Happen To Your Career - Meaningful Work, Career Change, Career Design, & Job Search Career Pivot from Biotech Without Starting Over: How Bre Gjurich-Wozniak Built Flexible, Purpose-Driven Work
Dec 29, 2025
Bre Gjurich-Wozniak, a former biotech R&D and regulatory director who pivoted to a portfolio consulting career focused on biotechnology and animal welfare. She explains why she left a predictable path, how career experiments revealed grant writing and science communication fits, and how she designed a flexible, values-aligned consulting model while managing doubt and staying selective.
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Decision Triggered By Two Five Year Plans
- Bre left a director-level biotech/regulatory role after comparing two five-year plans and feeling one future was draining while the other energized her.
- The side-by-side planning exercise and accumulating misalignment (company vision shifts, unwanted SME duties, and a sick dog) pushed her to resign months earlier than planned.
Hand Off Work With Exhaustive Transition Notes
- When leaving a small company, build a detailed transition plan that maps projects, contacts, and file locations to avoid leaving colleagues stranded.
- Bre produced exhaustive status notes, vendor contacts, and file locations so teammates could pick up work smoothly.
Short Networking Calls Reveal Hidden Fit
- The Social Goldilocks experiment turned exploratory conversations into unexpected career signals, revealing fits Bre hadn't imagined like grant writing for shelters.
- She messaged ~20 organizations for 15-minute chats; most turned into hour-long talks and suggested concrete roles matching her writing and science skills.