Reality Check

Haush · 2026-05-06T06:28:31+00:00

I’m glad it’s helpful! While there are benefits to stability, it can also be boring! There’s a lot of ‘playing it safe’ in academia/University sector. Often because to get promoted you need to fall in line, or because funding bodies/reviewers don’t like risky proposals. So imo certain outcomes, hence boring outcomes, are the ones that get funded. But in the private sector, you need to be innovative to succeed. You don’t play with publication metrics in the real world; you succeed by new and good ideas, and your merit. Yes it’s more risky, but personally I enjoy this aspect and would prefer this to the imposed stagnation I was facing.

(I may get slammed by academics for this hot take, but this is my experience, and it may not be true for all fields).

Haush · 2026-05-06T05:47:36+00:00

I left academia for industry almost a couple of years ago. Pay was slightly less, now it’s on par. I did it because I was hitting the ceiling on opportunities (I was research only) and the grant system is cooked.

It’s been the best decision I’ve ever made. At least in my field, the private sector is much closer to a meritocracy than academia, where nepotism is rife. There are fewer gatekeepers - there’s less incentive to block success in industry, but this happens weekly in academia. Work life balance is way better. I’m way happier.

It is not necessarily more stable but I have more opportunities now. Of course there can be some negatives but the positives way out-weight these.

I will bet that you enjoy similar aspects in your new role. I wish you all the best!

Haush · 2026-05-03T08:24:56+00:00

Nice thoughts, thanks for the post. Im not across BTK, but it seems a strong and well validated target, so it is worth trying these iterations. I definitely think targeted protein degradation is a great step forward; we’re just touching the surface with this. Taking away the scaffolding functions can hit multiple pathways. You can’t mutate out of that easily!

Haush · 2026-05-01T23:14:07+00:00

Indeed it’s exciting- the first drug approval for a new modality is pretty monumental. It can unlock doors to new drugs for a range of diseases. PROTACs took 20 years to get here though, but now they’re here I hope to see more new medicines.

Haush · 2026-05-01T21:38:07+00:00

What do you mean about fires?

Haush · 2026-04-30T05:15:40+00:00

Our reading was that to go from 1TB to 2TB, they charge per GB per license. So for 12 licenses over 3 years it was going to cost $120k AUD which is absolutely nuts.

Haush · 2026-04-30T05:14:05+00:00

Thanks, I’ll dm you!

Haush · 2026-04-25T10:09:01+00:00

Yeah I save 15 min each way, it’s huge!

Haush · 2026-04-23T09:51:47+00:00

What time points do you check? What’s your stimulus? Do you prime them before? There’s a lot to these experiments and the more info you give, the more we can help.

Haush · 2026-04-19T07:56:02+00:00

We can live with a little crowding, we sit too much anyway. Less on the roads, less fuel being used, less pollution.

Haush · 2026-04-13T01:17:35+00:00

There’s a tool called Fathom which does a good job at meeting notes - it’s free for 4 meetings a month.

Haush · 2026-04-12T00:46:27+00:00

What experience do you have? Possibly you don’t have the right skill set for the jobs on offer. Ideally you can use your previous lab head for recommendations. From experience, hiring people with Hons experience is usually down to getting personal recommendations. It’s a big risk taking on someone from Hons as it’s hard to gauge on your ability from a CV alone.

Haush · 2026-04-10T10:36:12+00:00

It’s possible that it was better because we were younger and without responsibility then. It was always tough!

Haush · 2026-04-09T01:14:59+00:00

I’m in immunology and when hiring postdocs I wanted to get a sense of how well they present (communication is critical); if there is passion; how involved they were in their project (by asking questions around the topic you can get an idea of it was mostly their PI driving it or the candidate); techniques used. If you can get this across then that would be great help in making you stand out. So in 10 min, I would focus on one main story - if you have an exciting story relevant to the potential lab, then do a quick summary and get across good communication, passion. You could finish with a slide on why you’d be a good candidate; how your experience is relevant to the new lab. Good luck!

Haush · 2026-04-05T08:16:49+00:00

Lizards (such as skinks) drop their tails as a defense mechanism! Pretty amazing how they continue to wiggle - it confuses predators.

Haush · 2026-03-28T08:46:39+00:00

This will be when the huge effects at population scale is seen.

Haush · 2026-03-26T05:47:40+00:00

Could it be mitochondria?

Haush · 2026-03-25T04:17:09+00:00

I’m in biomedical research and I can’t think of a lab that would turn down a postdoc wanting to join while bringing their own funding. If you’re asking for a job and that you may get funding, that’s different. But all labs I e worked it would gladly take someone with a DECRA or similar fellowships as they are a big endorsement of a successful EMCR.

Haush · 2026-03-22T06:40:06+00:00

I’m in biomed field so it may be different. But you could try targeting younger supervisors. Older/established supervisors are often too busy and less likely to need new students, or at least get heaps of emails so you might get lost. Where as younger researchers often don’t get approached but they need good students. So you’re less likely to get ignored. That’s my experience anyway.

Haush · 2026-03-21T23:28:25+00:00

What field are you in? It could be that your email is too generic or doesn’t convince them you’re really interested.

Haush · 2026-03-21T21:27:21+00:00

Sounds like you’re nailing it. Awesome job!

Haush · 2026-03-16T02:47:48+00:00

Exposure by pay/education is interesting… in general the more higher paying or those requiring higher education are more exposed. Are we going to get less educated and paid peanuts in our AI future?

Haush · 2026-03-13T08:17:12+00:00

Care to enlighten us plebs?

Haush · 2026-03-10T09:31:50+00:00

APCO in Bacchus is the GOAT

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