Universities Tailor Management Degrees to Science

Dilbert reprinted by permission of United Feature Syndicate Inc. Are you a bench scientist looking for promotion or a change of pace? Highly coveted upper-management positions don't always fall into the laps of the most technically competent people in the company. Unfortunately, everything that scientists learn about the natural world doesn't necessarily prepare them for the ins and outs of business. Often, the only lesson that scientists carry into business from science is the Darwinian princi

Written byBrent Johnson
| 9 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
9:00
Share

Dilbert reprinted by permission of United Feature Syndicate Inc.
Are you a bench scientist looking for promotion or a change of pace? Highly coveted upper-management positions don't always fall into the laps of the most technically competent people in the company. Unfortunately, everything that scientists learn about the natural world doesn't necessarily prepare them for the ins and outs of business. Often, the only lesson that scientists carry into business from science is the Darwinian principle of "survival of the fittest."

Photo: G. Steve Jordan PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: At the William Simon School at University of Rochester, where Clifford W. Smith Jr. is shown teaching a class here, the coursework is custom tailored to suit students' career goals. To meet the needs of the growing biotechnology industry, a new breed of management programs designed for scientists has emerged. It's not enough to be an executive with good management skills, or a ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Published In

Share
Image of a man in a laboratory looking frustrated with his failed experiment.
February 2026

A Stubborn Gene, a Failed Experiment, and a New Path

When experiments refuse to cooperate, you try again and again. For Rafael Najmanovich, the setbacks ultimately pushed him in a new direction.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter logo
Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

bioxcell

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Pioneers Life Sciences Innovation with High-Quality Bioreagents on Inside Business Today with Bill and Guiliana Rancic

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Expands Research Reagent Portfolio to Support Global Nipah Virus Vaccine and Diagnostic Development

Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Partners with Automata to Accelerate AI-Ready Laboratory Automation

Refeyn logo

Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies