Reflections on Transitioning from Academia to Industry in Quantum Computing Research

The career paths available to physicists are becoming increasingly diverse, yet the transition from academia to industry often remains uncertain for many early-career researchers. In this talk, I will share some observations from my own experience moving from academic to industrial research in the field of quantum computing. After completing a Ph.D. at the University of Tokyo, where I worked on superconducting quantum circuits, I spent a short period as a postdoctoral researcher at the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing before joining IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. Through these experiences, I have come to appreciate both the common foundations and the distinct challenges of research in academia and industry. I will discuss how the focus, collaboration style, and measures of success can differ between the two settings, and how skills developed through a Ph.D.—such as critical thinking and experimental discipline—remain valuable across them. My hope is that by sharing an early-career perspective, this talk can contribute to an open discussion about the variety of meaningful and impactful paths that physicists can pursue beyond academia.