In this blog, I will use my own experience as a PhD student to explain how it helped me decide and prepared me for my next career step.Most graduates out there don’t really know where to start when it comes to choosing a career. Online material and career advice can help, however the true experience of another person and the way they used this student time effectively is very, very powerful as a way to go ahead. Activia scholarship will help me achieve one of my short-term goals; to get training on how to edit videos and how to manage my own Youtube channel. The aim is to reach as many postgraduate students and/or graduates as possible and explore opportunities they have to develop skills and experience.
Different reasons may lead to the decision to work towards a PhD degree. Mine was purely to implement my knowledge to a research environment, particularly in order to get involved with clinical research (although a non-clinician). Doctoral studies can certainly be a challenging time, full of responsibility, heavy workload and limited time to keep a work-life balance. In return, such a qualification, with all the transferrable skills it entails, is well-respected in the job market, even if at times it may not a prerequisite.
Among different countries, universities and even supervisory teams, the PhD experience can be quite diverse. Nonetheless, the expectations are high and resemble those of a proper workplace environment. What I recently realised though is that when you’ve naturally treated your PhD as your job, you may be a step closer to pursuing post-doctoral fellowship.
Every University should provide multi-dimensional career advice to their students. Yet, there are still Universities in the western world who are too sceptical to mess with industry or don’t have the resources to do so and only provide general guidance about careers in academia. Moving on to different university environments can really broaden the horizons and put industry more in focus. Coming from an old-fashioned university, this is how, during my first year of PhD, I ended up considering how many opportunities industry can offer.
Interestingly, having a first-hand experience of a high impact research environment during my second year, with industry staying close as a collaborator and numerous teaching opportunities while technically still a ‘student’ blew up my plans to follow a career in industry. Others have also struggled to spot job descriptions that match their much specialised knowledge area (although they may still carry the full skills palette), even for a research-based job. Soon, I went back to academia, but this time, fully aware of the potential disadvantages over industry and the fact that only less than one in six ‘survives’ and ends up getting a permanent position.
My third year starting, I didn’t quite have the time to take up many opportunities to grow as a teacher as the priority was to complete my research work and disseminate it to the scientific community (and my examiners). However, I kept my eyes open and responded to every stimulation about alternative careers outside both academia and industry. Some examples I came up with were research institutes outside Universities, government organisations such as the NHS, national and international regulatory authorities and charity-based jobs for research dissemination. My numerous opportunities to grow as a researcher during my PhD would be relevant in any such position requiring critical and analytical thinking.
Then it happened to me. One day, during an informal chat with my supervisor in the corridor, I realised how great a role model he has been. Going back to my memories of my UG supervisor, tutors and professors I have met across my years in education, I realised how lucky I have been so far to meet and work with people who have truly inspired me. People full of passion and love to teach, people with ethos, respect and care for the youth. I was naturally jealous of their impact on my life. This really couldn’t take me anywhere else other than academia, where I could use every opportunity to inspire others, especially so young students, to join the club and help science advance more to serve its purpose of improving quality of life.
My time in academia has been vital to grow self-esteem. I had never considered myself having enough people skills to teach at school; a desire of my mother. Now, I have such a passion to get involved with clinical research and pass on my knowledge to the next generations that people skills just occur to me with hardly any effort.
Industry on the other hard is very appealing to most people, due to the money it offers and the multiple benefits companies promise. Permanent contracts are more often in industry and the work environment is normally closer to what most people think an idea environment should be. Normal working hours are easily maintained and employees don’t normally have to worry a lot about work outside the office. All these advantages are great, but when I realised I may not that kind of person looking for all these from my work, I had to sadly admit that my values are closer to academia.
In the middle of my third year, a proposal to continue for a post-doc came to complete my thoughts that this is where I should be now. Fully aware of the challenges and with my enthusiasm about clinical research and patient safety at its peak, I knew this was the ‘destiny’ I created for myself. My hard work and commitment had paid off, with experts in the field showing their trust and continuous support with this opportunity to get better, enhance my knowledge and mainly make a greater impact with my research dissemination.
We can always easily make up for the losses, if they don’t mean much to us. There is nothing wrong with thinking and even trying out different places to discover your favourite destination. And if you are one of those who are still looking for their dream, think about the emergency exit of the plane; it may be behind you!
This blog is submitted as part of the Activia training UK Scholarship scheme: