
Ask HN: From biotech industry to web technology: how and where should I start? - biopharma_guy
Hi HNers. I have been reading this forum since last two years to keep
me update on tech world.<p>A little bit about me.<p>I have  a PhD in biotech/pharma field and worked as a post doc for few years (45K/year). I have always enjoyed doing science but now I am slowly realizing that I am not cut out for the research or cubicle jobs. I would like to work on something which will involve interacting with real people in real world (directly or indirectly).I want to get out of bench/cubicle culture. Lately,I have developed tremendous interest ( do not know if I can call it a passion) towards web programming and web development as I feel I can come up with a MVP pretty quick to test a concept compared to bringing something in biotech or pharma field. I have moved to Bay area with a new research related job recently and i want to leverage it.<p>In my long term plan I am clear that I want to do the following things.
1. I wan to be an entrepreneur and I want to add value in people's life
2. I need to be financially independent as soon as possible.
3. Start my own company and work with awesome people around world.<p>Babysteps so far taken:-<p>To get in to webworld and entrepreneurship, I have started the following things-<p>1. I have bought few domains and have started launching few sites with
static pages and test blogs ( To know the basics of web application).<p>2. Watching Stanford course on Web applications and Programming.<p>3. I have started learning HTML, CSS and Javascript. For web
programming,I tried with python programming but quickly got frustrated with it. I just could not get my head wrap around it.So I have started MHartl's a Ruby on Rails tutorial and I like it.<p>4. Few days ago I came across with ROR bootcamp offered by Sheeref on
HN and really wanted to join but being the sole bread earners with a family and kids
(bread and health insurance?), I was too afraid to join .<p>So my few questions to fellow HNguys including PG (If I am lucky) who have been there and done that (and still doing),<p>1. What is the quickest but sturdiest path to get into programming to build a MVP?<p>2. Is there any place in Bay area where I can learn programming in evening?<p>3. If my long term goal is to be a web entrepreneur then how realistic it is to learn programming and then developing something and launching it?<p>4. Any experienced fellow on HN would like to help by becoming a mentor?<p>Any suggestions and inputs are highly appreciated. My email is on my profile.<p>I apologize for any typo or grammatical errors as English is not my
first language.<p>Thanks to all.
======
polyfractal
I'm going through a similar transition right now. I just left academic
neurobiology (MIT) for freelance web development. I don't have any advice
since I'm still in the thick of it myself, but feel free to send me an email
if you want to touch base and keep in contact.

Email is in my profile. I'll be periodically updating my blog with "life on
the outside" type posts too.

As an aside, I'm a strong believer in micropreneurial projects as espoused by
Rob Walling. One of his big points is deciding if you want to be a web
entrepeneur, or a web developer. If you want to be an entrepeneur, it may be a
better use of time/money to outsource development instead of taking the time
to learn coding yourself.

With all that said, I absolutely adore programming itself. But not everyone
does, and if your ultimate goal isn't to write code as a living, it may be
better to sidestep that part of the process.

~~~
biopharma_guy
You are right upto some extent. But what I hear from great founders (such as
PG,BFeld etc) is that to go and learn to code yourself. In that way you are
not under mercy of a developer to bring out your product. I agree that someone
needs to be clear whether he wants to be a web developer or web entrepreneur
but what I think if you are a web developer then developing a web based
product is easy (?). May be may be not. I have not gone to that deep end. I
have almost started a similar website of yours (Startup frontier) but a
different niche. The idea has been pushed to a deep freezer. But thinking of
reviving it soon.

But thank for the inputs. Check your email.

~~~
polyfractal
I'll agree with you there. It also helps _a lot_ when outsourcing developers
if you know code yourself, since you can keep an eye on what they are doing
and spot bad coders before the project spirals into oblivion.

Luckily, coding may be hard but it is also eminently accessible. One of my big
gripes with biology has always been the lack of "community help". In biology,
if you need help with something, you A) ask around the lab/department B) find
papers, email the authors, pray they answer or C) perform ritual sacrifice and
pray to the elder gods.

In programming, you have thousands of great resources all over the internet. I
honestly think that everyone can learn enough programming skills to be
reasonably competent if they put some effort into it. You persevered through a
PhD - I think you'll be fine with programming =D

------
iqster
Hey dude!

For RoR:

1) Have you seen the free Rails for Zombies course from code school? There is
a part 2 which costs money ... but might be worth it if you enjoyed part 1.

2) There are a few screencasts on peepcode that might be useful. I think there
are two on Rails3/3.1 for 10 or 12 bucks. I thought they were worth it.

MVP advice:

1) I am not a successful entrepreneur so take my advice with a grain of salt.
I've learned after several MVPs that just writing code and putting it up on
the web does not translate to cash. PG wrote an article relevant to this
recently ... <http://paulgraham.com/schlep.html>

So basically, my experience has been that building an MVP is part of a much
grander process. Do build a quick an dirty MVP to explore your ideas and get
feedback. But also do think of the bigger picture and iterate.

For learning to code:

1) I'm not a fan of these bootcamp events that are quite popular these days.
That said, I have a CS degree and code for fun. After attending a few of these
events, I felt these events were pretty useless. You cannot learn to code in a
weekend or a week. But so what? My suggestion is to pick a language (if you
will do RoR, Ruby is a perfect choice; if you want to do server side stuff,
I'd recommend Python). Once you picked a language, write code! For fun! Yes
... it sounds insane given you have an MVP to work on. But do it for fun!
Write a sudoku solver or whatever strikes you as a fun toy problem. After a
while, writing code will be as natural as thinking.

2) Go to Hackathons on weekends/evenings. There are ton of events all the
time. Usually, they are very cheap to attend. Work with other developers. I
picked up RoR from a dude at a hackathon (I was using Python and being too
slow). Same thing for choice of programming editors, etc.

Have you thought of combining your biotech with coding? This is a different
path than web programming. It might become very fruitful over time.

~~~
biopharma_guy
Thanks for the information. 1\. I have only seen part 1. I am going to watch
the 2nd part soon. 2\. I am afraid to watch too many tutorials at a time. It
will be hard for me to assimilate all. But I will keep it in my inventory and
watch it.

Yes, I have read PG's article about Schlep business and it is a really eye
opener for me.

Regarding Bootcamp- I am waiting to see those bootcamper's feedback regarding
the bootcamp.If it is highly successful then it is worth every penny and your
time. Is not it?

Hackthons- I have no ideas about Hackathons in bay areas. But I will look for
it and start attending it.

Yes I have few product ideas for biotech and pharma industry but I do not have
enough cash to hire a good programmer. And also I have no clues where and how
to find a good programmer. I cound not find your email on your profile. Please
shoot me an email. Would like to talk to you more.

~~~
derekja
you're in the bay area. Check out biocurious (<http://biocurious.org>) It's
filled with folks in the computer industry who are all infatuated with
biotech. I bet you'd find people you could trade skills with!

~~~
biopharma_guy
Thanks. I have free pass for few days. I will go and explore more.

------
mapster
While you become a programming ninja, you might flourish in the new biotech
job and, with eyes and ears open, learn about the business, its pain points
etc. Biotech is a strong market with a lot of $$$ - a perfect opportunity. I
think a lot of entrepreneurs would envy your position as an insider, but it
will only be valuable if you build relationships and gain experience. I think
you are in a great position, just keep going strong until you find your
opportunity and have developed your entrepreneur and hacker skills.

~~~
biopharma_guy
Biotech and Pharma market is with log of $$$. But there are too many
regulations and it takes lot of time and resources to develop a product that a
cucstomer can use. You just can nt develop a drug,diagnostic or an instrument
and then ship it to market without IP, product validation and Govt approval.
However there are small niche product that someone can develop and test it on
market. Thanks Chrise for the input

~~~
mapster
All true. My point was that you might discover a painpoint or opportunity not
pharma or R&D related, but relating to logistics, human resources, supply
chain, marketing, etc.

------
jtchang
The quickest way to get started is to have something you want to build and
then build it.

Shoot me an e-mail if you have time. I have a couple of ideas floating around
that might need some biotech experience.

Would love to get in touch. My e-mail is in my profile.

~~~
biopharma_guy
I agree with you.But to build something I need the the skill and that is why I
have started learning programming. I would love to hear about your ideas. THe
email is on the way.

