Today we speak with my dear friend Dr. Basak Candamir, who currently manages a small team of analysts in the field of research impact, and whose path has taken many unexpected turns!
In our chat, we look into a lot of things, from passions to stigmas to the constraints that reality puts on our choices…
First things first: do we really need a passion? There seems to be a pressure to actually have one. Moreover, the earlier you have it, the more genuine it is! But for many, there isn’t such unique thing that somehow guides decisions and provides meaning… So…Should that be a problem? Should one feel she or he is leading a lesser life? Of course not! Curiosity, dedication and an itch for new experiences can actually provide as a good a blueprint for professional decision making as anything else! In fact, if we keep trying and learning, we may even find a passion! Basak went from hard sciences to social sciences, from academia to policy, from policy to sales and then into an analytical role within the private sector. It turns out there may be something linking all these dots: asking questions and providing value to collaborators (scientific or not) or clients by understanding their needs, learning new things by changing roles are just some of the things that Basak click. Maybe these are her passions? J
Moving to the corporate world was the hardest jump! The scariest thing, however, was intangible and hard to pìn down: it was stigma! One might internalise a mild lingering bias, in scientific environments, whereby other human activities are not only less intellectually engaging that science but also “less pure”. That’s obviously just a prejudice, and luckily an increasingly less common one. We talked about how getting rid of it actually opens up a lot of opportunities: experimenting in new roles and industries is most likely a very good idea! Especially if you lack a clear passion!
Last but not least, life is tough and unexpected! Lots of decisions get taken just because things get rough… Economic needs, political instability, pandemics, unexpected personal circumstances sometimes make planning a silly luxury and damage control much more relevant! Accepting constraints is not only wise, it may also open new doors as long as we stay open.
Thanks Basak for your time! And to the rest: enjoy the podcast!
