Not all graduate school graduates head for the benches or the halls of academia. In fact, I decided shortly before completing my dissertation that I wanted to take my degree in a different direction. I chose to work for a non-profit agency, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, although there are positions in similar organizations like the American Cancer Society and the American Diabetes Association throughout the country. Far from being out of the realm of science, I found that working for a non-profit voluntary health association provided me with the academic stimulation of a wide range of research projects on a regular basis.

The Muscular Dystrophy Association, like most voluntary health associations, is in the business of gathering money from donors and dispersing that money to fund research that supports the organization's goals. Association staff facilitate the solicitation and review of grant applications, and then help oversee those grants as the work is completed.

The pace while working in a non-profit agency varies but, in general, it tends to be faster and more frenetic than working in a lab. In my organization, the members of our scientific advisory committees work all over the United States and we get together as a group a couple of times per year. The rest of the time, we communicate by email and by phone. Instead of dealing with one project in a linear fashion, I and those on my team can be a part of the evaluation of hundreds of different project updates, all of which have to be periodically reviewed and renewed.

Grant applications can come from academia, from biotechnology or pharmaceutical firms, or from firms that make medical devices. Grants are approved when they are applicable to the goals of the Association. Rather than doing the research yourself, if you choose to work for a non-profit agency, you are part of the evaluation and critique of hundreds of projects being done all over the world. Some of the evaluation is done online and on an individual basis; other times, committees convene in order to collectively discuss the way the research is going.

The working environment at a non-profit association is less insular than the typical research laboratory—I regularly communicate and work with people from many different departments within my organization. Externally, my job in the non-profit sector means working with scientists, business people, the National Institutes of Health, federal regulators, patients, and donors. You have to be able to speak many different "languages" and wear many hats to work in this world.

In some cases, there may be more travel when working with a non-profit association than working in academia. Large non-profits are tightly connected with the federal government and meetings before Congress are not out of the question. I have traveled to Washington DC to lobby before Congress on behalf of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. There may be meetings with federal regulators or with the NIH. No two days are the same and there is often a never-ending stream of phone calls, meetings and grant reviews.

I find that my ability to see the big picture in my field of research is greatly enhanced by working with a non-profit organization. Because the grant applications come from all areas of the field, I am able to see how all of the research is headed and there is less likelihood of being overly focused in just one area of research or one field of study. In addition, you can affect the direction of an entire field of study through the development of research policy and strategic funding programs.

There are large and small non-profit organizations, which may affect your job title and how much of the workload you take on. Some non-profit agencies work with many millions of dollars to give away; others have considerably less than that. Either way, you are at the forefront of a particular field of research and your skills are considerably valued for your ability to understand and evaluate the scientific aspects of your field.

In some ways the independence you develop in research will be put to good use. For instance, much of the time at your job at a non-profit organization will be self-regulated. Many positions are self-defined and, just as in research, the work is driven by those things that need to be accomplished. You need to have good problem-solving skills and the ability to trust your own judgment.

If you have a passion for an area of biology, biomedicine, medicine or a related field, and feel as though you want to be involved at the core of the research being done in that field, consider working for a non-profit organization in your area of interest. Your skills will be appreciated, and you may find yourself challenged by the pace of working in a complex research landscape.