Mind the gap - a career blog bridging the gap between academia and industry

How can we use artificial intelligence in the application process? I gave it a try and had artificial intelligence write a motivation letter for my current position with the information that I am a physicist and a coach. Here is what came back (interestingly, the content and structure are different when asking in English vs German, so it is worth to read both translations):

Our partner companies are interested in attracting PSI's early career researchers, and we introduce scientists working at partner companies to showcase career perspectives. In today's post, meet Johanna Mehl, who did her PhD in biophysics at ETHZ and is currently an associate at McKinsey & Company. She tells us how she managed the transition away from academia, and what she is working on now.

This question showed up in my LinkedIn inbox a few days ago, out of the blue, asked by a person I had collaborated with a decade ago and not had any contact since. Clearly, my decision to leave academia made an impact. But what were the reasons, anyway?

The PSI Career Blog features PSI alumni and their career paths to highlight the versatility of the PSI community, and inspire the young generation. Today with Kathrin Ebner, who is telling us about her journey from a PhD at PSI to being a risk assessor at Munich Re.

‘Only those who are not successful in academia move to industry’, or ‘when I move to industry, I will earn a lot, but others tell me what to do, and I cannot develop myself any further’ on the one side, and ‘those scientists life in their own world, will we even be able to communicate with them?’ on the other – these are some myths and prejudices challenging those looking for their next job. How can you deal with these?

The PSI Career Blog features PSI alumni and their career paths to highlight the versatility of the PSI community, and inspire the young generation. Today with Gesara Bimashofer, who is telling us about her journey from a PhD at PSI to being a consultant at APP Unternehmensberatung AG in Bern.

The PSI Career Blog features PSI alumni and their career paths to highlight the versatility of the PSI community, and inspire the young generation. Today with Eric Wasson Burns, who is telling us about his PhD experience at PSI, and the transition to his current job as associate in the climate team of Deep Science Ventures.

‘If I change to industry or the public administration, does that mean I have to start all over again?’ is a question that is often asked in career counseling sessions one way or another. Clearly, after having invested so much time and energy in your education and your research project, the last thing you would want is starting from scratch. But do you really have to start all over again when you change career direction? And what is so bad about a fresh start?

Do you sometimes get frustrated when you scroll through social media and see the new positions your contacts are about to start and the grants or prizes they are awarded? Do others’ success stories make you feel small and incapable? Is it true that everyone else is super-successful while you are struggling, or what is behind the others’ success?