Neychelle Fernandes, PhD, MBA, started her career in science at UC Irvine and UNC Chapel Hill. Following a postdoctoral fellowship at San Diego’s Scripps Research, Neychelle became a staff scientist with Kythera BioPharmaceuticals. Then, she made a strategic career pivot, earning an MBA from the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine, laying a foundation for a transition to product development and then sales and customer success roles. She worked as a product manager at Masimo and Boston Scientific in California before moving to a Senior Product Manager role at Philips, a Dutch multinational health technology company, in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India in 2017. She is currently Head of Customer Success with BrainSightAI.
What were some of the most significant challenges you faced when transitioning to an international scientific career, and how did you overcome them?
I was born and raised in India, and I completed my undergraduate in India. I moved to the US for my PhD and worked for almost 10 years in the US before moving back to India. So, the first biggest challenge was getting used to the work environment here.
You are expecting that [since] you’re from the same country, that it will be an easy transition culturally. I can tell you, it’s not. Understanding business norms, what is acceptable, what is not acceptable, can take a while. People also view you differently, right? Even though you’re Indian, they know you’ve spent a significant amount of time abroad; the way you talk, the words you use, everything can be different. A little bit of clique-iness happens. If you have a difference of opinion, it might get slotted as you’re the outsider. You can feel a little bit picked on or left out.
It is actually beneficial to bring a different outlook and a different business mindset, because there are some good things that also come from the American ways of working, right? You have to be comfortable owning that opinion and understanding where it comes from and be able to express it.
You must also be open to understanding and listening to different perspectives. Watch how people interact. Take time to build personal relationships with new colleagues, like maybe a cup of coffee with a new person to understand where they come from. For example, Indians start their day later. I was so used to being in the office at eight o’clock, right? Here people start trickling into the office at 9, 10 o’clock, have breakfast at work, then start working. Lunch is much later, so it’s a little bit different, even silly things like that, you kind of have to get used to.
What advice would you give to other women in science who are considering pursuing international opportunities, but may be hesitant or unsure where to start?
As you know, it’s not like you apply for a job and you get it. To find a job in an international setting, you have to start by building networks outside of the US. It’s not easy. It will take time. You have built your entire career in the US; you have all your professional networks in the US; you have built your credibility there. So, you have to figure out what you’re interested in; be cognizant of the kind of roles that are available to you.
Then look at your network of friends, family, and colleagues who can help you make connections. Which of them have gone to those other regions and have built their networks and are at those locations who are in those target locations and fields of work, working in roles that you see yourself in? What companies are hiring for your target roles?
Sometimes people are pretty open to giving you a Whatsapp call or something. I found certain companies that I’m interested in and reached out to a senior person – or the CEO or founder, if it’s a smaller company – for a conversation, expressed an interest in a specific role. I did not just apply for it. I tried to find somebody who’s connected, who’s actually knew the hiring manager, or some loose connection, even If it’s cold calling. I’ve had more success that way, where I’ve reached out and I’ve had a conversation with the person. It’s not been recruiters or specific career websites.
If you can’t find a connection, apply and see what happens! When I was applying from the U.S., I found the Philips role. My resume and experience fit very well. I applied and they reached out. It was just the right place, right time, and the hiring manager had a very similar profile as me. But since then, all my roles in India, I can tell you, have been through networking.
You can also try recruiters. If you find that there are certain recruiters that are very specific for your international target, have a conversation, but I wouldn’t spend any money on paid services. I’ve had conversations with recruiters, but I can’t say any of those have really converted. The ones that have really converted have been where I have actually reached out to people. Do your research, then have a conversation.
How has your international experience shaped your perspective on scientific collaboration and innovation, particularly with regard to gender diversity in STEM?
There are a lot of younger women in science in India. A majority are postdocs or professors in Indian institutes and research universities. Even in industry, the ratios are pretty high. But when it comes to very senior roles, you know, VP, chancellors, some of the policymakers are still predominantly male. Because that younger crop of women hasn’t permeated or reached the top. There has been a lot of push for diversity in India in the last two years, but the way it happens puts a negative connotation on women. Once when I applied for a director level role, the recruiter said, “Oh, that’s great, that you’re a woman, because this is a diversity hire.” I was really put off. I had a good shot because I actually had the expertise and was the best hire for that role.
In terms of numbers, it’s not like you’d be walking into a scenario where there are all men. There’ll be a good number of women in any work situation in India, and there are different organizations, a women’s engineering network, women in science, etc. I attended a couple, although I’m not part of any organization. Recently I attended one event, which was for BAGGGEL, started by somebody who used to work in the tech industry. It is for encouraging women in senior leadership, interested in being a CEO. I think these organizations are a great way to meet new women, to network, and to build that foundation.
How has working outside the US opened up career paths you hadn’t considered or couldn’t have pursued in the US?
As early as 2009, I was having conversations with people about moving back to India at some point, and there were no jobs for science folks. There were very few senior scientists research jobs in the India market at my level, that would interest me. So, I had to make a transition to commercial products development. So, I went back to business school to make that shift to product development.
When I moved back to India, I moved with Philips in a product role. Once I landed in India and I was working with Philips, I realized, even with product development roles there, there’s pretty much a ceiling; it’s just GE, Philips, and Siemens, and very few senior roles.
So, I made another conscious shift to more software, SaaS products. I worked with Compass and Elucidata and now BrainSight AI, all early-stage startups, but really pure software products in roles that were sales and customer success.
You have to be open to making a shift, open to learning new things other than science research. But if you’re that kind of person who’s curious, loves learning new things and analytical thinking, and you’re open to putting in the time to learn then you can make the transition to software products, tech, writing in other industries, product development in other alternate industries. You’ll have to really seek out, read more, talk to more people, really spend time with people to learn new things. So, you have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable because growth happens when you are uncertain and uncomfortable. Know what your goals and priorities are and also know what you can handle in terms of uncertainty and uncomfortable feelings.
Read about other women who have explored a global pathway.
Georgina To’a Salazar, PhD, works to create innovative solutions in science communication, research, and policy. With a BS in chemical engineering from Stanford University and a PhD in biomedical engineering from the University of California, Irvine, Dr. Salazar has fulfilled her dream of exploring the world, having taken research positions in Singapore and Japan before returning to the United States to focus on science communication. She currently works as a freelance scientific writer through her small business, Redwood Scientific Communications, LLC.