [email protected].“Helping other scientists learn
from their data was more alluring
than leading a lab of my own.”
In search of plan B, I found plan A
O
n the day of my first interview for a postdoctoral position, I was excited to finally discuss the
detailed research ideas and questions I had feverishly prepared in the preceding weeks. When
the principal investigator (PI) instead asked me, “If academia doesn’t work out, what is your
plan B?” I froze. This hadn’t been part of my interview prep. I knew few postdocs get tenure-
track positions and how important it was to have a backup plan, yet I did not. I don’t remem-
ber what answer I eventually sputtered out. Over postinterview beers with my partner, I gazed
into my swirling pint like a psychic’s crystal ball. “Well, Alex, what is your plan B?” I asked myself. “Do
you really have no idea what else you might like to do?”By Alexandria Hughes
ILLUSTRATION: ROBERT NEUBECKER210 8 APRIL 2022 • VOL 376 ISSUE 6589 science.org SCIENCE
WORKING LIFE