Alt-Ac Careers: Scientific consultant

When you hear the term “consultant,” is your first mental image a crew of businesspeople with MBAs providing corporate strategy advice?

You wouldn’t be alone. However, the realm of consulting is actually much broader. Imagine teams of engineers designing and building bridges, chemists measuring contaminants in water samples, or botanists writing reports on Arctic vegetation. Scientists can be consultants too!

Scientific training provides skills and knowledge that can be used in many places besides academia. Many practical, real-world problems demand science-based solutions, and draw upon the wisdom of multiple disciplines.

Consulting has room for many professions

I first began consulting as a fresh-faced BSF (forestry) graduate in the mid 1990s.  While I played a junior role in my company at the time, I had the opportunity to work with colleagues with expertise in several different fields.

For example, when our clients needed to know if a road could be built on a steep slope, we called in our company geologist.  If we needed to know whether there was an endangered goshawk nesting high in the trees, we brought in a wildlife biologist.  How was this stretch of forest used by Indigenous peoples pre-contact?  This was the terrain of the consulting anthropologist.

Most industry sectors require a variety of professional “-ologists” and engineers, with experience both in the field and the laboratory.

If you can research a topic, you can probably consult on it. Simply put, consultants are problem solvers for hire.

Opportunities for highly trained scientists

Scientific researchers can spend most of their adult life cloistered in preparation for a career in academia. However, consulting provides plenty of legitimate career alternatives.

Dr. Matt Drenner, Senior Fisheries Biologist at Stillwater Sciences, was pursuing postdoctoral research in Canada when an academic colleague told him about a consulting opportunity in California.  While his initial career aspirations were to be a professor, taking the job at Stillwater allowed him and his partner to live in a desirable location and have a favorable work/life balance.

With a PhD and postdoctoral experience, Drenner was able to enter the company at a “lower-senior level” rather than as an entry-level employee.  He picked up additional skills, such as project management and proposal development, as he went along.

Consulting work uses a similar skill set to academia, but tends to ask questions that require practical, timely answers.  For example, a typical project for Drenner and his team might be determining the impact of hydro dam operations on fish populations and creating strategies for remediation and restoration.  Some assignments can have social impact.  Matt recalled a project that involved devising a study to determine minimum creek flow requirements for fish. The results were later incorporated into state environmental policies.

What to think about when choosing a firm (or starting your own)

Each consulting firm is different.  They range in size, service offerings, and core values.  When choosing an employer, it is important to get the right fit.  For example, Drenner stressed his appreciation for Stillwater Sciences’ smaller firm size and principled approach to accepting contracts.

Biologist Ann Rocchi, Principal Consultant at R4 Consulting, opted to start her own firm.  Having worked at several consulting firms in Canada throughout her career, she realized that she was much happier working for smaller firms than larger ones.  Starting her own firm gave her extra flexibility in handling family responsibilities.  Being a one-person operator also lets her do her own fieldwork (which in larger firms is often assigned to junior employees) and choose projects that interest her.

Rocchi points out that starting one’s own firm has its own unique benefits and challenges – and I agree, being a freelance consultant myself.  We both enjoy the variety.  However, there is also a downside: solo consulting often alternates between busy and slow periods, clients can be unpredictable, and paycheques can be slow to arrive.

Considerations for graduate students

Are you still in school and interested in consulting?  There are several questions to ask yourself, the earlier the better.

• What are my career aspirations, and what education do I need to get there?

Recall that within the consulting field, there are different types of jobs. An easy way to get a sense of the variety is browsing job boards and listings on company websites. Rocchi points out that a PhD can open doors for writing policy and regulations. If you prefer more practical, hands-on work, for these positions an MSc is usually sufficient.

• Do I need additional certification?

Depending on the jurisdiction, your field may be regulated.  While professional registration is required almost everywhere for engineers and many health professionals, requirements for biologists, agrologists, and foresters vary by province and state.  Specific activities may also require certification – for example, Rocchi holds a certificate in electrofishing (a standard technique used to study fish populations).

• Who can I ask for advice?

A broad professional network is essential to consulting – especially if going out on one’s own.  Most faculties or departments organize on-campus talks by employers and professional organizations. Professional and industry associations often offer students free passes to their events.  Finally, many course instructors themselves have connections outside of academia – indeed, both Drenner and Rocchi teach part time and enjoy mentoring students.

To conclude, I’d like to share a piece of advice offered by Dr. Katrina Cook, Senior Biologist and Analyst at InStream Fisheries Research: have an open mind. For researchers exploring their career options, the consulting world offers diverse opportunities – not all companies are the same. A match for your unique interests and aspirations is out there.

About Alice Palmer

Alice Palmer, MBA, PhD is an independent forest industry researcher and consultant based in Richmond, British Columbia.  She writes about science, forestry, corporate strategy, politics, and whatever else piques her clients’ curiosity.

Alice would like to thank Matt Drenner, Ann Rocchi, and Katrina Cook for graciously providing their insights into scientific consulting, as well as Canadian Science Publishing blog editor Natalie Sopinka for making the introductions.