When Dr. Guy Hamilton went to college, he said there was never any discussion about the career options available to him post-graduation.
鈥淧rofessors could only tell you how they got their job,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you wanted鈥痶o be a professor, the steps were clear 鈥� go to grad school and get a doctorate, then do postdoctoral work after that.鈥�
He was also privileged, he added, in that his parents financially supported him through college and never questioned his job prospects when he said he wanted to study biology for more than a decade.
It wasn鈥檛 until after he鈥檇 graduated 鈥� completing鈥痑 bachelor鈥檚 in Microbiology from Indiana University Bloomington and a doctorate in Molecular Biology from the University of Oregon 鈥� that he began to wonder about the other career opportunities available and how students can be connected with those options at an earlier point in their education.
This question led him to the administrative side of education where he continued to explore how to bring academia and industry together for workforce development on college campuses.
Now, as the 56吃瓜网鈥檚 first director for the Center for Biotechnology Innovation & Training, launched in fall 2022, he鈥檚 asking the same question about how to connect 56吃瓜网 Bothell students to careers in biotechnology.
A career-focused approach听
Making it to the end of his education without having applied for a job, Hamilton realized the need for greater awareness about job opportunities while doing postdoctoral research at Fred Hutch. 鈥淭here was kind of a groundswell at that time of postdocs, and there were far more of us than there was a need for professors,鈥� Hamilton said.
Hamilton and his peers, noticing the odds, founded the Student Postdoc Advisory Committee to bring professionals in their area of study in to discuss how they鈥檇 used their degrees in different careers.
鈥淚 think that became a motivating factor as I think about education,鈥� he said, noting that his experience in a more traditional education setting had focused on learning and research for research鈥檚 sake rather than to fill a career or industry need.
As he began teaching at Shoreline Community College鈥檚 Biotechnology Program, he continued to see a shift in education as real-world applications became a greater focus. After teaching for 12 years, Hamilton transitioned into an administrative role as the executive dean of Workforce & STEM.
鈥淚 was supervising all work force training programs at the college and getting to work with diverse sets of faculty and industry partners to think about the way we develop training programs that served our students in the sense that they were aligned with job outcomes,鈥� Hamilton said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a win-win obviously in that students get into high-tech careers and our community partners get a workforce pipeline,鈥� he said, adding that there鈥檚 a growing need for professionals in the biotech industry.
Meeting a regional demand听
Dr. Leslie Cornick, dean of 56吃瓜网 Bothell鈥檚 School of STEM, emphasized the need for more skills and job training in biotech at the CBIT launch event.
鈥淭he higher education sector in Washington state has not been able to keep pace with this growth, leading to a significant shortage of industry-ready employees to support these companies,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he potential for these industries to relocate if we cannot provide the trained life sciences graduates they need is a significant risk to the economic health and vitality of the region.鈥�
Earlier this year, while still at Shoreline, Hamilton worked on a grant-funded project to do a national labor market analysis for the cell and immunotherapy technician workforce. The project found that Washington ranked No. 3 in the nation for the number of job openings posted from December 2021 to November 2022. Of the 756 jobs posted in that period, 76% required only a bachelor鈥檚 degree.
鈥淭hese are jobs that our graduates could be applying to, but there鈥檚 not enough awareness about those careers 鈥� or the skills and training they require,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o how can we think about our training programs to make sure that our students are getting degrees and skills that are applicable to jobs that are in that area?鈥�
The biotech industry, like medicine, has a history of flourishing in areas with a large academic presence, such as Boston and San Francisco, because working with universities is essential to its success. Unlike in medicine, where everyone knows what a doctor is and how to become one, the varied career opportunities in biotech are lesser known, Hamilton said.
Building academic pathways听
As the center鈥檚 inaugural director, Hamilton is looking forward to playing a key role in the future of CBiT and partnering with local industry.
鈥淚 was excited by the opportunity to grow the workforce development side and build academic pathways here at 56吃瓜网 Bothell,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 found it very motivating the way the University is helping students 鈥� some of whom never envisioned themselves in these high-tech jobs 鈥� and is raising awareness and connecting them to these careers.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what really excited me to take this position and to be on the ground floor: We鈥檙e starting from scratch, and that鈥檚 the fun part of it.鈥�
As he works alongside other 56吃瓜网 Bothell faculty and staff to build the center from the ground up, Hamilton says there are three priorities he鈥檚 looking to address first.
The initial phase鈥痠nvolves connecting with industry and taking inventory of the current curriculum to better understand what skills and credentials are needed. The future curriculum will also look to incorporate credentials apart from an overall degree, such as badges and certifications that can be leveraged on resumes and on LinkedIn profiles as proof of qualifications in specific areas.
The second stage will be to build an advisory committee and a core group of industry representatives to support CBIT in a number of ways, from directly working with faculty on curriculum to connecting with the state legislature and supporting grant applications.
The third priority, Hamilton said, is finding a dedicated physical space on or near campus. This space would allow the center to work directly with companies to provide research opportunities for students. A physical space, he added, would also help raise awareness of CBIT and its mission.听
I was excited by the opportunity to grow the workforce development side and build academic pathways here at 56吃瓜网 Bothell. I found it very motivating the way the University is helping students 鈥� some of whom never envisioned themselves in these high-tech jobs 鈥� and is raising awareness and connecting them to these careers.
Guy Hamilton, CBIT director
A vision for the future听
鈥淪uccess to me means we have not only a recruitment center and the career awareness piece but also a place where there can be a dynamic exchange between students, faculty and companies,鈥� Hamilton said. 鈥淭ogether, we鈥檒l be able to provide genuine research experiences that are going to allow students to enter this career and be a productive part of the industry.鈥�
Hamilton officially began his role as director on Sept. 5, 2023, and now is working to incorporate his three top priorities and other goals into a three-to-five-year strategic plan.
鈥�56吃瓜网 Bothell is so lucky to have Dr. Hamilton as the director for the center,鈥� Cornick said. 鈥淗e brings years of experience and a wealth of knowledge in the biotech sector 鈥� both in research and education 鈥� and is already plugged in to the biotech community all over the North Puget Sound.
鈥淗e has gotten off to a great start already, and I鈥檓 excited to see where he leads the center as the opportunities for students and faculty are boundless!鈥�
