I’ve been wondering lately... is there a career path in STEM where you can move out of the lab but not into people management?
I enjoy the science, but I’m not sure leading a team or managing people is what I want next.
Are there roles that stay technical or strategic without becoming a manager? Or is management the default path out of the lab?

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How do you feel about fundraising? Because STEM always needs help finding funding.

Do people get paid for that or is it more like charity?

You could think about a role like technical product manager. You'd be deciding what to build and why, and you'd be leading product not people. Another area might be regulatory affairs, your science background would be a big advantage there.

Great points.

A lot of companies now have individual contributor tracks where you can grow without managing people roles like principal scientist, staff engineer, or technical specialist. Have you looked into organizations that offer those paths, or does your current workplace mostly push management as the next step?

Well my current organization does have a technical path but you are still supposed to have a lab presence even if it is only 1-2 days/week

If you want to get out of the lab but to stay in STEM without becoming a manager, consider leaving industry for academia.

There are research positions, teaching aides, academic lab staff and even actual teaching (but that gets awfully close to managing people) (worse - managing kids!).

I ran a lab for 30 years and am now getting out of it because new owners "restructured" me out. So far it looks like I'm getting back into dealing collectibles (my job before the lab). I'm overqualified for most Lab positions and underqualified for most Research positions.

Wanna buy any old comic books?

Lol interesting. Sorry to hear.

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I'm in the same situation, the only progression is to be a senior officer rather than just an officer. It's a more technical advise role than doing the technical work yourself. Anything else seems to be management and meetings.

👍

I moved into quality systems that support the lab. Instrument management and repair, equipment validation, data integrity and compliance.

I enjoy it alot and its beneficial to know science and how things actually work. Its a non standard track but its certainl out there. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

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