Arie Meir works at Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the technology giant in Mountain View, California. He and his team evaluate grant proposals for technical feasibility and their level of social impact. Here, he describes his path from a PhD in biophysics to team leadership at Google.

Why did you go to graduate school?

I was programming for GE Healthcare, and I realized that everything I was doing was the result of someone else's intellectual process — the product of someone else's thinking. I wanted to get to the source. I thought that if I could learn to do scientific research, that toolkit would enable me to apply those skills to a lot of other problems.

How did your training help you to get this job?

I gained exposure to other careers. I probably did 100 informational interviews. When you say you're a student from a university that people know, it opens doors. For example, I didn't know there was a field called management consulting until I met someone who was doing it.

Which skills have been the most useful?

I learned how to solve complicated problems and to communicate in a structured way. I know how to convert an abstract idea into practice and how to design an experiment. It doesn't matter what job you do; you will use this skill set. Another thing was strategic-skill development: how to position myself for opportunities. When I learned about technologies such as 3D printing, I also became curious about social entrepreneurship. I was talking with friends about it, and one from Colombia told me, 'I have a non-profit; go talk to them'. So, while I was working on my PhD, I launched a small non-profit organization focused on technical education in Latin America.

Is that how you came to join Google.org ?

That was just an experiment, but I used the experience later, during my job interview with Google.org. I knew how to speak the language that the people on my team speak. Then I became relevant — it was not, 'Arie is a scientist'. It was, 'Arie is one of us'.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity; see go.nature.com/y7qxcg for more.