Building a successful career in Biotech | Practical career tips to land a job and succeed

In this episode of GN Inspire Podcast, we speak with Kelvin, the top #KCSE 2011 student in Nyeri County in Kenya, whose journey took him to #Equity Leadership Program #harvarduniversity University and now to becoming a successful #scientist in #biotech in Boston. He shares honest lessons from building a career in the biotech industry, including why careers aren’t linear, the value of starting small, learning from failure, and asking questions. -- Watch more similar videos here: Guests -    • GN Inspire Guests   How To -    • How To   Awaken Your Potential -    • Dr Gladys Ngetich - Awaken Your Potential   -- Register for MBB Management Consulting Masterclass here: https://forms.gle/NBmCWb4k1oDqZ8um9 -- Get my books here: 1. Awaken Your Potential: https://a.co/d/4ds0qMk 2. PhD Journey book: https://www.amazon.com/-/dp/1636181740 --- Be part of our Inspire Nation community! Add your email to stay connected and get early access to future opportunities - https://forms.gle/nkiTsy6FsYcunYwNA Read more here: https://www.gladysngetich.com --- Scholarships and Opportunities for Students ● Scholarships for Development - https://www.scholars4dev.com ● Opportunities for Africans - https://www.opportunitiesforafricans.com ● Academic Positions - https://academicpositions.com/find-jobs ● Scholarship Positions - https://scholarship-positions.com ● Study Portals Scholarships - https://www.scholarshipportal.com ● Opportunity Desk - https://opportunitydesk.org ● Find masters: https://www.findamasters.com ● Find a PhD: https://www.findaphd.com ● Study in China - https://www.campuschina.org ● MOFCOM - http://sie.xjtu.edu.cn/en/index.htm ● China Scholarship Council - https://www.chinesescholarshipcouncil... ● Schmidt Science Fellowship - http://schmidtsciencefellows.org ● AfOx - https://www.afox.ox.ac.uk/education ● KAAD Scholarship - https://www.kaad.de/en/stipendien ● DAAD Scholarships - https://www.daad.de/en/ Follow us on TikTok: GN Inspire -- https://www.tiktok.com/@gn.inspire?_t... Follow us on Instagram: GN Inspire --   / gn.inspire   Follow us on Twitter: GN Inspire -- https://x.com/GN_Inspire Disclaimer!!! The views and opinions expressed on this channel are those of the host and guests and do not represent the positions of any organizations or employers they may be affiliated with. The content is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. Timestamp [00:00:00] Introduction and Kelvin’s biotech role [00:00:59] Immune system focus and diseases [00:01:28] Day-to-day lab work overview [00:02:03] Research, reading, testing compounds [00:02:18] Early aspirations in Kenya and career shift [00:02:54] Aiming to be a doctor [00:03:45] Limited exposure to scientists [00:04:10] University of Nairobi ambitions [00:05:01] Rewards of being a scientist; Boston life [00:05:25] Comfortable salary and passion [00:05:53] Challenging dogma and probing ideas [00:07:00] Boston lifestyle and cultural perks [00:08:28] Breaking into biotech: path, company, applications [00:08:28] Starting late; seek lab experience [00:10:28] From lab tech to scientist [00:11:09] Strand Therapeutics and mRNA focus [00:12:43] Best strategy: LinkedIn outreach [00:14:07] Build rapport; internal referrals [00:14:39] From Karima Boys to Harvard via Equity [00:15:01] High school at Karima Boys [00:17:19] How I got into #EquityLeaderProgram [00:17:51] Equity Global Leaders induction [00:18:04] Exposure to global universities [00:19:05] Applying and Harvard acceptance [00:20:18] Financial aid and settling challenges [00:20:18] Equity support and SAT prep [00:21:19] Need-based funding by universities [00:22:34] Covering personal needs and jobs [00:23:46] Adapting to winter and climate [00:24:11] Food adjustments and new friendships [00:25:00] Adapting to US academics and confidence [00:26:02] From top student to peers of equals [00:27:20] Early friendships ease transition [00:28:29] Acceptance, collaboration, realistic goals [00:29:31] Looking back: prioritize connections too [00:29:31] Would you change anything? [00:30:39] Balance academics with networking [00:32:19] Advice to aspiring scientists and closing lesson [00:32:42] Challenge dogma; ask why [00:33:22] Nonlinear paths; be flexible [00:34:30] Treat jobs as learning; startups [00:35:14] Failure reframed as learning [00:35:37] Everyone is learning; ask questions [00:38:41] Closing thanks and sign-off #biotechnology #biotech #biotechcareers #biotechjobs #scientist #EquityLeaderProgram