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Searching for Jobs Beyond Academia?

By Clare Jones, Senior Careers Adviser PhD researchers often begin a careers discussion with me by asking questions about where they should start looking for jobs. They may then add that they are uncertain about what career paths are open to them other than academia.  This second statement is crucial, as it’s difficult to effectively job search without having …

How Pedalling the Path Less Travelled Helped Me Explore Career Pathways

By Andrew Wilhelmsen, PhD Life Science After finishing my master’s degree, I had all the career focus of a wayward roaming, itchy-footed vagabond and all the wanderlust of a, well… wayward roaming, itchy-footed … you get the point. So, I hopped on a plane to Singapore and decided to go on a bike ride, for …

My PhD Journey – The Highs and the Lows

By Maria Lozano, PhD Education Maria has recently completed her PhD at Nottingham and she reflects on her journey – the highs and the lows – and offers advice to potential PhD students. Enchanted by research As a masters student I enjoyed spending time in the library, researching different topics and being a learner. It …

Why I Studied a PhD and How It Has Helped My Career

By Martyn Quigley, PhD Psychology alumnus Martin has recently completed his PhD and just secured his first teaching role. We asked him to reflect on his experience and offer advice to students considering undertaking a PhD. Make sure you know what your ‘why?’ is Undertaking a PhD is a big commitment and you need to give it …

My PhD Career Path: A Winding Road

By Clare Jones, Senior Careers Adviser, Research Staff/Postgraduate Research Students As a PhD student you may be considering your next step and looking for that ‘forever’ career. In the 21st century, you’re likely to have four or five jobs in your working life – if not more! Elizabeth Davey talks us through her career history …

What You Need To Know About Postgraduate Placements Nottingham

By Debra Fearnshaw, Placements Delivery Manager What is Postgraduate Placements Nottingham (PPN)? PPN is a paid, flexible placement programme for all students and researchers studying masters or PhD courses.  Placements are very flexible and usually consist of a 200-hour project worked to fit around your studies over the course of several months. What type of …

Should I Do a PhD? The Pros and Cons

By Jennifer Balloch, Employability Officer: Faculty of Science “Should I do a PhD?” “What potential career paths could it lead to?” These are big questions if you want to stay in the field of science-based research and development. The impact and outcome this has on the different STEM subjects is vast. For some sectors  you …

Naturejobs Expo London: What Is It and How to Make the Most of Your Day

by Clare Jones, Senior Careers Adviser to Research Staff and PhD Students For the last three years I’ve been one of the team of CV checkers at the London Naturejobs Expo and have experienced first hand this busy recruitment and careers event targeted at PhD and postdoctoral scientists – although masters and undergraduate students are also …

Internships: How to Get Them and Why You Should

By Hannah Somers, studying a PhD in molecular microbiology I have recently completed a three-month placement with Cancer Research UK. I secured this internship as part of my course – the funding for my PhD programme stipulates that I must take a 12-week placement away from the lab. I know from experience just how tricky …

Could your social media posts be jeopardizing your job hunt?

By Chris James Carter, PhD Researcher Whether you’re in your final year and applying for positions or in your first year and researching internships for 2015, consider the prospect of employers searching for you online to assess whether you’re the type of person they want in their company. How likely is this to happen to …