Non-academic careers – there

is life out there!

Dr. Tilly Line

UWE Careers

Outline

• Why think about life beyond academia?

• What is out there?

• What others have done – career stories

• What you can do to prepare?

• How we can support you

Why think outside the (academic) box?

• You wanted to stay in academia, but things

changed

• You did a PhD for its own sake and always

had an open mind about your next career

move

• You still want to stay in academia, but the

labour market doesn’t look good

Any other reasons?

Why not?

• You feel like (and have perhaps been told that) it

would be a personal failure to leave academia

• You are convinced you know nothing

• You’re surrounded by academics who have

never left education themselves

• Your academic won’t support you to think

outside of academia

• You don’t have a traditional work history

Anything else?

The result…

• PhD’s apply to academic positions they

don’t really want

• Non-academic jobs go to people less

talented, less creative and less

competitive than PhD’s – i.e. you!

• Educated, intelligent, motivated, socially

concerned people (you again) end up in

jobs that don’t excite them or fully utilise

their talents

But…

It is a career change

• This can be energising and exciting, but

also daunting

• This is normal!

• And there are things you can do to reduce

your anxiety and increase your chances of

success ‘on the outside’!

Reality check…

• The academic job market is competitive…

– Around 20,000 Doctorates are now awarded

in the UK each year and this doesn’t equal

the number of academic jobs available

• Perhaps not surprisingly, 50% of PhDs

leave academia and this percentage is

rising

• So where can you go?...

• Education (teaching) – schools, further

education, adult learning

• Education (administrative and professional

roles) – utilising your understanding of the HE

research environment, as well as administrative

skills

• Public sector - Civil Service, government

agencies and local government – all require

analytical, research and communication skills

• Industry research and development

• Healthcare sector and medical research –

both research and non-research roles

• Business and finance - investment and retail

banking, insurance and pensions – particularly if

you have specialist quantitative and statistical

training

• Consultancy - management consultancy or

think tanks

• Publishing - writing and editorial roles

• Not-for-profit sector - charities and non-

governmental organisations

• Entrepreneurial activities and self

employment – social enterpreneurship, starting

your own business / charity / organisation /

consultancy

Why are PhDs sought after?

Top three statements agreed by 47 employers:

1) University researchers who have experience of

collaboration projects with industry are potentially very

valuable to my organisation.

2) I am confident university researchers, at whatever

stage, could potentially offer the skills package I am

seeking.

3) I would like to see more people with a university

(research) background applying for some of the jobs I

advertise.

(Employers’ perceptions of recruiting research staff and students,

University of Leeds, 2006)

Why are PhDs sought after?

Employers typically rank PhD skills in the

following order: (Recruiting Researchers – a survey of Employer Practice Vitae 2009)

1. data analysis

2. problem solving

3. drive and

motivation

4. project managing

5. interpersonal skills

6. leadership

7. commercial

awareness

What can you do to prepare?

• Broaden your value system beyond that of

academia

• Reconnect with your preferences,

passions and long-term goals

• Connect with PhDs working outside of

academia

• Reframe your education – what it can do

for you, not what its keeping you from

doing

What can you do to prepare?

• Many employers would be happy to recruit

PhDs, but do not actively signal this

• Start with those who already have links

with the university

• Be aware of what how employers rank

your skills…and know how to articulate

them at interview

Recruiting Researchers – a survey of Employer Practice Vitae 2009

What other PhDs have done

Careers stories available through Vitae LINK

- Particularly interesting ‘planned happenstance'

stories

- Illustrating how unplanned or chance events can

influence career development opportunities.

- But you have to put yourself in a position to

create and take advantage of these

opportunities

- Networking is key!

My career journey

• BSc Geology and Geography

• MSc Environmental Science, Policy and

Planning

• Green Waste Officer Wildlife Trust

• Lab Assistant BRI

• PhD

• Postdoc Researcher - ???

My career journey

Period of networking, work experience,

gathering information…

• PG Dip Careers Guidance

• Careers Advisor

• Researcher

What do you want to do?

In pairs, discuss (and write down):

• All the work options you think you have

and/or you would like to have

– Don’t worry about how realistic you think it is,

this is also an opportunity to think about what

really motivates you

5 minutes each…

What do you want to do?

Take one (or two) options and discuss:

• Your skills and experience

– What can you already offer?

5 - 10 minutes and then feed back…

• What additional skills and experience do

you need to gain?

– And what do you think you need to do next?

10 minutes and then feed back…

Further support

Identifying what really motivates you:

• Try looking at My Future

• Personality questionnaires are also

available through the UWE Careers

webpages

• Both are designed to help you start to

understand yourself and what is important to

you

Information

• UWE Careers webpages

– What do doctoral graduates do?

– Job profiles

– Sector profiles

– Effective CVs and applications

• UWE Career Service

– Careers /CV / application support: discuss career options,

feedback on layout /content of CVs and applications

– Online enquiry service: send in careers queries and CVs and

applications for feedback

– Graduate Jobs Link – 2D11: get help finding specific job or work

experience opportunities

Have an appointment with a member of

the team at UWE Careers…

• Register now! https://infohub.uwe.ac.uk

• Online portal to UWE’s career service

• Need to register to be able to book careers

appointments, as well as events, fairs,

presentations and workshops

• Use the questions link to ask for careers

information and advice – i.e. feedback on your

CV

• Look at lists of resources – example CVs

PGR student support

• Career management during your PhD

• Career options – academic/non academic

• CV advice – academic/non academic

• I’m specifically available for this – two routes to book an appointment

or request some e-guidance (online)

1) Have an initial 20 min careers appointment with one of the

Employability and Enterprise Officers – if necessary, they can then

refer you to me, another careers advisor, or a different member of the

employability team (depending on your needs)

Make an appointment via InfoHub, Phone 0117 3285678, or visit

Ezone or an Information Point and someone will book it for you.

2) Contact me directly at Tilly.Line@uwe.ac.uk

Going forward…

• One thing you have found useful

• One thing you will do as a result of today