You're thinking about a career in R&D. How can you make sure it's the right choice for you?

To assess if a career in R&D is right for me, I'd reflect on my interests. For example, if I enjoy delving into complex problems and finding innovative solutions, it might indicate a good fit for R&D. Similarly, if I have a passion for conducting experiments, exploring new ideas, and contributing to advancements in science or technology, R&D could be a rewarding career choice. These examples help me gauge if the field aligns with my interests and aspirations.

Successful R&D teams require the depth and width of knowledge and intuitive power in the same time. Naturally there are differences among scientific and practical fields, however there are some general base of experience and interest which can be well-used within R&D like, innovation project management, project management, project controlling, etc. So interests fitting to R&D can cover a huge extent of different fields.

Exploring a career in R&D ?? requires a mix of curiosity and passion. ?? Dive into diverse projects, engage with the scientific community ??, and embrace challenges with enthusiasm. ?? Conduct informational interviews to gain insights from professionals in the field ???, and seek hands-on experiences to test your interest. ?? Stay adaptable and open-minded, as R&D often involves continuous learning and innovation. ?? Reflect on the joy of solving problems and contributing to advancements, and if that excites you, R&D could be the perfect fit! ??

Assessing interest is a beginning which should be followed by assessing skills and capabilities as well. Having a stable list of what you know, where do you have your starting base is essential to pave the road to the required and essential performing level where you can add real value to the R&D activities. Don't forget, as R&D is a continuous journey, your knowledge and experience shall take the same pattern, be open, critical and ready to experience something new which can be built in as a part of your new knowledge base.

So many options and so many ways to explore them. Select some of them and invest your time and resources to get to the depth of the options. Checking too much possibilities would result to waste your time (and others' time as well). You should be able to articulate which fields, positions or projects would fit to you most and then dig into the options offering such, or nearby possibilities. Doing some preliminary own work and then asking your network would be a good idea to start with.

Plan it, but with an agile approach in your head. R&D is typically the field where so much things and directions can change within a very short time period. Being able to adopt to such changes would allow you to explore great options to learn and grow and may also ensure that your career is always at the peak. Being in the middle of changes and experiencing what others may not would make you a great choice for your next career step no matter if you are an entrepreneur or company worker.