---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By that time I was hooked on a career in…"
description: "\"By that time I was hooked on a career in academic research instead of one in the pharmaceutical industry that I had originally considered in deciding t..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/paul-berg-36362_academic_by-that-time-i-was-hooked-on-a-career-in_1261789.png"
---

#  By that time I was hooked on a career in academic research…

![“By that time I was hooked on a career in academic research instead of one in the pharmaceutical industry that I had originally considered in deciding to get a PhD.” quote by Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/paul-berg-36362_academic_by-that-time-i-was-hooked-on-a-career-in_1261789.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/paul-berg-36362_academic_by-that-time-i-was-hooked-on-a-career-in_1261789.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/paul-berg-36362_academic_by-that-time-i-was-hooked-on-a-career-in_1261789.png)

> “By that time I was hooked on a career in academic research instead of one in the pharmaceutical industry that I had originally considered in deciding to get a PhD.”

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Choosing academia over industry reflects a shift toward curiosity‑driven work rather than profit‑driven goals.

**In simple terms:** He chose research for its intrinsic value.

Key Takeaway

Follow passions over external rewards.

Themes

career choice research values

Mood

thoughtful inspirational

Type

career philosophical

When to use this quote

- graduate school decision
- career planning
- research funding decisions

Key Concepts

intrinsic motivation academic freedom

Questions to Reflect On

- What values guide your career decisions?
- How do you balance passion with practicality?

A Different Perspective

Academic paths may offer less financial stability.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Academic research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic-research/) [Career](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/career/) [Considered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considered/) [Deciding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deciding/) [Deciding Phd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deciding-phd-4013979/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Hooked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hooked/) [Industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry/) [Industry Originally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industry-originally-4013981/) [Instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instead/) [Instead Pharmaceutical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instead-pharmaceutical-4013980/) [Originally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originally/) [Pharmaceutical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pharmaceutical/) [Pharmaceutical industry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pharmaceutical-industry/) [Phd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phd/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Research Instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research-instead-2818959/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [Very few entrepreneurs start their business on the back of market research. Instead, they have tremendous zeitgeist, honed by paying attention to where they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/very-few-entrepreneurs-start-their-business-on-the-back-of-market/)

[Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/)

> [In a world of widely distributed knowledge, companies cannot afford to rely entirely on their own research, but should instead buy or license processes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-chesbrough/in-a-world-of-widely-distributed-knowledge-companies-cannot-afford-to/)

[Henry Chesbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-chesbrough/)

> [My career in academic research has not been involved with active management of securities. I've tried to understand risk-and-return relationships; also the pricing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myron-scholes/my-career-in-academic-research-has-not-been-involved-with-active/)

[Myron Scholes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myron-scholes/)

> [If you're teargassed repeatedly, as I have been as an academic researching protest movements, you learn how to hold your breath and close your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeynep-tufekci/if-you-re-teargassed-repeatedly-as-i-have-been-as-an-academic/)

[Zeynep Tufekci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeynep-tufekci/)

> [The Internet is a big boon to academic research. Gone are the days spent in dusty library stacks digging for journal articles. Many articles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bostrom/the-internet-is-a-big-boon-to-academic-research-gone-are-the-days/)

[Nick Bostrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bostrom/)

> [“Phase Activities Action Establish relationships and common agenda between all stakeholders Collaboratively scope issues and information Agree on time-frame Reflection On research design, ethics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-kindon/phase-activities-action-establish-relationships-and-common-agenda/)

[Sara Kindon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-kindon/)

> [The love of money is the root of all evil. That is the fundamental truth that I have verified through 3 decades of empirical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ruppert/the-love-of-money-is-the-root-of-all-evil-that-is-the-fundamental/)

[Michael Ruppert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ruppert/)

> [A large and growing body of academic research suggests there are market anomalies that can be exploited to beat a strict index approach. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-b-stewart/a-large-and-growing-body-of-academic-research-suggests-there-are/)

[James B. Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-b-stewart/)

> [Economic science concerns itself primarily with theoretical and empirical generalizations about the behavior of individuals, institutions, markets, and national economies. Most academic research falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/economic-science-concerns-itself-primarily-with-theoretical-and/)

[Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/)

> [“Rosemarie Forsythe’s slides for the Management Committee implied that more and more of the world’s oil happened to be located in unstable countries, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-coll/rosemarie-forsythe-s-slides-for-the-management-committee-implied-that/)

[Steve Coll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-coll/)

> [Research is an expression of faith in the possibility of progress. The drive that leads scholars to study a topic has to include the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rosovsky/research-is-an-expression-of-faith-in-the-possibility-of-progress-the/)

[Henry Rosovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rosovsky/)

> [The Wellcome Foundation offered me the chance to establish a small academic research unit, modestly funded, but with total independence. The real opportunity, however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-black/the-wellcome-foundation-offered-me-the-chance-to-establish-a-small/)

[James W. Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-black/)

> [In Berkley, they have academic studies on all genres of music including rock and jazz, but in India, we don't have serious academic research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajiv-menon/in-berkley-they-have-academic-studies-on-all-genres-of-music/)

[Rajiv Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajiv-menon/)

> [I don't accept the argument of people like David Horowitz that the government should impose some sort of predetermined political balance on academic research.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-cole/i-don-t-accept-the-argument-of-people-like-david-horowitz-that-the/)

[Juan Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-cole/)

> [There is an increasing gap between academic research and business application. Sometimes the incentives for success in the academic world are not consistent with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ulrich/there-is-an-increasing-gap-between-academic-research-and-business/)

[Dave Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ulrich/)

## More by Paul Berg

> [But the prospects of designing chemical plants for industrial scale chemical processes seemed far less interesting than the chemical events that occur in biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/but-the-prospects-of-designing-chemical-plants-for-industrial-scale/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

> [Looking back, I realize that nurturing curiosity and the instinct to seek solutions are perhaps the most important contributions education can make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/looking-back-i-realize-that-nurturing-curiosity-and-the-instinct-to/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

> [Paradoxically, no such embargo exists for the drugs and therapies that have revolutionized the treatment of serious diseases although many of them were created…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/paradoxically-no-such-embargo-exists-for-the-drugs-and-therapies-that/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

> [That work led to the emergence of the recombinant DNA technology thereby providing a major tool for analyzing mammalian gene structure and function and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/that-work-led-to-the-emergence-of-the-recombinant-dna-technology/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

> [Fears of creating new kinds of plagues or of altering human evolution or of irreversibly altering the environment were only some of the concerns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/fears-of-creating-new-kinds-of-plagues-or-of-altering-human-evolution/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

> [By then, I was making the slow transition from classical biochemistry to molecular biology and becoming increasingly preoccupied with how genes act and how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/by-then-i-was-making-the-slow-transition-from-classical-biochemistry/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

> [But I felt it necessary to be part of the war effort and I enlisted in the Navy to be a flyer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/but-i-felt-it-necessary-to-be-part-of-the-war-effort-and-i-enlisted/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

> [Novel technologies and ideas that impinge on human biology and their perceived impact on human values have renewed strains in the relationship between science…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/novel-technologies-and-ideas-that-impinge-on-human-biology-and-their/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

> [With time, many of the facts I learned were forgotten but I never lost the excitement of discovery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/with-time-many-of-the-facts-i-learned-were-forgotten-but-i-never-lost/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

> [Today, it is research with human embryonic stem cells and attempts to prepare cloned stem cells for research and medical therapies that are being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/today-it-is-research-with-human-embryonic-stem-cells-and-attempts-to/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

> [Yet the effort to inform the public also encouraged responsible public discussion that succeeded in developing a consensus for the measured approach that many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/yet-the-effort-to-inform-the-public-also-encouraged-responsible/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

> [Moreover, the concern of some that moving DNA among species would breach customary breeding barriers and have profound effects on natural evolutionary processes has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/moreover-the-concern-of-some-that-moving-dna-among-species-would/)

[Paul Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

[Explore all 13 Paul Berg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/)

## More Academic quotes

> [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. They told me that the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-went-to-college-as-much-as-my-parents-emphasized-academic/)

[Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/)

> [Instead of explaining the sober facts of mechanics and electricity, I want to say a few words about the debt which we owe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-bloch/instead-of-explaining-the-sober-facts-of-mechanics-and-electricity-i/)

[Felix Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-bloch/)

> [The Carnegie Foundation is well aware of the fact that their reports frequently find their way to dusty archives in academic institutions, but occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/the-carnegie-foundation-is-well-aware-of-the-fact-that-their-reports/)

[C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/)

> [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/)

[Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/)

> [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/)

[Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/)

> [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/)

[James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/)

> [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/)

[Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/)

> [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/)

[James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/)

> [And I'm the first one to tell people to break the rules. But you can only break the rules once you know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/and-i-m-the-first-one-to-tell-people-to-break-the-rules-but-you-can/)

[Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/)

> [Nietzsche's ideas and plans: for example, the idea of giving up the whole wretched academic world to form a secular monastic community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/nietzsche-s-ideas-and-plans-for-example-the-idea-of-giving-up-the/)

[Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/)

> [Quality afterschool programs provide safe, engaging and fun learning experiences to help children and youth develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural and academic skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/quality-afterschool-programs-provide-safe-engaging-and-fun-learning/)

[Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/)

> [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/)

[Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/)

> [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/)

[Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/)

> [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/)

[A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/)

[Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "By that time I was hooked on a career in academic research instead of one in the pharmaceutical industry that I had originally considered in deciding to get a PhD.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Paul Berg"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/by-that-time-i-was-hooked-on-a-career-in-academic-research-instead-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Academic"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/by-that-time-i-was-hooked-on-a-career-in-academic-research-instead-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/paul-berg-36362_academic_by-that-time-i-was-hooked-on-a-career-in_1261789.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/paul-berg-36362_academic_by-that-time-i-was-hooked-on-a-career-in_1261789.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/paul-berg-36362_academic_by-that-time-i-was-hooked-on-a-career-in_1261789.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“By that time I was hooked on a career in academic research instead of one in the pharmaceutical industry…” — Paul Berg",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Paul Berg",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-berg/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "By that time I was hooked...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/by-that-time-i-was-hooked-on-a-career-in-academic-research-instead-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-berg/by-that-time-i-was-hooked-on-a-career-in-academic-research-instead-of/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
