#Career

Careers beyond research

Applying your skills outside academia
Joanna Young

@joysci
 Slides:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders
/18QCcFOwwu03wzoEihgr4I4vt0W8
QKBeM?usp=sharing
Your control panel is located at the bottom of the Zoom screen. On the left hand side, you can control your
audio and video via the buttons:

MUTE/ UNMUTE (switches off your audio/ switches on your audio)

START/ STOP VIDEO (switches on/ off your webcam)

Please mute your audio while you participate, you will still hear everything.

In your Zoom control panel you can see:

PARTICIPANTS (the other participants in the session)

REACTIONS (emojis)

CHAT (the group conversation, opens in a new panel on the right)

LEAVE MEETING (you can leave the session via this button at the end)
#Careers

About me

1999 – 2003 BSc Microbiology (University of Edinburgh)

2003 – 2004 MSc Informatics (University of Edinburgh)
2004 – 2008 PhD Neuroscience (University of Edinburgh)
2008 – 2011 Postdoctoral Research Associate (University of Edinburgh)
2011 – Electv Director
#Careers

About me

1999 – 2003 BSc Microbiology (University of Edinburgh)

2003 – 2004 MSc Informatics (University of Edinburgh)
2004 – 2008 PhD Neuroscience (University of Edinburgh)
2008 – 2011 Postdoctoral Research Associate (University of Edinburgh)
2011 – Electv Director

+ lecturer, spin out company consultant, networking club manager…

Agenda

Introduction

Beyond academia

Your aims and goals

What is your skill set?

What other career options are out there?

Your digital footprint

Your plan
Using chat:

1) Describe your research in a sentence

2) Say where you are at the moment

3) What year of your postdoctoral

research
Career
The academic path…

Senior
PhD Postdoc Lecturer/ Lecturer/ Professor
PI Reader
The academic path…

Senior
PhD Postdoc Lecturer/ Lecturer/ Professor
PI Reader

3-4 years 4-8 years ~4 years ~6 years

The academic path…

Senior
PhD Postdoc Lecturer/ Lecturer/ Professor
PI Reader

3-4 years 4-8 years ~4 years ~6 years

200 1
Data from The Royal Society, The Scientific Century report
https://royalsociety.org/~/media/royal_society_content/policy/publications/2010/4294970126.pdf
YOUR CAREER PATHWAY
• You may have multiple careers over your lifetime
• You may work in roles that do not exist yet
• There are several options open to you
• You will continue to learn & train throughout your
career
• The majority of people with a PhD will end up in
careers outside academic research1
• Only 0.45% of PhD graduates will become professors1

1. The Scientific Century (2010) report by The Royal Society

WHAT DO RESEARCHERS DO NEXT?
Occupations of post-PhD researchers (% of total)
“Other” (9%) occupations included:
Journalist/ Editor
• Engineering professionals
Teaching professional
• Health professionals
Public/ science engagement professional
• Senior manager and officials
IT professional
• Consultancy
Vocational trainer
• Finance, business and IT
Research policy & admin

Other
• Publishing and media

Self-employed • Other (non-HE) education

Function manager • Energy and mining

Researcher • Management consultants
R & D manager • Analysts
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18

% of total

Data from Vitae report, What do research staff do next (2016). Data is from 856 respondents who had left academic research roles.
Career
What direction do you want to go?

Self awareness:
What are your interests, values, personality, knowledge, skills?
Do you want to stay local? Family considerations?
What direction do you want to go?

Individual exercise (1):

- Where do you want to be professionally in 3 years?

- Where do you want to be professionally in 5 years?

Write down your answers.

Common concerns raised by researchers
when looking for a non academic
role

• I appear overqualified
• I look “too academic”
• I don’t have the skills employers are looking for
• I don’t have enough experience
• I have to take a pay cut
• I’m too old to apply for graduate jobs
• I don’t know what I want to do
Career
 “Choose a job you enjoy and you
will never have to work a day in
your life.”

Think about your career so far:

What part of your current work do you enjoy most?

(writing, planning, presenting, lab work, teaching, problem solving, analysing, organising, project
management…)

What do you like least about your current work?

What do you want to learn more about/ develop?

What is your skill set?

TM
Elements
Personal skills evaluation
 21 st Century skills
“21st century skills… include being able to solve complex problems, to think critically
about tasks, to effectively communicate with people from a variety of different
cultures and using a variety of different techniques, to work in collaboration with
others, to adapt to rapidly changing environments and conditions for performing tasks,
to effectively manage one’s work, and to acquire new skills and information on one’s
own.”
Assessing 21st Century Skills: Summary of a Workshop. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2011. 3.
 TM
Elements
Personal skills evaluation

a) Project b) Working
relationships c) Communication
management

d) Analytical & e) Self

managing awareness
information

Complete the Elements evaluation:

https://forms.gle/TcUAZR7ZBR6QZ7xH9
 TM
Elements
Personal skills evaluation

Exercise:
- List your top ten skills
 TM
Elements
Personal skills evaluation

Exercise:
- List your top ten skills
- List five skills that you would like to improve
 TM
Elements
Personal skills evaluation

What skills are employers looking for?

The top 10 skills employers look for at early career stage

1. Teamwork
2. Make decisions and solve problems
3. Ability to plan, organise and prioritise work
4. Clear verbal communication
5. Gather and process information
6. Analyse quantitative data
7. Technical knowledge related to the job
8. Proficiency with computer software programs
9. Ability to create and/or edit written reports
10. Sales skills and ability to influence others

National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) survey of 200 employers

 What skills are valuable
beyond academia?

• Communication
• Critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Independent working
• Project management
• Adaptability
• Time management
• Networking

Data from Vitae report, What do research staff do next (2016). Data is from
856 respondents who had left academic research roles.
Career
What other careers are out there?

www.phdcomics.com

There isn’t always a fixed career path…

Who else has a PhD?

(Almost)
What other careers are out there?
University related Professional
Publishing Law
Research support Patent attorney
Administration Accountant
Technology transfer Finance/ hedge fund
Lab manager
Teaching Working in a startup
Private sector School teacher Product manager
Researcher PT lecturer Digital marketing
Sales/ marketing Demonstrator Software developer
Logisitcs Tutor
Operations Policy Publishing
Researcher Editing/ proofreading
Research communication Director at non profit Community manager
Science/ subject writer Think tanks Outreach officer
Communications officer Editor
Medical
Journalist
Clinical scientist Jobs that don’t exist yet
Events organiser
Clinical ethicist ?
Building & designing your CV/ resume

CV writing overview

• Not every CV you write will be the same

• You may have several different CVs
• The length of your CV will vary
• Academic CVs are very different to those
you would send to a company or non-
academic organisation
• You will need to emphasise your other skills
and be less descriptive of your actual PhD
• You will need to tailor your CV to the
position you are applying for
• You may also need to write a cover letter to
accompany your CV when applying for a
position
Designing your CV - strategy
WHAT?
• Who will read it? HR? • Should you emphasise
Your future line your education, your
manager? The CEO? experience, your skills?
• Will they understand it • Is your PhD title
(technically, research relevant?
field?) • How much detail should
• Research their you include about your
background and target publications, research
your CV accordingly etc.?
• What “theme” will you
adopt in this particular
CV?
• Why do you want this
particular position?
• Do you have any related
relevant experience?
• Would this position give
you experience and
opportunities that will
be useful in the future?
• How long would you like
to do this job for?
Building & designing your CV/ resume

DO
• Break it into logically ordered sections:
education, experience, skills
• Make it clear, readable, understandable
• Target your CV to the position
• Include your interests
• Include contact details: email, phone,
Twitter

DON’T
• Just list things, include relevant information
• Exaggerate, fib
• Be too technical
• Provide too much detail
Career
A Digital footprint or digital shadow refers
to your unique set of traceable digital
activities, actions, contributions and
communications manifested on the
Internet or on digital devices.1

1. Retrieved from Techterms.com

There are two main classifications for digital footprints: passive and active.

• A passive digital footprint is data collected without

the owner knowing

• An active digital footprint is created when personal

data is released deliberately by a user for the purpose
of sharing information about oneself by means of
websites or social media.
 Joanna Young Edinburgh

Exercise:

Google your name + location

• Check your digital footprint regularly

• Remove unwanted content if possible

• Check your privacy settings for the

platforms you use (e.g. Facebook,
Twitter)

• Update or remove out of date content

• Be careful of what you post online

• Avoid trolls
 Rosalind Franklin Headline: information or a statement about you that
Senior scientist researching the structure of DNA with will appear in LinkedIn’s search results.
experience in X-ray diffraction
United Kingdom | Research & development
Current University College London General information: Location, industry sector and
Previous BCURA; University of Cambridge previous organisations
Education University of Cambridge

Unique profile link: this is a URL for your profile.

You can put this in your email signature for
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/rosalind-franklin-2b9598598
example.

• Have a recognisable, professional photo

• Don’t make it too technical
• Use the “headline section”
• Include a summary about yourself
• Include your achievements (PhD scholarship, fellowships, awards, papers)
• You can include an overview of your research, your experience and education, your interests, your skills, your aspirations
and any other projects you are passionate about.
• Have a recognisable, professional photo
• Don’t make it too technical
• Use the “headline section”
• Include a summary about yourself
• Include your achievements (PhD scholarship, fellowships, awards, papers)
A short, snappy sentence describing what you do:

“PhD student researching black holes with experience in

advanced mathematical modelling”

A list of keywords describing you:

“Computer scientist || hadoop & D3 coder || data visualisation

expert || ReCon hackathon founder”

You may also wish to include your website in the headline:

“Researcher in Scottish urban history & culture specialising in

the Scottish enlightenment period || www.mywebsite.com”
A short, snappy sentence describing what you do:

“PhD student researching black holes with experience in

advanced mathematical modelling”

Exercise
A list of keywords describing you:

Write your own

“Computer headline.
scientist || hadoop & D3 coder || data visualisation
expert || ReCon hackathon founder”

You may also wish to include your website in the headline:

“Researcher in Scottish urban history & culture specialising in

the Scottish enlightenment period || www.mywebsite.com”
Career
YOUR PLAN

• Write down three things you

would like to do in the next
three months with regard to
career planning.

• Who could you speak to

about these plans? List three
names.
Summary

- You learn and develop several transferable skills during your research career

- Think about what skills you have and which ones you want to develop

- Take time over your CV and do practice interviews

- Manage your digital footprint

- Talk to other people who have left academia

- Network!
Resources
Useful websites

• My Sci Career: http://myscicareer.com/

• Vitae https://www.vitae.ac.uk/researcher-careers/career-management-for-researchers/exploring-career-opportunities-for-researchers-1/non-h
• Nature Careers https://www.nature.com/naturecareers

Blogs & articles

• Careers, not just jobs, for PhDs outside the academy https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/doing-good-science/careers-not-just-jobs-for-phds-outside-the-academy/
• So many research scientists so few openings as professors https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/14/upshot/so-many-research-scientists-so-few-openings-as-professors.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0
• From startups to big pharma: how to get into industry http://blogs.nature.com/naturejobs/2017/01/18/from-start-ups-to-big-pharma-how-to-get-into-industry/

LinkedIn groups

• PhD Careers outside academia https://www.linkedin.com/groups/1844342

• The Postdoc forum https://www.linkedin.com/groups/2356407
• Academia PhD network https://www.linkedin.com/groups/3374826
• Beyond academia: non academic careers for PhDs https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4850295
 www.electv.net

@joysci

Survey:
https://forms.gle/h8mERwr39sg1vJ996