Getting Started:

Sciences

Schools covered:
Engineering and Informatics
Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Life Sciences
Psychology
This booklet is an overview of the skills you gain from an science
degree, and what you can do with it. For more specialised
information on your course go to

www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/careerchoices/yourdegree

On your course you are learning:
to use well-understood principles to find and develop
achievable solutions to problems.
to analyse and solve practical and conceptual problems.
to understand the commercial and social constraints that
influence the realisation of scientific applications.

You are developing:
research and laboratory skills.
numeracy.
effective communication skills.
computer aptitude.
measurement and instrumentation abilities.
logical thinking and data analysis.
decision making.
the ability to work effectively both independently and with
others.

A really useful Undergraduate Skills record for all science
disciplines can be found at www.bit.ly/rscskills

Building your experience
In addition to your degree you are gaining experience and skills
from other parts of your life. Think about the value of your work
experience, volunteering, and social activities.
Academic Experience
Skillclouds is a resource for undergraduates which tells you the
main skills you are developing on your degree course.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/skillclouds

Sussex runs the Junior Research Associates Scheme in
summer vacations. It is a chance for undergraduates to take part in
academic research. www.sussex.ac.uk/study/ug/careers/jra

The Careers and Employability Centre runs Learning to Lead
which is a programme of leadership training and development.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/learningtolead

If you are interested in working for yourself or setting up a business
our entrepreneurship training can help you get started.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/startupsussex

Developing skills and experiences through courses might appeal to
you. Language courses and IT training are available on campus.
www.sussex.ac.uk/skillshub

You can find out about more development opportunities at Sussex
on our webpages about developing your skills while at university.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/skills
Personal Experience
The Students Union offers lots of opportunities to learn skills in
leadership, teamwork, money management, etc. You could get
involved with a student society, contribute to student media, or
volunteer to help keep the Union running.
Student Societies: www.sussexstudent.com/minisites
Student Media: www.sussexstudent.com/media
Volunteering for the Union: www.bit.ly/ussuvolunteer

There are many media, arts, music and heritage organisations in
the Brighton area. The Students Union volunteering programme
advertises voluntary work. www.sussexstudent.com/
volunteering

Local volunteering with Community Base
www.communitybase.org or visit them on Queens Road,
Brighton.

Opportunities in the UK on Do-it. www.do-it.org

Paid placements abroad with VSO. www.vso.org.uk

Local Organisation Concordia www.concordiavolunteers.org.uk
also run UK and international volunteering projects.

You can find more links on our website.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/volunteering

Student membership of a relevant professional body is a useful
way to stay aware of developments in your field, for example BPS,
IMecE, Institute of Physics. The Careers and Employability Centre
can advise on this, as can your Academic Advisor.
Work Experience
First jobs are often stepping stones to greater things and can help
you develop a really interesting skills portfolio. Gaining a range of
experiences while you are an undergraduate will give you
opportunities to test out what you like and dislike in different
environments and with different types of people.

Part time work and work experience provide opportunities to learn
about work places and you can see yourself in different work
environments as well as providing useful income! Opportunities are
advertised at www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/jobs we also produce a
booklet: Looking for Part Time Work.

In the Careers and Employability Centre we have lots of links with
local employers and organisations. You can find out more about
them on our Researching Employers webpage where you can
search by type and location.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/researchemployers

Wired Sussex is a group made up of local firms and freelancers, on
their site you can find networking opportunities, jobs
advertisements and other opportunities in the IT sector in Brighton.
www.wiredsussex.com

Identfying turning points and routnes
Try plotting your experiences to date onto a diagram like this, add a time
scale and also note how you felt at different points. Noting when you felt
happy and motivated may help to identify interesting career ideas for
you. Patterns of skills and experiences can help identify themes you
might want to pursue in the future.
Thoughts:
I like getting real world experience
alongside my studies
I want to try out some different skills
and roles
Patterns:
Using my degree knowledge and
skills is important to me
Prefer to work for a large
organisation rather than for myself
Got a place to study
Informatics at Sussex
Studying for end of year exams
starting to think about what kind
of IT roles will suit me
Off to IBM in Portsmouth for
a summer internship
Graduation! Might apply for a
job with IBM. They take on
lots of grads whove done
internships with them.
Lucky I did that internship
Yr 1: Did some web design for
myself and picked up a few
bits of experience helping a
family friend write a website
for their small business
Yr2: Doing more web
design for friends but want
to get some experience
working for a big IT
company.
Yr 3: My summer work has
given me some new ideas.
Leaning toward IT
Solutions rather than web
or programming now.
Thinking about your career
There are many theories around career exploration. If you have
completed the Turning Points exercise on the previous page you
will have noticed how much happenstance and luck can influence
the way you develop your career. Being aware of this will allow you
to take advantage of unexpected opportunities when they arise.

In the Careers and Employability Centre we have lots more
worksheets that can help you start your career thinking. You can
find them, and other useful resources, on our website.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/interests

Listening to the stories of people one or two years ahead of you
might give you ideas for how you want to make progress. Alumni
events at Sussex or video clips online can all provide good source
material. Setting up your own career investigation interviews will be
interesting and is often easier to organise than formal work
experience.

Your degree. www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/yourdegree

Your interests and motivations.
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/interests

Information on the different employment sectors can be found in
our sector guides. www.guides.careers.sussex.ac.uk
Science
Degree
Statistician
Finance &
accounting
Social
research
Statistics, data
and numeracy
Teaching
or lecturing
Facilities
manager
Patent
attorney
Engineering
Web developer
Technology
Technical
knowledge
Medical Sales
Network
manager
Logistics
Generatng career ideas around
your degree experience
Environmental
consultant
Banking
Games
design
Medical
science
Mind Map to show an example of linking
university skills to types of work roles
Advertising
Psychologist
Post
Doc
Communicating
Operational
research
MI5 Security
Service
TV/Media
research
Research
and Writing
Clinical trials
Research &
Development
Laboratory
management
Laboratory
Skills
Further study
Science writing/
Technical author
This is purely illustrative, and is not meant to be reductive about
your degree learning.
There are many other significant areas in which you might have
developed during your academic life: teamwork, organisation,
using initiative, problem solving, and lots more.
We suggest you engage with this mind map and create your own.
Environmental ed-
ucation officer
Forensic
Science
Destnatons
Careers with your degree
There are a number of careers for which a broad scientific
background and an analytical approach to problems are highly
valued. Additionally there are some roles which demand specific
technical or laboratory skills. Some require further professional
training others have direct entry from degree. There is more
information about different career areas on our website:
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/researchingcareers
Some of the jobs recent Sussex science graduates have gone on
to include:
Process Scientist, Southern Water
Policy Adviser, Department of Energy and Climate Change
Environmental Chemist
Mobile Telephone Networks Engineer
Design Engineer, Aerospace
Analyst Programmer
Trainee Actuary
Research Assistant
Assistant Psychologist
You can find our more about what our graduates do at:
sussex.ac.uk/careers/whatourgraduatesdo
About 40% of vacancies advertised for graduates in the UK do not
ask for specific degree subjects. The degree is taken as evidence
of intellectual ability and the employer is interested in the range of
transferable skills and experience you demonstrate.
These include jobs such as management traineeships in both
public and private sector, human resources, retail, marketing,
sales, banking, accountancy, and administration.
Careers unrelated to your degree
As we showed earlier in this booklet your academic experience is
just one part of who you are. Your interests and skills may lead you
to work that is not (or does not appear to be) connected to your
degree at all.
Some of the less typical roles our recent science graduates have
gone on to include:
Theatre Manager
Graduate Business Analyst
Witness Care Officer, Crown Prosecution Service
Web Editor, BBC
Music Director
Going on to further study
It is possible to study at postgraduate level in either your current
subject or in another unrelated subject. Recently Sussex scientists
have gone on to courses such as:
Human Centred Computer Systems
Technology and Business Management
Graduate Diploma in Law
Mathematics in the Living Environment
PGCE Secondary
Clinical Psychology
Find out more on the Careers and Employability Centre website:
www.sussex.ac.uk/careers/furtherstudy
Or come to one of our workshops on postgraduate study

Further Resources
Events and Workshops
Check sussex.ac.uk/careers/events for our events listings.

Careers Advisers
You can talk to a Career Adviser weekdays during term time. Call
us on 01273 678429 to check availability.

A discussion with your Academic Adviser or departmental
Careers Liaison Tutor may also be useful.