Is it better to be a research scientist in industry than in academia or vice verse?
Which one do you like to be? haha.
It depends on personal choice. Thus, we cant generalize.
This is an interesting question, although it's a "chicken and egg" one. There are the following parts. Industry, Academia and Researcher or Team of researchers. It is known that some industries have their own facilities but also some others buy the services of Universities by giving grants to Departments that do the research for them. Not every industry has the budget to allow and build a research laboratory. If a Researcher or his team works directly in the industry's lab it means that he/she is attached with a contract to this particular firm and as an employee has his/her salary and all credit from any findings is going to be taken by the firm and possibly the researcher will have a bonus. If on the other hand the researcher works in University the salary is linked with the institution and if the subject of the research is not linked with a direct industrial grant he/she will need to apply for financial support. This is a prolonged and sometimes painful procedure. Credit of the findings go to University and potentially to the firm and no bonus will be received as this is the researcher's duty to the University, to perform research. The next part is team-work. Researcher's personality is paramount to how and where he/she will prefer to work. Is he/she the "boss"? Does he/she take all credit instead of the team? Is this going to have an impact to the career in the industry or university? Is he/she ready to share with a superior about the ideas he/she may produce? In conclusion, the answer is very personal and may change according to the circumstances from project to project. And the question may stay alive forever if the researcher does not decide of what he/she wants to do.
For Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals areas, its better to be associated with Industry
I would rather have a scientist with industry experience, than one without for a faculty position, so the best compromise is to hire one on a part-time basis to students gain from their industry experience while learning in the classroom.
Best regards,
Debra
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