Career Advice from Those Who’ve Been There

• Academia—Sastry Pantula from California State University, San Bernardino
• Government—Wendy Martinez from the US Census Bureau
• Industry—Satrajit Roychoudhury from Pfizer

Practical Significance cohosts Donna LaLonde and Ron Wasserstein asked them to share career advice and insights for navigating career transitions. Read on to see what they had to say.

Donna LaLonde: Tell us about your day job.

Sastry Pantula: I am the dean of the College of Natural Sciences at California State University, San Bernardino, and it is one of the best jobs to have in academia. Seeing our students being successful and watching our faculty and staff—the invisible backbone—be successful in supporting our students—they are key to our students’ futures and for our discoveries. They are the engines of social mobility.

Wendy Martinez: I am a senior mathematical statistician for data science at the US Census Bureau. This is a senior technical position, which means I get to do a wide range of things—from computer coding in R to being a senior adviser on research projects.

Satrajit Roychoudhury: I am an executive director and the head of statistical research and innovation at Pfizer and have been in the pharmaceutical industry for the last 16 years. I am involved in bringing innovative quantitative methods to enhance clinical trial design and analysis. I work with clinical teams in different therapeutic areas and vaccine, which exposes me to a wide range of statistical problems arising in drug development.

Ron Wasserstein: What are the common pitfalls that first-time jobseekers should be aware of, and how can they navigate early challenges in the job search process?

Wendy Martinez: Be sure not to limit yourself when you look at the qualifications in the job announcements. Often, we think, “Oh, I don’t satisfy all those requirements. I don’t check all the boxes.” But if you have eight of the 10 required knowledge and skills and you are interested in the job, then apply for it.

Particularly with federal jobs, résumés do not need to be limited to one or two pages. I know recent graduates looking for their first jobs are encouraged to keep it to one or two pages but, with federal jobs, give yourself room.

Clearly state your job experience, volunteer experience, responsibilities, achievements, weekly hours. Also, don’t limit yourself with respect to the job titles you’re searching for. Don’t just look for statistician jobs or data scientist or mathematician. For example, operations research analyst is another title for a statistician in some government agencies.

Sastry Pantula: First and foremost is to be very confident about the excellent skills you have. This should show up in your résumé, your interview, and your passion for teaching and research. If you are coming into academia, it should show up in your communication and in your negotiation skills.

I encourage you to seek help early, whether it be from your adviser, your mentor, your seniors, or a counselor. You’re not alone in this process—there is help all around us. Address any imposter syndrome and believe in yourself that you belong.

I would also encourage you to start early in your PhD program, start tutoring, become a teacher’s assistant. It’s good experience, and those hiring like to see it on your résumé. Present your work at a conference: practice, practice, practice!

At the end of the day, it is really about finding a good match. Just like when your papers get rejected by a journal, you revise, improve, and find a suitable journal to publish in.

Satrajit Roychoudhury: When you apply for a job, focus on that job. Tailor your résumé to the job responsibilities. Don’t use a generic CV and float it around to everybody. I’m seeing people generating CVs with large language models, and these are becoming more basic. But it’s very important to personalize your CV or résumé to reflect the particular responsibilities listed in the job description.

Emphasize your soft skills in terms of teamwork and communication—both writing and speaking. When a person comes into a clinical trial team, he/she needs to work with team members from different disciplines, including clinicians, scientists, regulators, and people with a nonscientific/technical background. We need to remember that they all have a critical role in the success of the project. Therefore, we must communicate with all of them clearly and effectively.

Don’t be disheartened by constructive criticism. Try to learn from it. There are many things we know, but there is much we still need to learn. You need to have that agility and flexibility in the mind.

Donna LaLonde: How important has networking been in your career evolution, and would you offer some strategies for building those valuable connections?

Sastry Pantula: I wouldn’t be where I am without networking—without developing a broad network of allies and sponsors. My student adviser, Wayne Fuller, encouraged students and junior faculty to attend JSM and, more importantly, attend the opening mixer. He made many introductions, and those connections really paid off in my fledgling years—JSM is for networking!

Also, volunteer. I was shy, so I forced myself to be with people to get over being an introvert. Volunteering at the ASA really helped. So networking is not only important to meet people, but also you must continue to nurture that relationship and keep in touch with them.

Wendy Martinez: It was through networking that I became aware of and pursued a new PhD program. That led to my dissertation adviser facilitating a detail for me at the Office of Naval Research. I was a program officer and got to develop, fund, and lead research projects. That detail eventually led to a full-time job there.

People got to know me. I had professional connections that led to several fantastic opportunities to serve our professional communities in various ways and eventually led to my current job at the Census Bureau.

Getting involved with a professional organization like the American Statistical Association—in particular sections—will provide opportunities. There are so many sections that cover different areas of interest. Joining and working with those colleagues helps you build a sense of community.

Satrajit Roychoudhury: Yes, the power of networking is so important. I still remember the first JSM in 2004 as a graduate student. It was in Toronto. The meeting was an eye-opener for me to learn about the incredible statistical work people are doing in drug development. That was the first time I learned about the ASA Biopharmaceutical Section and went to the mixer. It was a great place to meet and talk with people working in different pharma companies and the US Food and Drug Administration. My interest in working in drug development started there. Like Sastry said, these events are phenomenal, and students should attend and network during the early-career phase.

Networking helps to build a set of contacts who can support you throughout your career, providing guidance, mentoring, and opportunities. 

Ron Wasserstein: What advice would you give to someone as they prepare for an interview?

Wendy Martinez: First of all, I would recommend that you practice—get colleagues and family members to do mock interviews with you. Gather example interview questions, prepare your answers, and mentally rehearse.

Also, be prepared with questions you can ask of them, particularly questions that show you’re interested and willing to invest in their agency or their company. Be prepared to answer questions about your résumé. For example, if you indicate you have experience writing R or Python programs, be prepared to give supporting examples of that type of experience.

Sastry Pantula: First and foremost, learn about the position and the organization you’re planning to interview with. With the internet and social media, there’s absolutely no excuse not to know about the place you’re applying to. So do your homework.

If you’re applying for an academic job, the interview process includes meeting the search committee, some of the faculty, the chair, and the dean. You’ll also meet the students and present a seminar on your research. Finally, we’ll ask the candidate to give a lecture to students. We want to see how you are with the students. Please don’t forget to thank the staff and treat them well.

Satrajit Roychoudhury: When a person comes for an interview, it is critical that they are 100% committed to the job they are applying for. Learn about the company you are applying to—what they do, their mission, and their top priorities. When applying for a position in the pharmaceutical drug industry, it would be key to know what drugs the company is primarily working on. It is important that candidates explain how their expertise can add value.

Pharma candidates also often need to present their research. Be prepared to present the main idea in a very simplistic manner. This includes a clear statement of the problem you are trying to solve, current gaps, and the role of your research to fill the gaps. Be able to explain your work so people not familiar with your research can understand your work.

Donna LaLonde: What advice would you offer someone who’s transitioning to a different role or industry about being able to identify and leverage transferable skills?

Wendy Martinez: Think broadly. Don’t constrain or limit yourself. Map out your skill set reflective of the position. Have someone help you with crafting how your skills transfer. Another perspective on your skills is so valuable. Consult someone in that industry for advice. For example, if I were moving to academia, I could contact Sastry and get help from him about how my skills might transfer to academia.

For those considering a career change, I recommend an online resource that’s published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Occupational Outlook Handbook, which features descriptions of different occupations, different levels of jobs in that occupation, the skills you need, and expectations. It’s an excellent resource.

Sastry Pantula: Statisticians have a leg up on career transitions since our core communication, computational, collaborative, consulting, and critical thinking skills are transferable from academia to industry to government work. What I found in my career is that critical thinking and leadership experience are useful in all these employment areas. And I believe my core values about striving for excellence, enhancing diversity, and fostering harmony carry over to all sectors.

Satrajit Roychoudhury: Careers evolve and transitioning to a new area can happen very quickly. You need to be mentally prepared to take that on. So, when somebody moves to one job from another, it’s very important to understand what you’re getting into and be clear about expectations—expectations of the new role as well as your expectations of this new opportunity—for clarity and success. Other important factors involve understanding how much of the current skill sets are transferable and how to fill any gaps. Networking plays a very important role in helping you gather the necessary information.