Name: Dr. Tracey Sara Sweet

Current Role: Head of Science at Brixham College

PhD Subject and Graduation Year: Chemistry – 2001

First job/employer following PhD:

Institute of Cancer Research

What were your reasons for your career choice, including why you left, or stayed in, academia?

When I finished my PhD I was unsure about continuing my career in research. I felt a little unfulfilled working in a research laboratory and I was not sure if this was because I had become disinterested in my PhD research or whether it was research as a whole. I took up a post-doctoral position at the Institute of Cancer Research because I was very interested in the work and I thought that this would enable me to really make a difference through the research I was doing rather than carrying out research for the purpose of Chemistry itself.

How many jobs have you had since completing your PhD?

Since completing my PhD I have had 3 jobs and about to commence my fourth.

Could you briefly describe your career path?

After completing my PhD I worked as a post-doctoral research scientist with the Institute of Cancer Research. I worked in the Cancer Research UK laboratories and I was involved in drug discovery and optimisation. After working there for 18 months I began to realise that the aspects of the job I most enjoyed were training graduate and PhD students and presenting my research findings. I had always thought about teaching as a possible career path for me so I decided to go back to Exeter University to gain a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education in Secondary Science (Chemistry). Upon successful completion of this I took up a teaching post at Okehampton College where I worked as a Teacher of Science before being appointed to Head of Chemistry. I stayed in this job for six years before moving to South Devon College, which is a college of further and higher education. This role involved teaching Chemistry to A Level, Access to HE, BTEC and GCSE students. I also taught Biochemistry to foundation degree students and I was the Chemistry lecturer and admissions tutor for the BSC Extended Science (Year 0) course. Typically I would work with students of age 16-adults. During this time I was also involved in some research work with the University of Bath. I am about to start work with Brixham College in September. I have taken up a position of Head of Science with them.

What does your current job involve on a day to day basis (briefly)? Any highs and lows, skills needed and developed?

Day to day my job involves teaching science, chemistry and environmental studies to students of 11-18 years. I also manage the running of the science department and ensure that teaching and learning is of a good to outstanding standard; monitor the progress of students; communicating with parents; reporting of department and student progress and performance management of department staff. The highs of the job are working with young people and making a difference in their lives. To be successful in this you need to be determined and have resilience. Working in education can be extremely demanding emotionally and physically. It can take up a lot of your own time if you want to do an excellent job. You have to be prepared to make some sacrifices but also be aware that that you still need to build in time for yourself and family.

Do you have any key messages to current PhD students, particularly any looking for a career in your field?

Get some experience in fields that you think you might be interested in. There is no substitute for trying out something to see if it is the path for you. Do not rush into a career path; take your time after completing your PhD before committing yourself. Personally, it would have been better for me to get a temporary job to earn money and give me some time to consider all my options.

Could you share any tips on effective CVs/Job applications/Interviews for entering your chosen career?

Tailor your CV/application to each job you are applying for; use words from the person specification in the advertisement in your application; read examples of CVs and applications; be succinct; support any statement you make about your skills with specific examples.

For interviews look at example questions and practice your answers. Read through your application before the interview and try to think of more examples of the skills and qualities you have. Think about why you want the role you have applied for and what you can bring to the role.

Do you know of any useful sources of information/vacancies for careers in your field?

The best place to look for education vacancies and information is www.tes.co.uk. For general information about careers I found www.prospects.a.c.uk very useful.

Have you any general tips for successful career planning and/or career decision making?

It is important to think about your skills and the kind of things that you enjoy doing and the environment you would like to work in. Once in a role, think about how you would like to progress and look for opportunities to gain experience in different aspects of the role.

Name: Dr. Daniel Holdaway

Current Role: (as at 2013): NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office.

PhD Subject and Graduation Year: Mathematics – 2011

What were your reasons for your career choice, including why you left, or stayed in, academia?

I wanted to continue my research into numerical weather and climate prediction. My current job is an academic government hybrid. It’s a research position with an emphasis on publishing work but without teaching. I enjoyed the academic environment but I left to take a great opportunity. In hindsight it was easier to find this kind of position than something academic, especially since I’d had limited teaching experience throughout my PhD.

How many jobs have you had since completing your PhD?

Two.

Could you briefly describe your career path?

After finishing undergraduate I enrolled in a Masters and then a PhD. My research field is numerical weather prediction and I worked closely with the Met Office throughout graduate school. After completing my PhD in 2010 I briefly worked as a postdoc at Exeter University, in partnership with a local company building a prototype wind turbine. The work concerned the use of computational fluid dynamics to determine the optimal position to place the wind turbine, based on local wind flow. A secondary goal was to model the wind stress on the turbine. In early 2011 I moved to Washington DC, USA and began working at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. There I am attached to the data assimilation group and am working on the use of satellite observations of clouds and precipitation to improve weather predictions. Our goal is to improve the data assimilation system so that we can make use of state of the art satellites such as the upcoming Global Precipitation Measurement mission. These instruments will provide very detailed information about clouds but current limitations in weather models prevent their proper use.

What does your current job involve on a day to day basis (briefly)? Any highs and lows, skills needed and developed?

My day to day work is very similar to a PhD, except with a few more meetings! Most of my time is spent on my central project. For the most part I am left to my own devices and report to various advisors every 2 weeks or so, or when I am stuck with something. There are around 20 people working in our group and we support each other quite a lot. I spend around 15-20% of my time publishing work, preparing for conferences or preparing internal reports. As with any research project there are highs and lows when ideas either work or don’t work and you constantly need to learn to deal with this and get past it. I have had to learn a lot of skills related to running the weather model and scripting when using a super computer. These are not skills that I was able to develop during my PhD since it was theoretical but are skills many PhD students from the US come armed with. As a result it was quite a fast learning curve.

Do you have any key messages to current PhD students, particularly any looking for a career in your field?

Learn as much as you can when doing your PhD. Don’t get hung up on doing something ground-breaking, see it as a learning exercise. Most of my PhD didn’t work and it was very frustrating at times. But I made it through; got it written and now everyday I rely on techniques and skills that I learnt. When looking for jobs don’t be afraid to apply for anything! Often I feel organisations are just looking for smart people and will hire around the positions advertised and even create positions. They’re looking for someone that can learn something new quickly and independently.

Could you share any tips on effective CVs/Job applications/Interviews for entering your chosen career?

Google is your friend! You can also ask your PhD advisor or other more senior people in your department for help and examples of CVs. There are lots of differences between the CV you write for different jobs/fields so it can be hard to provide general help.

Do you know of any useful sources of information/vacancies for careers in your field?

Metjobs is a mailing list run from Reading University that’s very good. Also climlist in the USA. Mathjobs and Jobs.ac.uk are quite good if you’re looking for something academic. Another good one is http://www.earthworks-jobs.com/ Apply for general post doc programs, e.g the NASA post doc program. There are literally thousands of potential opportunities. And even if you don’t get it you might make a connection that helps you get something else, that’s how I got my job at NASA anyway.

Have you any general tips for successful career planning and/or career decision making?

I’ve never really say down and made a formal career plan and my plans certainly fluctuated throughout my PhD (probably because of choosing an impossible project!). I think with academia/research you have to be quite flexible. Never miss an opportunity to make connections. Go to conferences and introduce yourself to people who work in your field.

Name: Dr Andrea Day

Current Role: Senior Operational Analyst

PhD Subject and Graduation Year: Behavioural Sciences – 2012

How did you become interested in the area that you work in?

When I was researching group emotions for my PhD I started developing ideas on self-sacrifice. Why do some people give their lives and suffer horrific injuries for others? This led me to reading a lot about the military and one thing led to another and I was offered a visit to Headly Court (Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre). A visit led to a contracted placement there, and due to my experiences at Headly Court I have always had a keen interest in close combat and infantry, which is the area much of my work has been dedicated too.

How did you get to where you are today?

From Headly Court I formally joined the Ministry of Defence as a Numerical Scientist by responding to an advert in the “New Scientist”. I worked for over four years on a variety of tasks and projects related to close combat and infantry which involved research into better equipment, medical procedures on the battlefield, mental and physical health. I was asked to consider joining the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) which I did almost two years ago and now work within the Close Combat and Analysis Team (CCAT).

What does your current role involve any skills and/or personal qualities needed?  

My role predominately involves problem solving. I will have a Customer (Military or Civilian) who believes they have a problem, question or requirement. My first course of action is to define the what (problem, question, or requirement), then start planning the how (what has been done before, what is in scope of the research, what is out of scope, where is the risk, what resources are required, what are the timelines), then carry out the research and write it up in plain English! Brief the customer with the findings and answer any questions. In many ways, the same skills that are demonstrated in a good academic are what are needed for my role. I have found undertaking a PhD and utilising the transferrable skills invaluable. However, you also need to be able to work under considerable pressure with a fair amount of responsibility. Team work is essential and understanding delegation. Building and maintaining relationships and ensuring people have confidence in your decision making abilities are vital. Finally, being an effective communicator and having a good memory when you are put on the spot by someone senior is also beneficial!

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I enjoy working alongside the Military either in the field or in the office but with far more autonomy than is granted to Military serving personal. I enjoy travelling to destinations I would otherwise not have seen and meeting people whose lives are vastly different to mine. I get to play with new technology and equipment, conduct field trials and learn new scientific techniques and methods. My work is complex, challenging and vast. My work is always varied and requires flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing events quickly. When things are tough it’s good to know that my team and I make a positive difference to the situation we are involved in.

Are there any things that are not so good?

The work can be stressful as the responsibility you are given and tight deadlines can add pressure. The salary is terrible and the work days can be very long!

Has anything surprised you about your role?

Nothing has surprised me about my role, though I am always surprised when asked by old University friends “well wouldn’t you prefer to do something else?” The honest answer is no! No other job would give me the challenges and experiences this one has given me. When I want to sample a different area or try something else, I take the opportunity to move within a diverse organisation and try another area of Defence.

What key tips would you give to any students who might be considering entering a similar field today?

• Check the eligibility criteria for working in the Ministry of Defence;
• Check the Civil Service job site;
• Why not try a University student placement opportunity with Dstl?
• When applying for a job, ask yourself do you meet and can you provide evidence of the job criteria asked for? Evidence does not need to be military experience, draw on your research experience, work experience and other transferrable skills;
• Before interview, ask yourself why do you want to work in Defence or the particular area of Defence you are applying for?
• Do you understand anything about UK Defence and Security policies?
• If unsuccessful, ask for feedback from the selection/interviewing panel.

Name: Dr Nicky King

Current role: Director of Studies for Natural Sciences, Senior Lecturer (E&S) in Biosciences at the University of Exeter

PhD Subject and Graduation Year: Chemistry, 2005

What is your disciplinary and educational background?

BSc Chemistry with European Study

PhD Chemistry

I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

What made you decide to become an academic?

I didn’t really, I just fell into it. An opportunity to do some chemistry teaching at the university opened up just as I finished my PhD. I knew I wanted to stay in science but hadn’t found the right post-doctoral position. It also worked for me personally as my boyfriend, now husband, was working in Exeter.

What has been your career path/trajectory to date?

I was an associate teaching fellow for two years before being promoted to teaching fellow in 2007. In 2010 the structure for those mainly involved in teaching here at Exeter changed and I was promoted to senior lecturer in the education and scholarship job family. The University has changed almost beyond recognition over the last 11 years and I’ve been in the fortunate position to be able to shape some of those changes and forge a career path which simply didn’t exist when I started. One of the things I’m most proud of is my involvement in the establishment of the education and scholarship job family to replace teaching fellows, which improves progression for those who are mainly involved in education and leadership of education and also raises our profile within the institution, putting us on a level playing field with the more typical education and research academics.

I’ve been involved in a number of scholarship activities over this time, in addition to a significant teaching load. I coordinate the schools liaison and widening participation activities for Biosciences, am engaged in pedagogic research around the transition from school to HE and also on the use of technology in learning and teaching. I’ve also been senior tutor in Biosciences and am now the Director of Studies for Natural Sciences, which is a new programme seeing our first graduating students this July.

What are the good bits about being an academic?

I love working with our students. Despite it sounding a bit corny I love making a difference to the students and hopefully passing on to them some of my enthusiasm for science and fascination with chemistry. I find work a much more boring (though less stressful!) place in the long summer holiday as it seems such an empty place without the students around. I think it’s easy for academics to become caught up in the stresses and administrative frustrations and forget how lucky we are that we get to pursue things which we’re really interested in and which excite us. It’s also a very flexible job and in many respects you have much more control over both your career trajectory and on your day to day work in academia than in many other jobs. You don’t have people telling you which bits of your subject you have to read, research and write about, you can follow your interests and academic curiosity. There’s also, in my experience, good flexibility for working at home and childcare responsibilities.

What are the bad bits about being an academic?

There are periods of a lot of pressure and at times an awful lot of admin, however particularly in E&S these are fairly predictable based on the academic cycle, which does make them easier to deal with.

Having said that academia can be family friendly and flexible this is often not the case early in your career where you will probably have many short term contracts which is really hard and can make it difficult to settle. I was very lucky that I was able to remain at Exeter and got a permanent contract fairly quickly but that’s certainly not true for many.

Do you have any tips or advice for PGRs seeking a career in academia?

Remember that you don’t have to work 100 hours per week in order to be successful, it seems that there’s a lot of pressure amongst PGRs and ECRs to work late into the evening and at weekends, but if you have a life way from the bench you’ll be more productive and happier when you are at it.

Learnt when it’s expedient to do something ‘extra’ and when to say no. There are lots of committees, focus groups and additional roles which will impact upon your research and for which there’s very little material reward, however some of these are worth doing because they increase your visibility within a department/institution and can lead to valuable networking opportunities. Similarly learn to say no when you’re too busy and there’s little reward, you have to be a little selfish with these things occasionally.

Name: Dr. Mike Beer

Current Role: Head of Modern Foreign Languages and Classics, Exeter College

PhD Subject and Graduation Year: Classics – 2008

How did you become interested in the area that you work in?

Became interested in teaching after teaching as a postgraduate.

How did you get to where you are today?

Post PhD, I taught modules at the University of Exeter, the Open University and Exeter College. I took my PGCE and continue to combine teaching with research.

What does your current role involve, any skills and/or personal qualities needed?  

Besides my subject knowledge, my current managerial role involves time management skills, the ability to manage people and to delegate, chairing meetings and liaison with outside organisations.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

The opportunity to engage with my subject area.

Are there any things that are not so good?

Paperwork and pastoral duties for tutees.

Has anything surprised you about your role?

I never thought I would end up being involved in managerial activities and have resisted a move to this area in the past, but I find I enjoy it, it is challenging and I enjoy it.

What key tips would you give to any students who might be considering entering a similar field today?

Don’t be put off by the horror stories about teaching in the press. It’s much better than it is portrayed but you do have to make sure that you carve out a work/life balance.

Name: Dr. Darryl Murphy

Current Role: Partner, KPMG

PhD Subject and Graduation Year:  Maths – 1990

How did you become interested in the area that you work in?

I moved to infrastructure/project finance within banking when I was 29 having been an environmental/mathematical modeller for 5 years post-graduation. I was interested in infrastructure and recognised that the financiers/investors had a broad overview in projects which appealed having been a technical specialist on some infrastructure projects in a scientific consultancy. The financial rewards were appealing too!

How did you get to where you are today?

I joined HR Wallingford post Exeter and moved into banking at Hambros in 1995. From there I moved to a number of banks – two in team moves and latterly at HSBC from 2006-2009. I then moved to KPMG to continue working as an advisor on infrastructure financing and investment.

What does your current role involve, any skills and/or personal qualities needed?  

It involves working with project developers, investors and Government deliver and finance large scale infrastructure. This includes nuclear power plants, wind farms, roads, hospitals etc. I started as a financial modeller which used my numerate skills but I have built a broad base of other commercial skills necessary i.e. negotiation and legal work for example. The role needs strong commercial and inter-personnel skills working at times under pressure. As a partner in an accountancy firm means showing strong leadership skills and ability to interact with many different kinds of people and clients.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

The variety. I am working on often 8-10 things at any time and many are in the public eye i.e. Hinckley Point C and HS2 being examples. I enjoy the people you meet to and no one day is the same.

Are there any things that are not so good?

Perhaps I work too hard but the hours are long and some clients are always hard to please!
Has anything surprised you about your role?

Actually, how my background in Maths and problem solving and technical consultancy actually is a help in my current role.

What key tips would you give to any students who might be considering entering a similar field today?

I think it would be hard to take my route today given the qualifications students have. I would definitely focus on the broader skills as academic excellence is taken for granted and you need some key selling points and show you are an investment worth making – strong presentational skills and confidence is required.

Name: Dr. Caitlin E McDonald

Current Role: Data, Research and Insights Manager at TES Global

PhD Subject and Graduation Year: Arab and Islamic Studies – 2011

How did you become interested in the area that you work in?

When I graduated from my PhD I considered a number of possible career directions including publishing and qualitatively oriented market research agencies.  Eventually a friend suggested that I apply for an open entry-level position at TES in their data and research team.  I hesitated at first because the role was very quantitatively oriented and I wasn’t sure it was the best fit for my skill set.   However, with some encouragement I decided to pursue the job.  Eventually I found that, though challenging, working in a quantitative role was not as big of a leap as I first thought and it’s an extremely valuable preparation for developing to a strategic or managerial role.

How did you get to where you are today?

I’ve worked at TES ever since, though my role has changed quite considerably: at first my primary responsibility was compiling and distributing the regular executive reporting which our company uses to assess performance in key business areas.  Doing this helped me to become familiar with teams all across the business, how they think about success, and any challenges or pitfalls in measuring that.  I then moved into a role that was more about designing and building reporting software tools that other people used for compiling reports for tactical everyday work as well as executive reporting.  Then my familiarity with different business areas as well as the technical minutiae how our data is processed put me in a very good position to help build a brand-new data pipeline for a suite of new products.  This entailed a much more project-management style role, where my function was around liaising with different parts of the business to assess needs, capabilities and risks in order to ensure we delivered a tool that met our colleagues’ needs.  I also took on managerial responsibilities and helped mentor junior members of staff in technical roles.  Recently my role has shifted again into a position where I manage research projects for our business, with special responsibility for qualitative research.  It’s been a winding path, but I finally feel that my specialist research skills are getting explicitly used in my career.

What does your current role involve, any skills and/or personal qualities needed?  

I am responsible for setting the customer research agenda at TES.  As a digital business, we have a number of product managers and people in the User Experience team who are used to carrying out their own research.  They come from a diverse range of backgrounds and may have no formal research training, so my role is to familiarise them generally with research methods as well as taking an active part in shaping specific research projects to ensure our conclusions are really robust.  As well as tactical quick-turnaround projects, we also do occasional longer-ranging strategic research pieces.  TES has a really high engagement among the teacher population in the UK which gives us a unique opportunity to do research with teachers and schools, not just about our products but about their professions, attitudes, and career journeys.  Part of my role is to help our management team get out of the tactical-thinking mode and to think strategically about how we could better use this powerful asset for research.  This requires the ability to quickly assess motivations behind different research agendas and diplomacy working with different departments who may have very different views on what will be valuable.  My specialist research skills are valuable for specific methods challenges, but in general a background in anthropology is really helpful for understanding power relationships in groups, particularly looking for coded language that might mean different things to different groups.  I also line-manage several individuals, and anthropology is certainly a valuable tool for thinking about, for example, the stages of group development in a team and how to ensure that team members with different strengths can work together effectively.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

My favourite part about the job is talking to teachers and observing them in their ‘natural habitats’.  While this is a relatively time-bound part of my job, everything we do at TES is focused on teachers and every opportunity to talk to them about their motivations and needs really brings richness to our ability to serve them well.  I also like working with teams to help individuals work towards their best potential and I love seeing the team working together effectively.

Are there any things that are not so good?

One thing many people in corporate jobs complain about is ‘too many meetings!’   I actually don’t mind meetings as they’re a fascinating observational window for an anthropologist.   However I find meetings challenging if no clear objective has been set or no clear actions emerge from them.  This can happen if there is a need which hasn’t been clearly articulated, either because the need is unclear or because there is a clear disagreement on it.  Overcoming these situations is a challenge at many organisations.

Has anything surprised you about your role?

Even at times when my background in anthropology wasn’t an explicit part of my role through research methods guidance, the skills I learned about understanding group dynamics were extremely powerful in helping me understand how to adjust to business culture and how to develop influence in the areas I wanted to impact.

What key tips would you give to any students who might be considering entering a similar field today?

Though it may seem impossible to fit it in alongside the mountain of research-related tasks, I would encourage students to consider taking time for an internship or work experience while they are still studying.  When hiring it’s difficult for businesses to assess the skills of people who have never worked outside academia.  Managers can’t know how a candidate with an academic background only will adjust to a very different working environment.  Some work experience, even in an area that you’re not aiming to work in long-term, will give a hiring manager confidence that you can hit the ground running and apply your talents effectively.