2. Careers
What’s covered?
• Begin to identify the skills that PhDs
have which can be used outside
academia
• Start to give you an idea of what types
of jobs/sectors/companies employ
PhDs
• Help you with strategies to research,
pursue and apply for alternative career
options.
3. Working outside academia
Two Groups
Group One: A PhD is a valuable qualification
beyond academia
Group Two: A PhD is not a valuable
qualification beyond academia
7. Career Planning
Model
Who am I? What’s out there?
What are my skills? (Research)
(Self Knowledge)
Review, evaluate, adjust
How do I get there?
(Action Plan)
8. Careers
Think about…..
• Work Values
• Skills
• Organisation
• Career Drivers
• Working Conditions
• Growth, variety, learning
• Career Potential
• Pace
• Change
10. Careers
How Employers Rank Researchers Skills
data analysis
drive and motivation
problem solving
commercial awareness
interpersonal skills
leadership
project management
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Recruiting_researchers_employer_survey_2009.pdf
11. Careers
How Employers Rank Researchers Skills
1. data analysis
2 problem solving
3. drive and motivation
4. project management
5. interpersonal skills
6. leadership
7. commercial awareness
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Recruiting_researchers_employer_survey_2009.pdf
12. Match your competences,
know their fears
PhD Competences Recruiter Perceptions of PhDs
• Analytical skills + Maturity
• Research skills + Research ability
• Writing skills + Analysis and critical thinking
• Dealing with information + Initiative, self-reliance,
effectively independence
• Capacity for self-direction + Project management
• Ability to accept supervision + Alternative perspective
• Project management
• Communication skills – Too narrow in interest and
• Presentation skills outlook
• Teaching/mentoring skills – Lacking commercial awareness
• Networking – Lone worker not team player
• Organisational – Unsophisticated social skills
awareness/political sense – Speak a ‘different language’
• Perseverance – Would find it hard to integrate
• Subject specific knowledge into any non-academic culture
– May have unrealistic expectations
13. In small groups, discuss the
ways in which you can
overcome some of the negative
perceptions of employers
• What activities can you become
involved with?
• What skills do you need to develop?
17. Skills exercise
Look at the Vitae Handout and look at some of the
examples of skills from the CVs of PhD students.
Using these examples as inspiration, take two skills
from the list and write down how you have used
these skills within your PhD.
19. Widening Horizons
•Teaching schools/colleges
•Publishing books/journals
•Project Manager
•Research Institute •Journalism
•Postdoc •Administrative roles •Charity •Management Consultant
•Research Fellow •Research Grant •Consultancy firm
•Teaching Fellow Facilitator •Think Tank •Start your own
•Lectureship •Grant Advisor •Independent Consultancy business
•Research • Public (self-employed) •Any grade graduate
Associate Engagement •Policy Advisor job
•Analyst (finance) •SME
•Accounting
•Marketing
Narrow Horizon A little wider Still research Using Using
Known and But still but knowledge transferable
safe university - transferring and skills
but insecure based research to understanding rather than
another but not specific
setting research knowledge
Increasing risk and research effort to investigate
Increasing likelihood of retraining (but not always)
20. Careers
Sectors where PhD is rated
• Banks ……in analyst roles as quants/financial
modelling
• HE………many roles outside of academic positions
• Patent Lawyers
• Government
• International Organisations
• Your own business/consultancy
• Consultancy Firms
• Pharmaceutical/Biotech/Medical Communication
Companies/Science Publishing
• Tech Companies/software developers such as
Google, Microsoft
• Think Tanks
• Research Management/Project Management
• Start-Ups
21. Careers
Who offers and enhanced
salary for PhDs (average
starting salary)?
• Banking and finance: £50,000
• Energy and Utilities: £36,250
• Science and Pharmaceuticals: £30,000
• Engineering: £26, 200
Vitae: Recruiting Researchers. Survey of employer practice. 2009
23. On the wall, write down all the
different approaches that you
could use to explore and find a
job outside of academia
Prioritise them with most
effective at one end and least
effective at other
24. Careers
Job Searching
• Use all media
Online, Newspapers, specialist magazines. Look at
press releases – hidden opportunities?
• Speculative Applications
Strong covering letter matching four or five of your
key areas of experience to the employer’s needs.
• Scrutinise job ads to identify companies
Think about applying directly
• Encourage an employer to create a new
job for you!
25. Job Searching
Careers
• Conduct information interviews
This will deepen your understanding of sectors and
improve your contacts
• Register with relevant job boards and
talk to relevant recruitment consultants
• Maintain a strong on-line presence
Through appropriate use of social media such linked-
in. Join groups and forums on-line.
• Undertake temporary or project work
May increase your visibility to decision makers
26. Information Interviewing
• Think about who you would approach
• How will you speak to them e.g. phone or in
person.
• Use the opportunity to find out about working in
the sector.
• What types of question do you want to ask?
-How they got into the role?
-What experience/background does someone
need to secure a job/specific role in the
company?
- What does an average day entail?
- What are the best/most challenging bits of the
job?
28. Careers
DR GIOIA CHERUBINI
ROLE: Business Development
Management
ORGANISATION: Queen
Mary University of London
QUALIFICATIONS: PhD
Genetics and Molecular
Biology, University La
Sapienza, Rome
PREVIOUS ROLES:
Postdoctoral Researcher in
Paris, Postdoctoral
Researcher, Barts Cancer
Institute, QMUL
Spoke to people doing the role and did an internship
29. Careers
DR VILMA GRAUPNER
ROLE: Senior Medical
Writer
ORGANISATION: Health
Interactions
QUALIFICATIONS: PhD,
University of Dusseldorf
PREVIOUS ROLES:
Postdoctoral Research
Assistant, Department
for Molecular Oncology
and Imaging QMUL
Attended Careers events, researched the area and attended
Network Pharma event.
30. Careers
DR SAMUEL PACHOUD
ROLE: Management
Consultant
ORGANISATION:
Ernst & Young,
London
QUALIFICATIONS:
PhD Computer
Vision Lab, School
of Electronic BSc
Engineering and
Computer Science
QMUL
Researched the sector and went in at graduate level
31. Careers
DR TOM SEBRELL
ROLE: Managing
Director
ORGANISATION:
American Civil War
Experience
QUALIFICATIONS:
MA History, PhD
History
Started a business using his research knowledge
32. Case Studies
• Look at the case studies 1 – 5
and identify key job hunting
strategies that are used within
each
36. Careers
Broad Research: Career
Resources
1. Career Exploration Tool
http://www.careers.lon.ac.uk/sortit/
2) Beyond the PhD for Arts and Humanities
http://www.beyondthephd.co.uk/
3) What do researchers do?
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Vitae-WDRD-by-
subject-Jun-09.pdf
4) Career Profile of Researchers (Vitae)
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/policy-practice/107641/What-do-
researchers-do-career-profiles-2009.html
5) Prospects. For graduates but a useful starting point for
everyone looking at a new career.
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/cms/ShowPage/Home_page/p!
eLaXi
6) General books on career choice/development
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Build-Your-Own-Rainbow-
Management/dp/185252300X
7) The Source Event
http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/sourceevent/london-
2009/index.html
8) Researchers Career Blogs
http://qmresearcher.wordpress.com/
http://manchesterpgcareers.wordpress.com/
http://www.careers.salford.ac.uk/students/phd/blog/
Notes de l'éditeur
Introduction about myself and my background. What I have seen over the last two years….PhDs to postdocs! Increasingly difficult to get jobs in academia particularly in Humanities and Social Science. Need to have an alternative job seeking strategy….requires a different approach and mind set to finding an academic position. Need to start looking outside of possible ‘comfort zone’ and area in which you are familiar. Takes courage and a belief in your skills. If you have never thought about your skills before now and how they can be used, this can be difficult.
There are two issues that I notice working with many research staff: They are highly skilled in different areas but do not recognise this.
