My internship finally came to an end. My main goal for this summer was to figure out whether I want to be in industry or academia. During the summer, I worked hard to figure this out by getting myself involved in data analysis, proposals, and business meetings. Since I only have one more year at Brandeis, I plan to build on this experience as much as I can. I now know that I plan to pursue my career in industry. I plan to use my network to explore the industry and figure out what I’m truly passionate about.
This internship taught me something I already knew, but never really paused to think about: Don’t waste your 20s making money, but find your passion and spend the rest of your life doing your passion. Now, I want to learn more about my passion. What is it about industry and science that I love? Where do I learn the most? What exactly keeps me up late at night and is this the reason I wake up 5 in the morning to get a head start? I want to spend the rest of my Brandeis experience figuring this out. I owe it to myself and owe it to myself to gain additional experience in what I’m passionate about.
For anyone interested in finding a career in industry with science, I have an advice for you: Dive head first and give it all you have. You won’t know if it’s for you unless you do. You have nothing to lose (e.g. no kids, no mortgage, no house, etc) so why not take the risk? If you’re interested in Innerscope Research, I have the same advice: Give it all you have. It is not the ONLY firm to work for that has uses science in industry however, it is a good one to give a try.
Alicia Park, ’15