Name: Forrest Collman (he/him)
PhD: Neuroscience and Molecular Biology, Princeton, 2010
What was your main area of research?
In my PhD, I developed methods for doing calcium imaging in awake mice, including behaving in virtual reality. In my postdoc, I worked on measuring synaptic connectivity of diverse cell types using array tomography.
What is your current job?
I am an Associate Investigator at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle, Washington.
I co-lead a large scale project that uses electron microscopy to measure synaptic connections in the brain. I manage a diverse team of scientists and engineers. I write grants and papers, give presentations, decide on strategic decisions. I do a lot of technical work and supervision of software infrastructure that supports our work, and so I spend a fair amount of time writing and reviewing code.
The best part of my job is having a diverse set of responsibilities and looking at cutting edge data at a scale that hasn't been seen before.
How did you find this position? What were the career steps you took to get to where you are now?
I got my start at the Allen because my postdoc advisor was hired there. Based on my work there, I was given more responsibilities and a promotion after working there for 4 years.
Phd graduate ➡️ postdoctoral fellow ➡️ staff scientist ➡️ investigator
Why did you decide to not pursue a career in academia? Was this a difficult decision or one you felt came easily?
My role is a hybrid academic and non-academic role. I do research but not for a traditional academic institution. What made me successful at the Allen is that I leaned into the strengths I had as a scientist, without having the same constraints as a traditional academic career. After seeing the kind of work that could be done in this setting, it was an easy decision.
What pieces of advice do you have for someone getting their PhD and looking to pursue a career outside of academia?
Deeply understand that many aspects of success in academic settings are based on luck and circumstances, and that learning to identify a failed approach and move on is a strength in most contexts.
The strength of a PhD is in feeling confident tackling uncharted problems without a clear path, but also to form narratives that make everything sound like it makes sense. When telling your story, make sure to highlight how things were not clear, and how you reasoned your way toward a narrative that did make sense.
Take the extra time to package your work for others outside your field. This might mean putting your code on Github with documentation or this might mean making a video or animation of how your experiment works.
Look for jobs in organizations where growth is possible. Your skills and competency will help you advance, as long as the organizational structure will allow it.
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