“My PhD Shaped the Way I Think and Solve Problems”

In our interview with Joshua Balsters, he shares his journey from studying the cerebellum to leading neuroscience research for a market research company. Initially planning an academic career, Joshua realised his interests were more applied and aimed to have tangible impact. He values seeing his work influence real-world products and the faster project timelines. Joshua continues leveraging skills in experiment design, analysis, and communication honed during his PhD. Though sometimes constrained by business priorities, he cares about his consultancy role. Joshua encourages informational interviews to understand industry careers. He notes similarities in freedoms and obstacles between academia and industry. Joshua advises focusing on transferable abilities from PhD training beyond specific research areas.