“The degree of sadness that I feel is… really surprising to me.”
I sat quietly in my desk chair, feeling tears well up for the second time that hour. This wasn’t where I expected our session to end. I was supposed to be talking with Frankie, my ADHD coach, about how to manage my bandwidth around sensory processing. But something else had surfaced, something I hadn’t quite admitted to myself.
My headphones buzzed in the silence before I broke it:
I’m just appreciating that… I have limitations. And that even if I try to practice things over and over again, there are some things that will never get easier, and that feels hard. Especially in the social interaction context, there’s nothing I can do. And I have to be accepting of that.
I wiped my shirt sleeve across my cheek and looked down at my keyboard. It was all colliding now - the burnout from my first year of entrepreneurship. The exhaustion of (somehow) making it through a PhD program with undiagnosed ADHD and Autism. The knowledge that, no matter how many self-help books I read or social scripts I memorized, there was an immovable upper limit to my social battery.
Before we said goodbye, Frankie suggested I listen back to the audio transcript of our session - “you said some really cool things”. I pulled it up before writing this newsletter, listening to the moment when I finally accepted the things I couldn’t change about myself.
And that’s when it hit me.
For most of my career, academia tried to grind down my edges. But industry was finally rewarding them.
You're just another brick in the wall
Academia doesn’t just train you in research, it also trains you to conform. This isn't some rebellious teenage adage. In the most watched TED talk of all time, Ken Robinson argues that our education system doesn’t nurture creativity, it kills it:
What's it for, public education? I think you'd have to conclude, if you look at the output, who really succeeds by this, who does everything they should, who gets all the brownie points, who are the winners - I think you'd have to conclude the whole purpose of public education throughout the world is to produce university professors, isn't it? They're the people who come out on top. And I used to be one, so there.
This is true from kindergarten through graduate school. The students who "come out on top" are the students who are "pretty good" at everything - all the required subjects, in all the specific ways they are assessed.
These success metrics don't stop after your PhD either. Academics are expected to be competent at everything: research, teaching, grant writing, publishing, mentoring, service, public engagement. Being a "well-rounded" PhD isn’t just encouraged. It's required to succeed.
I really tried to fit the academic mold. But no matter how hard I worked, all my "hats" didn't quite fit. I dreaded data collection, even with the most adorable infants. My teaching evaluations often noted my "lack of enthusiasm." I was constantly asked to lead committees, yet department politics drained and frustrated me.
For years, I tried to be a better academic by "fixing" my "weaknesses". Then, I quit my post-doc.
Industry wants your sharp edges
Outside the ivory tower, I quickly realized that companies don’t expect you to be “pretty good” at everything. Companies hire specialists who have specific skills to solve specific problems. Especially in a competitive job market, it's the specialists that stand out.
Last year, for example, I worked at at a medical device company. As a Human Factors Engineer, I conducted research to ensure that our devices were safe and effective for surgeons to use. My company also employed:
- Technical Writers, who created FDA-compliant manuals for our devices
- Project Managers, who coordinated the development and launch of our devices
- Learning & Development Specialists, who trained everyone on regulatory requirements
As an engineer, I wasn’t expected to write technical manuals, coordinate large-scale projects, or deliver training, even though I have writing, project management, and teaching skills. I could have done those tasks. But those tasks weren't part of my job description. I wasn't a generalist anymore - I was a specialist.
This kind of specialization allowed me to finally lean into my research skills, my competitive edge, instead of trying unsuccessfully to round myself out. That's precisely where you need to start.
So, what's your edge?
After years of academic conformity and criticism, you might believe that you don’t have an competitive edge, that you’re not particularly “good” at anything. I’m here to tell you, in the most loving way possible, that you’re wrong.
You have an edge, you just can’t see it.
I developed a new framework to help you think about your competitive edge in industry. Your edge is at the intersection of two dimensions: the way you think (Big-Picture vs. Detail Oriented) and the way you work (Data-Focused vs. People-Focused).
- Vision & Strategy (Big-Picture & Data-Focused): You see patterns before other people do. You’re the person who predicts where things are headed. Consider a career in corporate strategy, R&D, or data analytics.
- Execution & Optimization (Detail-Oriented & Data-Focused): You’re the go-to problem-solver. You fix what’s broken and ensure everything runs like a well-oiled machine. Consider a career in project management, finance, or operations.
- Influence & Connection (Big-Picture & People-Focused): You’re the communicator and the storyteller. You know how to rally people behind an idea. Consider a career in marketing, advocacy, or business partnerships.
- People & Coordination (Detail-Oriented & People-Focused): You turn plans into action. You’re the one keeping everything (and everyone) on track. Consider a career in talent development, program management, or customer experience.
Where do you see yourself?
My edge is in Vision & Strategy.
I'm a Big-Picture, Data-Focused Thinker. It's why I felt unsatisfied in academia: why I struggled with execution-heavy research tasks and navigating department politics. It's also why I’ve been so drawn to business strategy and entrepreneurship over the past year. I have great pattern recognition, and I love a good marketing strategy, like this newsletter :)
I hate to admit it, but you’re likely better then me at coordinating logistics, managing processes, and building team culture. We don’t have the same competitive edge. And that’s a good thing.
Industry isn’t looking for well-rounded generalists. It’s looking for specialists, people with sharp edges: people who stand out and bring something unique to the table. The sharper your edge, the clearer your value. The clearer your value, the faster you'll get hired.
It's time to stop "fixing" your weaknesses and rounding yourself out for the sake of academic notions of success.
Find your edge and sharpen it.
