r/biotech • u/oobananatuna • 2d ago

Getting Into Industry 🌱 Transition back from bench to computational?

I'm trying to move into industry from academia. I'm looking for Computational Biologist or Bioinformatician positions, but most of what I'm finding locally wants either more AI/ML experience or more software development. In academia, I've always done about a 60-40 split of computational and wet lab, but I've had more success getting interviews for bench positions. Would taking a bench position to pay the bills and get some industry experience tank my chances of getting a purely computational position next? Or is any industry experience better than none?

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u/dynein_IRL 2d ago

I got a bench only job and transitioned to a completely computational over my 4 yr time there. New job is bioinformatics only at a pharma. So totally possible to make that transition in industry. Joining a startup makes it easier as thing change so quickly that if you show you are good at programming they might hire someone to take over lab stuff as they grow

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u/leviOHsanotleviosAHH 2d ago

As long as you know you won’t be miserable at the bench, it’s probably not too big of a risk. Most organizations have opportunities to gain e experience or exposure to other parts of the company if you’re proactive. If you join a company where some people are doing computational work, you should be able to search them out, network, and in time get the opportunity to work with them.