Academia won’t teach you how to get hired in industry: the honest career journey of Fernando Guerrero

Fernando moved from sunny Spain to Finland 16 years ago. Since then, he has gone through academia, unemployment, entrepreneurship, startups, networking, layoffs, and career reinventions — multiple times.

In this episode, we talk honestly about:

• What it really feels like to build a career in Finland as an international
• Why networking matters more than sending CVs
• How to survive uncertainty, layoffs, and career changes
• Why do you sometimes need to stop “waiting to be chosen” and start showing your value

If you’re a researcher, PhD, postdoc, or someone thinking about leaving academia in Finland, this conversation is for you.

This episode is available on Spotify.

Could you first share a little more about yourself?

Yes. I’m Fernando Guerrero, originally from Spain, from the beautiful city of Seville. I studied biology there and later completed my PhD between Paris and my hometown. In 2010, I moved to Finland for a postdoctoral position because I wanted to continue my research in photosynthesis, plant biochemistry, and molecular biology.

I moved from Paris to Turku, which was quite a change, because there was an interesting research lab led by Eva-Mari Aro, a well-known professor in Finland, especially in the research community. I joined her lab, and that’s what originally brought me to Finland.

What has your career journey looked like during 16 years living in Finland?

Quite eclectic, actually. That’s why I wanted to share my story with your audience — because I’ve gone through almost every possible situation and learned a lot through trial and error.

I came to Finland with a contract already arranged at the University of Turku, where I worked on my postdoc for three years. During that time, my wife moved here as well. She’s a telecommunications engineer, and she had a very difficult time finding a job in Turku.

That’s something many people outside Finland don’t realize — the country is quite polarized professionally. Turku is strong in biomedicine and biology, but not in telecom, especially after the decline of Salo and Nokia-related industries. Eventually, my wife found a job in Espoo, but at first she had to commute by train every day. Later, she moved there, so for some time we were basically living in different cities and only seeing each other on weekends.

That situation motivated me to look for another postdoc in the Helsinki region. I found one at the University of Helsinki. Interestingly, I almost didn’t apply because I didn’t think I was the right fit. But I applied anyway — and I got the position.

That taught me an important lesson: sometimes you should be bold and apply even if you don’t think you’re a perfect match. Employers may see value in your background that you don’t even recognize in yourself.

In my case, the lab focused on protein engineering and structural biology, while my background was different. But the principal investigator realized I had experience isolating large membrane protein complexes, which turned out to be exactly what they needed. So I was hired because of that specific skill.

I worked there for a couple of years, and then our son was born. Honestly, becoming a father changed my perspective. I started thinking more about contributing something meaningful to society. The research I was doing was interesting, but it was very fundamental science without a direct real-world application. I felt I wanted to do something more practical and impactful.

At that point, I tried applying for many jobs in companies, but nobody hired me. So I decided to try entrepreneurship.

A few years earlier, I had taken a meditation course led by a life coach. That experience really inspired me. When I started thinking about what I could do outside academia, I realized I wanted to help people the way he had helped me.

So I completed life coaching training, became an ICF-certified coach, and started my own coaching business. I also taught meditation and even worked with some company clients.

One thing that made it possible was Finland’s startup grant. Without that support, I probably wouldn’t have started the business.

Another thing that helped tremendously was networking. When you jump into a completely new field, you know nobody, and nobody knows you. Coming from academia, I had no understanding of business, marketing, sales, or accounting. I had to learn everything from scratch.

That’s when I joined BNI — Business Network International. Since most people in my network were researchers, I needed to build a business network from zero. I found BNI to be a very good investment. You meet weekly with other business owners, exchange referrals, and help each other. Beyond business opportunities, you also gain access to people with expertise in finance, marketing, and entrepreneurship who can answer your questions.

I always encourage people: if you don’t have a network, there are ways to build one.

My coaching company was called “Soturi Coaching” — basically a Finnish version of my surname. But after about two and a half years, I realized the business wasn’t financially sustainable. Closing it was emotionally difficult because it feels like admitting failure after building something yourself. But sometimes you have to let go in order to move forward.

After that, I joined the Aalto Global Talent FEC program. It’s a collaboration between Aalto University, unemployed professionals, and companies. Companies pay around €8,000 to Aalto, and in exchange, they can work with you for six months while you also receive training — almost like a mini MBA.

It was actually very competitive. Around 220 people entered the program, but only 17 found placements. I had less than a month to secure a company.

I found mine by approaching a company called Nolla Antimicrobial. They worked with antimicrobial silver-based technology, and while reviewing their team, I noticed they had many engineers but no biologist. So I contacted them and basically said: “You’re working with microbes, but you don’t have a biologist in your team.”

That angle worked.

I completed the six months, and they later hired me full-time. Unfortunately, after COVID the company eventually went bankrupt, but the experience itself was extremely valuable.

After that, I joined an incubator from Helsinki University called Circulator, to develop an idea I had on aquaponics. But soon after, I co-founded a startup called Molt Food Tech, focused on vegan cheese, that was participating in another incubator: Viikki Food Design Factory. That opportunity to start a company came through networking. An ex-colleague connected me with a chef who needed someone with scientific expertise to help build credibility and manage lab work.

We produced and sold products in supermarkets on a small scale, but we never secured major investment, so eventually we had to close the company. Still, the experience, connections, and lessons were invaluable.

Later, I joined Puro.earth as a Scientific Advisor. Puro.earth is a carbon credits registry and the leader in engineered carbon removal. Interestingly, I got that role simply by applying online — no networking involved. Sometimes luck also plays a role.

I worked there for two years until my contract ended last November. Now I’m officially unemployed again, but I remain very active.

I’m involved in an association called ACEFI — the Association of Spanish Scientists in Finland. We organize science communication events, workshops, and networking opportunities. We’ve already seen people find jobs through connections made there.

I also mentor students through the Biotech Club at the University of Helsinki, especially researchers who want to transition from academia to industry. And I collaborate with ATLAN Venture Studio as a scientific advisor, evaluating startup ideas and technologies from an investor perspective.

Listening to your story, it feels like there was never really a moment when you could completely relax and feel secure about the future. Finland can feel unstable sometimes — short contracts, layoffs, constant uncertainty. How do you stay positive through all of this?

I’m not positive all the time, honestly. Of course, there are moments when I feel exhausted and think about moving back to Spain and spending my days at the beach.

But I try to see life as building something bigger. Every experience adds another piece to the puzzle. Even random experiences eventually connect and create something meaningful.

I also try to treat challenges almost like a game. You try, you fail, you try again, you level up. If something doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean your life is over — it just means you need another strategy.

And despite high unemployment, many people are still employed. So the goal is simply to move from one group to the other. Statistically, the employed group is still larger.

You mentioned mentoring researchers who want to move into industry. What advice do you usually give them?

The biggest thing is changing their mindset.

In academia, your value is based on publications, years of experience, impact factors, and titles. You wait for others to recognize your expertise.

Industry works differently. Companies care about the value you can bring to them right now.

That’s why I always tell people: don’t just send CVs — send proposals. Explain how you can help the company, what problems you can solve, and why hiring you benefits them.

I’ve seen many brilliant researchers struggle because they present themselves like academics instead of business professionals.

I also noticed that many opportunities in your life came through networking. How can job seekers network without feeling needy or uncomfortable?

By doing things.

You meet people naturally when you participate in activities you genuinely enjoy. I’ve met people through football, music, business associations, incubators, volunteering — everywhere.

I play trumpet in a symphonic orchestra, for example. That’s 50 new people I interact with regularly.

Networking doesn’t mean begging for jobs. It means building relationships through shared interests and shared activities. Humans naturally help people they know and trust.

If you could go back to Finland 16 years ago with all the knowledge you have now, what would you do differently?

I would be much more strategic.

When you first arrive somewhere, you mostly react and survive. You don’t really have a long-term plan because you don’t yet understand the system.

Now I would think much more carefully about where I want to go professionally and what kind of career I want to build long-term.

Maybe my journey would have been safer — though perhaps less fun. But I would definitely approach things more strategically.

About Fernando Guerrero: 

Fernando Guerrero is a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry who moved to Finland in 2010 for a postdoctoral position at the University of Turku. After a second postdoc at the University of Helsinki, he stepped away from academia and reinvented his career multiple times: running his own coaching practice, managing lab operations and product development at a deep-tech company, co-founding a food tech venture, and working as a scientific advisor in the carbon removal space. Along the way he also founded and became President of ACEFI, the Association of Spanish Scientists in Finland. His eclectic profile and unconventional path through Finnish working life is packed with lessons you won't find in any relocation guide.