Science Lives

Science Lives provides information about lesser-known careers that rely on a science education and scientific way of thinking. Scientists working in these fields tell us about their jobs and the personal journeys that led to them. Science Lives strives to be both informative and inspirational, providing reassurance to those unsure of what their next steps are and where they will lead

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Science Lives

Vay Cao, Marketing Manager

July 01, 2022 • Peter Coward • Episode 44

In this episode, I speak with Vay Cao, Senior Marketing Manager for Natera, a molecular diagnostics company. Interested in science at an early age, Vay studied microbiology as an undergraduate at Penn State University, and then neuroscience as a graduate student at Brown University, where she earned her PhD. But her deeper interests lay more at the intersection of art and human behavior, and so although her first job was as a field application scientist, she soon transitioned into customer support, marketing, and sales. During this time she also earned an MBA from Quantic School of Business and Technology. Outside of work, Vay founded Free the PhD, which provides a variety of resources to graduate students, PhDs, and postdocs to help them find careers outside of academia. We’ll talk about all these experiences and of course find out about what her job is like.

Resources:
Free the PhD