The School of Polymer Science and Engineering recently invited the vice president of the Research and Development sector of Sika, Kevin Rhudy, for a career talk. Sika is one of the leading companies in the production and development of systems for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protection in the building sector and automotive industry. It has subsidiaries in over 100 countries and over 400 locations. With over 33,000 employees, Sika has various different people on the team. Sika hires polymer engineers for research and Rhudy gave a talk on what working there was like and what type of candidates they are looking for. He also spoke briefly about how working is different from college. The talk was held over food that Sika provided to the students who attended the event.
Rhudy graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Polymer Science and Engineering from Southern Miss in 2002 and got his Ph.D. in the same field in 2008 from the University. He then went on to pursue a career in SIKA. After becoming an executive in the company, he decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Carlson School of Management so he could not only work as a researcher but also in marketing the products.
“I got a Master’s in Business Administration so I could speak their language in a business meeting room and explain why their business growth projection is stupid,” Rhudy joked.
Rhudy talked about some important points to consider if one wants to pursue a career in research. He explained that while the researcher and the people in their field might know why their research is important, investors, who are most often not experts in the field, will not know that. That is why it is so important for researchers to be able to explain their research in simple terms.
“When I explained my research, I said I watched paint dry and wanted it to dry more efficiently,” Rhudy explained. “Of course, there is a lot more that goes into it but investors are not gonna know or care about that. I just needed them to see why my research was worth funding.”
He also talked about how life may not always go as planned when you are working as a researcher. He mentioned a running joke in his department that if you wanted to move to a different country, you would have to buy a house. And he explained how he had to move to Germany almost as soon as he put in the down payment for a house in the United States.
Rhudy also talked about how working in the industry is much different than college. He explained that he barely remembered much of what he studied in college because he does not need to use the information on a daily basis anymore. And he mentioned that working on his Ph.D. was probably when he felt like he was the most knowledgeable academically.
After his talk, Rhudy answered some questions from the audience.
