Over at the community blog MetaFilter, user qxntpqbbbqxl is soliciting career advice on behalf of his or her wife, a newly minted PhD whose research foci were biochemistry and mammalian physiology. "She's burnt out on academia and thinking about industry research jobs, but we don't even know where to start looking," qxntpqbbbqxl says.
In response, users suggest a variety of outlets, beyond what qxntpqbbbqxl calls the "obvious candidates … biotech and pharmaceuticals." Among the non-bench-centric suggestions are consulting, policy, science writing, IP, and investment banking work.
When it comes to working in industry, user Tandem Affinity suggests "networking and concentrating on gaining marketable skills" from the get-go. "I went direct from the PhD to industry research. The first position was fairly crappy but got my foot in the door and I have moved upward," Tandem Affinity says.