Animal Advocacy Careers have now released our fifth skills profile. This one is about technical research for animal product alternatives.

By reading this profile we hope that you can build a better understanding of whether seeking to develop technical research expertise for animal product alternatives seems like one of the best ways for you to use your time in order to help animals.

Summary:

• How does this work help animals: Developing and scaling up the production of high-quality animal product alternatives will reduce the number of animals that are bred and killed for food.
• Who is this work a good fit for: People with academic backgrounds in any of a wide variety of sciences, including disciplines relating to biology, chemistry, food science, and engineering. There are opportunities in both academia and industry.
• How much do we need more expertise in this area: There are hundreds if not thousands of possible roles in this space. Some more specific types of expertise are more urgently needed than others.
• What options would you have if you were to leave this path: There are opportunities for switching between roles relating to technical research for animal product alternatives, but few obvious other backup options that would help animals.
• How to prepare for these roles: Get a relevant bachelor’s degree and probably also relevant graduate training. If needed, you can build experience through internships and volunteering, entry-level roles in industry, or in areas of academic research that overlap with animal product alternatives research.