My family is full of academics and can be skeptical of research done in industry, as if its more pragmatic nature makes it less pure or interesting.
Growing up in that environment, I was insulated from the reality that many real-world problems are tedious, have solid but not especially novel solutions, and are still important, interesting, and satisfying to tackle. I first realized this while wrangling data in fintech and benefits administration.
What do you enjoy about working in industry? A family member asked me *the* question again recently.
I instinctively replied with how important it is, to me, to help people find high-quality and timely care (something I get to do every day at Garner Health!). Who hasn’t been frustrated by the opacity, complexity, and general dysfunction of the U.S. healthcare system? Having lived in the U.K. and Bangladesh before college, I was struck by how broken things are when I moved here.
That answer didn’t satisfy him. Why not go into academic research and work on novel solutions to healthcare problems? You have one, brief life!
I hold academic research in high regard and enjoy hearing about my family’s work. I loved studying economics and closely follow research in health and labor economics. And I enjoy novelty as much as the next person.
But reflecting a bit more, I’ve come to really value the pragmatic nature of the problem-solving I do in industry. You encounter a problem, clarify the desired outcomes, research solutions, and weigh their estimated impacts and trade-offs. Then you get to build and experiment! Your work is judged primarily by its impact (or maybe I’ve been lucky to work at excellent organizations), not by whether it’s novel for novelty’s sake. And yes, you’re allowed to be novel too. What is novelty if not solving a thorny problem?
There’s no pressure to use machine learning where it doesn’t belong or to run a contrived field experiment just to publish. Sometimes the right solution is straightforward, even boring, but that doesn’t (or shouldn’t!) change its value.
This clarity, and the ability to make a meaningful impact quickly, has been one of the most enjoyable things about working in industry.