I've often found that when the title of a research paper poses a question, the answer is ultimately 'no'. I discovered much the same when I posed a careers-experiment question: might a 'take a scientist to work' day be a good idea?

Last month, I set out explore my potential career 'plan B' — the world of industry consulting. I wanted to be proactive. In an effort to move beyond informational interviews, I sought to experience 'a day in the life' of successful consultants working in the life sciences.

To date, I have made two local freelance consultants scratch their heads over my request to visit them at work. Both declined my proposal, in part to protect client confidentiality and largely because their work simply involves hours hunched over a computer. Perhaps I have already collected as much useful information as possible from the people whose industry careers I'm thinking of emulating. Maybe my next move should be a riskier one: leave academia and become an intern at a consulting firm, and/or pursue a Master's of Business Administration.

But I'm not quite ready to change. My lab work is going well, I have many months left on my contract, and my mentors and colleagues continue to support me and assure me that that elusive tenure-track job will materialize. I've promised myself before: academia will have to 'kick me out' before I leave the work I love. But with the gloomy economy, will that be sooner rather than later? I hope the answer is 'no'.